Charity : Standard Chartered KL Marathon aims to attract 25,000 runners this year

The Standard Chartered Kuala Lumpur Marathon has registered more than 10,000 entries since its official launch on Feb 14.

In the last hours before early-bird registration closed at midnight on Feb 28, nearly 1,300 runners rushed to meet the deadline to benefit from reduced registration fees.

This was a 77% increase from last year.

At more than 1,600, the participation in full marathon category also increased in comparison to 1,300 last year.

Standard Chartered KL Marathon project director Rainer Biemans said the marathon, to be held on June 26, has been generating a lot of buzz in Malaysia and throughout the region.

“We’re very encouraged by the number we are seeing in the early bird registration alone and we will meet our target of 25,000 runners this year,” he said.

Due to overwhelming response, the Kids Dash was closed earlier than anticipated while the registration for the Corporate Challange category is now officially open.

The Corporate Challange is a platform for companies to compete in the race as a team, foster camaraderie and team spirit with colleagues and give back to the community by raising money for charity.

The cheering competition is also open to the public and each team of six to 20 persons will compete to inspire runners to beat their best time and finish the race.

Meanwhile, the organiser is also recruiting volunteers to support the race to ensure the runners’ safety.

“Volunteers play an essential role in the marathon team as they will help monitor the route and distribute beverages to runners, among other activities,” Beimans said.