Run. Mix. Burn!

Tuesday 1 October 2019

11th KLSCM GETS UNDERWAY WITH 2-DAY FORMAT

Kids Dash, 5km and Friendship Run kick-off event on the first day

KUALA LUMPUR, Saturday, 28 September 2019: The Kuala Lumpur Standard Chartered Marathon (KLSCM) 2019, now held in a two-day format, got off to a fun start with the Kids Dash and 5km categories, along with the Friendship Run at Dataran Merdeka this morning. Unlike last year, the 5km category was brought forward to today to allow for more capacity in the 10km, Full and Half Marathon categories which will be held tomorrow.

The Kids Dash also used to take place on the main Race Day where the kids would run in a looped course near the Royal Selangor Club but beginning last year, the 1km and 3km categories were held the day before. This is intended to give the kids’ categories more prominence on their own and also the privilege of starting and finishing under the Main Race Arch on Dataran Merdeka. It would also allow parents participating in the event tomorrow to devote more time and attention to their children’s race.

Having the Kids Dash categories on the preceding day also allowed these categories to be expanded so that 1,000 children could take part this year compared to 500 in previous years. “The Kids Dash is an important area of development for us as we want to inspire children to take to running from a young age. Obesity, and even childhood obesity is increasingly becoming a concern here in Malaysia and running is one of the easiest physical activities for anyone to do to keep fit and healthy. Encouraging children early in their lives can help them form good habits that they can carry on with later in life,” said Gloria Ng, Director of Dirigo Events, the owner and organiser of KLSCM.

Speed categories for both distances were introduced this year to give a more competitive edge to the categories and to separate the faster children from the fun runners. In the 1km Kids Dash, which is for children aged between 6-9 years, the Boy’s Category was won by Wong Jun You in a time of 04:24:74 minutes, followed by Shaashwath Sivakumar who posted 04:30:14 and Wong Yin Heng, who came in third with a time of 04:31:95. Zhang Yuxuan won the Girl’s category in a time of 05:08:22 minutes with second place going to Nurin Qaizara binti Mohd Hafiz who finished in 05:15:03 and Nur Afina Zahra binti Zakwan Fasha came in third in 05:32:86.

In the 3km Kids Dash, which is for children aged between 10-12 years, the Boy’s Category was won by Jin Khoo in a time of 10:01:48 minutes, followed by Muhammad Iddin Mubin bin Rozmi who posted 10:34:13 and Justin Tan Weng Teng, who came in third with a time of 10:47:87. Purnamrtta Aditya Ujjayni Kasyapa Gunala won the Girl’s category in a time of 13:02:80 minutes with second place going to Shanice Tang who finished in 13:24:99 and Nurul Izzah Najwa bt Norzaidi rounded up the third position with a time of 13:28:43.

A Speed category was also introduced in the 5km distance this year, and those running in this category would have their timing recorded, with medals provided to the winners. In the 5km Open of the inaugural Speed category, Ho Sze Hou from China came in first in a time of 19:05 minutes while Tse Wai Hung from Hong Kong came in second with a time of 21:28 and third was Krishna Kumar a/l Jayaram from Malaysia who completed the route in 22:17. The 5km Women’s Open Speed category was won by Tung Yee Man from Hong Kong in a time of 26:41:28 minutes while Tse Choi Yuk, also from Hong Kong came in second posting 26:41:46 and Cheung Ho Lun from China placed third in a time of 26:50:71.

Full result for all categories.

The Friendship Run has become a staple in the KLSCM Race Programme after its debut in 2015 and is meant for Full Marathon runners to have a warm up run the day before their big event. Local and international runners come dressed in all kinds of cool outfits which add fun and colour to the proceedings, with each runner also given a helium balloon with the flag of his/her country printed on it. It ends with a pasta and carbo-loading breakfast after the run where runners get to meet each other and forge friendships. Abrar A. Anwar, Standard Chartered Malaysia’s MD and CEO also participated this year to continue from his debut participation last year.

“I really enjoyed myself last year and it was amazing to meet all these local and international runners brimming with positivity and camaraderie,” said Abrar. “As title sponsors for over a decade now, we are truly convinced that this event has a powerful ability to unite people from all walks of life. It is an honour to support an iconic sporting event such as this which has come to exemplify the coming together of a diversity of nationalities, backgrounds and ages,” he added.

The Kuala Lumpur Standard Chartered Marathon has grown to become the premier running event in Malaysia that draws thousands of local and international runners to the country whilst firmly establishing Malaysia in the global running calendar. The 11th edition of the event will be the largest yet with 40,000 runners in total taking part, and will once again see sponsorship from Title Sponsor Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia, along with Under Armour, 100 Plus, Seiko, Jaybird, TudungPeople, Banana Boat and Pacific Regency and DBKL as venue hosts.

