Chong (second left) flags off the half marathon (21km) at Padang Merdeka, Jalan Tun Abang Haji Openg in Kuching yesterday.
KUCHING: Despite haze blanketing certain parts of the state in recent weeks, the much-hyped 2019 Kuching Marathon took off with a record number of 10,681 participants this year, breaching the 10,000 mark yet again for three years in a row.
Since its maiden debut in 2014, the number of participants joining this year internationally recognised Kuching Marathon had increased by two-fold within six years from its initial figure of about 5,000 runners in its first year.
This year’s marathon was divided into Men’s Open (42km), Women’s Open (42km), National Men’s Open (42km), National Women’s Open (42km), Men’s Open (21km), Women’s Open (21km), Men’s Veteran Open (21km), Women’s Veteran Open (21km), Men’s Open (10km) and Women’s Open (10km) with a total of RM100,000 in prize money.
A 5km Run for both Men’s Open and Women’s Open were also organised but no prize money was allocated.
Participants of the full marathon (42km) gesturing to the cameras before the start of the race.
Starting at Padang Merdeka, Jalan Tun Abang Haji Openg here, the full marathon (42km) was flagged-off at around 1am by Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah and Minister of Local Government and Housing Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian.
As for the half marathon (21km), it was flagged off by Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Chong Chieng Jen at 4am.
Speaking to reporters after the flagging off ceremony today, Abdul Karim praised the organiser for organising the international standard marathon and he was contented that the participation response for this year’s edition had been overwhelming.
“We are very happy that Kuching is able to host this international marathon which we hope can be a big boost for the local tourism industry because we do know that many of the runners who participated in the marathon came from many countries,” said Abdul Karim.
Participants of the half marathon (21km) charges past the starting line despite the heavy rain.
However, half-way through the marathon, a sudden downpour fell from above but it did not dampened the participants’ spirit as thousands charged past the starting line once the air horns were blasted.
Several roads along the routes of the marathon were also closed as early as 11.30pm on Saturday to facilitate the erection of the marathon’s starting and finish lines.
Participants of the Kuching Marathon were brought into an illuminating run through Kuching city’s rich cultural and colonial history expressed in its unique architecture and landmarks that dotted throughout the city centre.
They were greeted with some of the city most iconic landmarks along their journey such as the Fort Margherita, a building that was built in the 1879 and named after Renee Margaret who is the second Rajah of Sarawak, Sir Charles Brooke, the row of 1920’s Chinese shop houses along Jalan Padungan, the impressive golden coloured State Legislative Assembly Building across Sarawak River and the new RM323-million Sarawak Museum Complex, the second largest museum in Southeast Asia.
Participants of the full marathon (42km) getting ready behind the starting line before being flagged off at 1am.
Out of the total participants, over 1,000 runners were hailed from different corners of the world namely Australia, New Zealand, Brunei, Canada, China, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kenya, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, Vietnam and Yemen.
Unsurprisingly, people from Sarawak made up the majority of the participants which totalled to 7,345 runners while 829 runners came from Sabah, 219 from Johor, 527 from Selangor, 366 from Kuala Lumpur and the rest from other states in Malaysia.
A 1,000-people strong volunteers’ team was assembled which comprised from college students, The People’s Volunteer Corps (Rela), uniformed bodies, government departments, medical personnel, army, police and traffic police to ensure the smooth running of the international event.
Kuching Marathon – which entered into its sixth edition this year – is also an international road race recognised by Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS) and it is listed in the association’s Race Calendar.
The 2019 Kuching Marathon is supported by the state Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports.