Sea of blue at Dataran Merdeka

An aerial view of the start of the full marathon at Dataran Merdeka.

DATARAN Merdeka was awash in blue when 40,000 runners took part in the Kuala Lumpur Standard Chartered Marathon (KLSCM) 2019 last weekend.

The 11th edition of the premier distance running event in Malaysia also saw Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman make his debut in the event by participating in the half marathon category.

Deputy Trade and Industries Minister Dr Ong Kian Ming also took part in the half marathon.

Contributing to the record participation numbers was one of the largest full marathon fields seen in an event in Malaysia when more than 13,000 runners took part in the category.

An equally impressive 12,500 runners ran in the half marathon, making two of the longer distance categories the most well-represented, which is testimony to the growing popularity of distance running in the country.

Kipchirchir celebrating his win in the Full Marathon Men’s Open category.

Victor Kipchirchir from Kenya, who was making his debut at KLSCM, won the Full Marathon Men’s Open category in a time of 2:19:41 to take home US$17,500 (RM73,500) while the Full Marathon Women’s Open category was won by Gladys Jepkemoi Chemweno, also from Kenya, in a time of 2:36:45, earning her US$17,500 (RM73,500).

KLSCM project director and Dirigo Events director Rainer Biemans said: “The 11th edition of KLSCM has proven to be an exciting two days that has seen some great competitions in our top categories, which has added to the lustre of our biggest event yet.

“It has also been an honour and a privilege having both Syed Saddiq and Dr Ong participate in our half marathon.

“My heartfelt thanks go out to them for supporting our event. We are also grateful to Federal Territories Minister Khalid Abdul Samad for giving out the prizes, ” he said.

Syed Saddiq flagged off the half marathon category along with Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia managing director and chief executive officer Abrar A. Anwar before joining the run.

The Full Marathon Malaysian Women’s winner Loh Chooi Fern (centre) with Abrar (left), Ong (second from left), Khalid (second from right) and Datuk Mark Ling (right).

“For someone who’s more a cyclist than a runner, that was pretty challenging! But crossing that finish line was extremely fulfilling and I’m really happy to have made it within the cut-off time.

“I can see now how participating in distance running events such as this can be tremendously rewarding so kudos to Dirigo Events, Standard Chartered and to everyone else who had a hand in putting together this fantastic event, ” said Syed Saddiq.

Abrar, who took part in the Friendship Run, was delighted with the massive turnout over the two days and hoped the event would continue to attract the running masses for many years to come.

“Being title sponsor for the last 11 years, Standard Chartered Malaysia is delighted that we’ve once again managed to successfully pull off this event with our biggest numbers to date.

“From pioneering the concept of being the first running event to run through iconic landmarks in Kuala Lumpur, KLSCM has never stood still and has set the gold standard for running events in Malaysia, ” said Abrar.

Koch taking part in the event.

While KLSCM is a competitive event, it has been built with a community focus at its core and that community element was brought to the fore this year when KLSCM’s Run For A Reason (RFAR) charity initiative raised its highest amount in terms of funds compared to previous years.

RFAR is an integral component of KLSCM and this year, participating charities – National Cancer Society of Malaysia, Dignity for Children Foundation and Hospis Malaysia – will benefit from over RM890,000 raised by over 1,000 RFAR participants, together with the Corporate Challenge.

One particularly inspiring participant was Chris Koch, a farmer, athlete, adventurer and motivational speaker who flew in from Canada to participate.

Born without limbs, Chris has been travelling the world and participating in marathons to spread his “If I Can” message to as many people as possible in the hopes of motivating them to get the most out of their lives.

Using a longboard to traverse the full marathon route, Chris took part in his eighth marathon on a third continent here.

KLSCM is sanctioned and supported by the Malaysia Athletics Federation, Federal Territory Kuala Lumpur Athletic Association, International Association of Athletics Federations and Association of International Marathons, Distance Races.