KLSCM 2019
MC Linora Low leading the Kids Dash Warm-up
KLSCM 2019
1km Kids Dash Speed Flag Off
KLSCM 2019
1km Kids Dash Speed Start
KLSCM 2019
3km Kids Dash Speed Flag Off
KLSCM 2019
5km Speed Start
KLSCM 2019
Standard Chartered Malaysia MD & CEO Abrar. A. Anwar (centre, in blue t-shirt and sunglasses) joining the Friendship Run participants
KLSCM 2019
Kids Dash Runners on Route
KLSCM 2019
Menara DBKL Backdrop
KLSCM 2019
Parents accompanying their children in the 1km Fun Run
KLSCM 2019
Musicians entertaining runners along the route
KLSCM 2019
Runners hydrating themselves on the route
KLSCM 2019
Victorius!
KLSCM 2019
Floating Siblings
KLSCM 2019
Kids Dash Runner with his T-Rex dad
KLSCM 2019
Doubly Good!
KLSCM 2019
1km Boys' Kids Dash Winners
KLSCM 2019
1km Girls' Kids Dash Winners
KLSCM 2019
3km Boys' Kids Dash Winners
KLSCM 2019
3km Girls' Kids Dash Winners
KLSCM 2019
5km Men Youngster Winners
KLSCM 2019
5km Men's Open Winners
KLSCM 2019
5km Men's Veteran Winners
KLSCM 2019
5km Women Youngster Winners
KLSCM 2019
5km Women's Open Winners
KLSCM 2019
5km Women's Veteran Winners
KLSCM 2019
Goal Girls Awards
KLSCM 2019
KLSCM2019 Happy Finishers

Labels: , , ,

40,000 Runners Turn Dataran Into Sea of Blue For KLSCM2019

Debutant Victor Kipchirchir from Kenya clinches maiden KLSCM title

KUALA LUMPUR, Sunday, 29 September 2019: Dataran Merdeka was awash in blue when 40,000 runners took part in the Kuala Lumpur Standard Chartered Marathon (KLSCM) 2019 today. The 11th edition of the premier distance running event in Malaysia also saw YB Syed Saddiq, Minister of Youth and Sports, make his debut in the event by participating in the Half Marathon category. Also present were YB Khalid Samad, Minister of Federal Territories and YB, Dr. Ong Kian Ming, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industries, who 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.

Victor Kipchirchir, from Kenya, who was making his debut appearance at KLSCM won the Full Marathon Men’s Open category in a time of 2:19:41 to take home USD17,500 while the Full Marathon Women’s Open category was won by Gladys Jepkemoi Chemweno from Kenya in a time of 2:36:45 also earning USD17,500 in the process.

Kiprop Tonui from Kenya came in second in the Full Marathon Men’s Open with a time of 2:20:05 while Tallam James Cherutich, also from Kenya finished third in a time of 2:21:04. In the Full Marathon Women’s Open, defending champion Elizabeth Chepkanan Rumokol from Kenya had to settle for second place in a time of 2:41:48 while Ngigi Pauline from Kenya took third place with a time of 2:45:44.

The Full Marathon Malaysian Men’s category was a keenly contested affair as Muhaizar bin Mohamad and his compatriot in the Armed Forces Nik Fakaruddin bin Ismail went toe-to-toe for most of the race. KL SEA Games bronze medallist Muhaizar though broke away towards the end, managing to defend his title and in doing so won this category for an astonishing fifth consecutive time, finishing in 2:35:23.

Nik Fakaruddin finished second in 2:40:31 while Fabian @ Osmond bin Daimon came in third in a time of 2:45:06. The Full Marathon Malaysian Women’s category saw Loh Chooi Fern defend her maiden win in KLSCM2018 in a time of 3:21:33 while Tho Siaw Khim clocked 3:29:42 to come in second and Yap Yee Ling got third place in a time of 3:30:50.

FM Open winner Kipchirchir was delighted with his maiden Kuala Lumpur Standard Chartered Marathon win. “It was a tough race as I have never run in this type of heat before but my preparation was good,” Kipchirchir said. “I am happy to be able to win in my first race in Kuala Lumpur and I hope to come back next year,” he continued.

Muhaizar was also thrilled to have retained his title, especially after the intense competition with training partner Nik Fakaruddin. “I think running and winning in KLSCM before gave me a slight advantage over the other competitors as I know what to expect and so made the right strategy,” he said. “This win will help boost my confidence ahead of the SEA Games in Manila in November and I hope to be able to bring back a medal,” he added.

Rainer Biemans, Project Director of KLSCM and Director of Dirigo Events, 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 and honour and a privilege having both YB Syed Saddiq and YB Dr. Ong Kian Ming participate in our Half Marathon, and my heartfelt thanks go out to them for supporting our event and I hope they enjoyed themselves out there today. We are also grateful for YB Khalid Samad’s presence and for giving out prizes”, he continued.

Syed Saddiq flagged off the Half Marathon category along with Abrar A. Anwar, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of title sponsor Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia before joining in the run.
“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 Bank and to everyone else who had a hand in putting together this fantastic event,” said Syed Saddiq. “My congratulations as well to all the winners and to all who participated and achieved their running goals,” he continued.

Anwar. A. Abrar, MD and CEO of Standard Chartered Malaysia, who took part in yesterday’s Friendship Run as well, was delighted with the massive turnout over the two days and hoped the event would continue to attract the running masses for many more 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 benchmark and gold standard for running events in Malaysia,” said Abrar.

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 raised compared to previous years. RFAR is an integral component of KLSCM and this year, participating charities the National Cancer Society of Malaysia, Dignity for Children Foundation and Hospis Malaysia will benefit from over RM890,000 worth of funds raised by over 1,000 RFAR participants, together with the Corporate Challenge. “We are extremely happy to have raised a record amount under our RFAR charity banner and our sincere thanks go out to all involved who made this possible,” said Biemans.

The record numbers did not end there as the event also saw its largest number of running tourists as well when more than 1,900 from 49 countries arrived in Kuala Lumpur to take part in the iconic event. Add another 10,020 Malaysians who came from outside of Kuala Lumpur and Selangor to make it a particularly busy weekend for the city.

One particularly inspiring tourist 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 when he completed his marathon here. “I was prepared for the heat and humidity because I knew it would be way more than I’m used to, however, starting so early was different. On the course, other marathoners are usually so encouraging and supportive but here, they were even more so. That definitely has me wanting to come back for another,” Koch said.

KLSCM2019 began with the Kids Dash categories yesterday morning that saw another record when 1,000 children participated in the 1km and 3km categories. Both categories were expanded this year to encourage more children to participate and also saw speed categories introduced for both distances in a move to separate the competitive children from the fun runners.

For the first time, the 5km category was also held yesterday morning to allow for larger participation numbers today and incorporated the Friendship Run, meant to be a warm-up run for those taking part in the Full Marathon, as well as an opportunity for runners from around the world to meet and forge friendships.

Towards the end of the event, the KLSCM running community gathered at the Finish Line to cheer and provide moral support to the last runners to finish within the check-out time of 7:15 hours. These runners had given their all to finish the race and were given a rousing end replete with confetti blasts to coax them home within the required time.

The Kuala Lumpur Standard Chartered Marathon has grown year-on-year to become the most anticipated distance running event in Malaysia, where for the first time this year public registrations had to be balloted.

The premier running event once again saw Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia returning as title sponsor, along with a host of returning and new sponsors, including Seiko, Under Armour, 100 Plus, Jaybird, TudungPeople, Banana Boat and Pacific Regency. The event is owned and organised by Dirigo Events with venue host Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur.

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

KLSCM 2019
FM Start 1
KLSCM 2019
FM Start 2
KLSCM 2019
KLSCM2019 FM Start Aerial View
KLSCM 2019
KLSCM2019 FM Start Aerial View 2
KLSCM 2019
KLSCM2019 FM Start Aerial View 3
KLSCM 2019
Chris Koch
KLSCM 2019
Costumed Runners 1
KLSCM 2019
Costumed Runners 2
KLSCM 2019
KLSCM2019 FM Open Winner - Victor Kipchirchir
KLSCM 2019
Rainer Biemans before the FM Start
KLSCM 2019
Runners on the highway
KLSCM 2019
Runners after the finish line
KLSCM 2019
KTM Building
KLSCM 2019
FishEye..
KLSCM 2019
Syed Saddiq@marathonphotos
KLSCM 2019
Syed Saddiq about to finish Half Marathon
KLSCM 2019
Last runner to finish before the cutoff time
KLSCM 2019
KLSCM2019 FM Open Men with Khalid Samad (far lef) and Abrar A. Anwar (far right)
KLSCM 2019
KLSCM2019 FM Malaysian Men with Abrar and Ong Kian Ming (left) and Khalid Samad and Datuk Wira Mark Ling (right)
KLSCM 2019
KLSCM2019 FM Women Open with Khalid Samad (far left) and Abrar A. Anwar (far right)
KLSCM 2019
KLSCM2019 FM Women Malaysian with Abrar and Ong Kian Ming (left) and Khalid Samad and Datuk Wira Mark Ling (right)

Winners of the Kuala Lumpur Standard Chartered Marathon 2019

Full Marathon Men’s Open

Position

Name

Country

Time

1st

Victor Kipchirchir

Kenya

2:19:41

2nd

Kiprop Tonui

Kenya

2:20:05

3rd

Tallam James Cherutich

Kenya

2:21:04

 

Full Marathon Women’s Open

Position

Name

Country

Time

1st

Gladys Jepkemoi Chemweno

Kenya

2:36:45

2nd

Elizabeth Chepkanan Rumokol

Kenya

2:41:48

3rd

Ngigi Pauline Wangui

Kenya

2:46:44

 

Full Marathon Malaysian Men

Position

Name

Country

Time

1st

Muhaizar bin Muhamad

Malaysia

2:35:23

2nd

Nik Fakaruddin bin Ismail

Malaysia

2:40:31

3rd

Fabian @ Osmond bin Daimon

Malaysia

2:45:06

 

Full Marathon Malaysian Women

Position

Name

Country

Time

1st

Loh Chooi Fern

Malaysia

3:21:33

2nd

Tho Siaw Khim

Malaysia

3:29:42

3rd

Yap Yee Ling

Malaysia

3:30:50

 

Full Marathon Malaysian Veteran Men

Position

Name

Country

Time

1st

Muniandy a/l Ramadass

Malaysia

2:54:21

2nd

Looi Mun Fai

Malaysia

2:55:37

3rd

Suresh a/l Muniandy

Malaysia

3:02:12

 

Full Marathon Malaysian Veteran Women

Position

Name

Country

Time

1st

Wong Boon Jien

Malaysia

3:46:08

2nd

Neoh Hueih Ching

Malaysia

3:46:50

3rd

Ewe Bee Hong

Malaysia

3:50:05

 

Half Marathon Men Open

Position

Name

Country

Time

1st

Kiplagat Philemon Korir

Kenya

1:07:15

2nd

Mathew Samperu

Kenya

1:07:29

3rd

Mburu Francis Karau

Kenya

1:09:41

 

 

Half Marathon Women Open

Position

Name

Country

Time

1st

Edith Chemjor

Kenya

1:25:05

2nd

Jepkosgei Naum

Kenya

1:32:59

3rd

Agnieska Najnigier Pierzynowska

Poland

1:35:58

 

Half Marathon Malaysian Men

Position

Name

Country

Time

1st

Vimal a/l Govendarajoo

Malaysia

1:15:36

2nd

Mohd Nor Afifi bin Haron

Malaysia

1:16:07

3rd

Sivaneshwaran a/l Gunasegaran

Malaysia

1:19:25

 

Half Marathon Malaysian Women

Position

Name

Country

Time

1st

Sheela a/p Samivellu

Malaysia

1:30:08

2nd

Chua Kit Yeng

Malaysia

1:33:11

3rd

Chuah Cheng Ean

Malaysia

1:34:21

 

Half Marathon Men Veteran

Position

Name

Country

Time

1st

Jeffrey Ross

Great Britain

1:21:25

2nd

Cao Yuming

China

1:23:57

3rd

Chan Shan Ching

Hong Kong

1:25:22

 

Half Marathon Women Veteran

Position

Name

Country

Time

1st

Jasmine Goh Mei Ling

Singapore

1:31:25

2nd

Susan Khoo

Great Britain

1:46:38

3rd

Wang Sing Yee

Singapore

1:50:24

 

Half Marathon Malaysian Men Veteran

Position

Name

Country

Time

1st

Brij Ravinder a/l N Kathiravelu

Malaysia

1:21:32

2nd

Lim Khon Seng

Malaysia

1:23:51

3rd

Alex Tiong King Hee

Malaysia

1:26:29

 

Half Marathon Malaysian Women Veteran

Position

Name

Country

Time

1st

Looi Mei Yan

Malaysia

1:44:18

2nd

Joanne Poh Leng Grange

Malaysia

1:45:20

3rd

Seah Bee Lian

Malaysia

1:45:46

 

10km Speed Men Open

Position

Name

Country

Time

1st

Soh Wai Ching

Malaysia

0:34:02

2nd

Azwan bin Bunjing

Malaysia

0:36:05

3rd

Ku Aliff Aiman bin Ku Zainol

Malaysia

0:36:38

 

10km Speed Women Open

Position

Name

Country

Time

1st

Eunice Ong Huey Shen

Malaysia

0:43:56

2nd

Lim Cai Qin Daphne

Singapore

0:44:16

3rd

Michele Tan Bee Kiang

Malaysia

0:44:41

 

10km Speed Men Veteran

Position

Name

Country

Time

1st

Prabakharan a/l Madhavan

Malaysia

0:38:43

2nd

Dayalan a/l Suppayah

Malaysia

0:40:46

3rd

See Hock Leong

Malaysia

0:41:33

 

 

10km Speed Women Veteran

Position

Name

Country

Time

1st

Yong Chiew Ling

Malaysia

0:50:06

2nd

Jayce Chua Poh Cheng

Singapore

0:50:52

3rd

Karen

Malaysia

0:52:11

Labels: , , ,