STANDARD CHARTERED KL MARATHON 2017 SOLD OUT

Runners snap up all individual race slots within four days

KUALA LUMPUR, 20 January 2017: Dirigo Events, race owner and organiser of the Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2017 (SCKLM), announced today that registrations for the race has officially closed as they have sold out all individual race slots for the event. The Standard Chartered KL Marathon turns nine this year and the 2017 edition will take place on Sunday, 21 May at Dataran Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur.

“We are grateful that interest in the Standard Chartered KL Marathon is as strong as ever. After our pre-registration period for 2016 participants closed, we opened registrations to the public on 16 January and have sold out four days later,” said Rainer Biemans, Director of Dirigo Events and Project Director of SCKLM 2017. “We thank all our loyal supporters for continuing to support the marathon and will now focus on delivering the best race experience possible,” he added.

An incredible 12,512 race slots were snapped up on the first day of registrations on Monday, 16 Jan, which is about a third of the total number of race slots available. According to Rainer, an encouraging aspect this year was that registrations for the Full and Half Marathon categories sold out quicker than the usually more popular 10km and 5km categories.

Runners waiting for the start of the Full Marathon

“We have been consciously trying to increase the level of competitiveness for SCKLM 2017 and we are very happy to see that the popularity of the longer distances are increasing. In fact, we’ve closed the Full Marathon category with 8,000 runners in total this year, constituting a 7% increase from 2016 and the highest number recorded in this category so far for the Standard Chartered KL Marathon. So for the first time our Running Clinics will have two sessions specifically for runners who are going to attempt their first Full Marathon and first Half Marathon,” he said.

sckl2016_marathon_02 — The Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2016 is underway

The data gleaned from the Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2017’s registrations this year also show that there will be 1,381 runners from 63 different nationalities taking part, with the highest number of international runners coming from Indonesia (325) followed by the United Kingdom (146) and India (132).

The Standard Chartered KL 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 2017 edition of the race will once again see sponsorship from Title Sponsor Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia, along with Honda Malaysia, Brooks, Lucozade, Seiko and Pacific Regency.

Mahendra Gursahani, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Bank said, “It gives us tremendous pride to be the title sponsor of such an iconic event that has come to symbolise the coming together of communities and fostering nation building through sport. We wish all runners the best of luck and we look forward to welcoming them at the race.”

Elite runners will be competing to earn a slice of the almost RM500,000 in total that is on offer at the Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2017,which include bonus prizes for record breaking course times.

sckl2016_marathon_03 — Tired but happy faces at the end of the Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2016.

sckl2016_marathon_05 — At the finish line of the Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2016 5km and 10km Run

sckl2016_marathon_06 — At the finish line of the Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2016 5km and 10km Run

In an effort to reduce congestion and make the race more competitive, SCKLM 2017 will continue with a seven hour cut-off time for the Full Marathon with checkpoints at designated areas along the route to ensure runners are within the specified time frames. Runners who don’t make it to the checkpoints within the required times will not be allowed to complete the race and will be transported to the finish line. This is also meant to ensure the safety of runners as the public roads need to be opened to regular traffic at times strictly stipulated by the authorities.

A perennial feature of the Standard Chartered KL Marathon is its Corporate Social Responsibility initiative Run For A Reason that aims to channel funds raised to deserving charities that assist underprivileged communities and those in dire need. This year the participating beneficiaries are the Standard Chartered Foundation, National Cancer Society of Malaysia, Dignity for Children Foundation and Hospis Malaysia.

Participating runners can also look forward to a total of 12 running clinics that will be provided by the Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2017, including 5 Junior running clinics and specialised clinics for those attempting their first Half and first Full Marathons.