Top Malaysian Runners Gather Pace Before The Big
Event
KUALA LUMPUR, March 2018: The 10th Anniversary of the Standard Chartered
KL Marathon (SCKLM) is expected to be a hotly contested event in several
categories. The Malaysian Men’s Full Marathon category in particular will see
intense competition amongst several Malaysians who have been posting
increasingly fast times in the lead up to Malaysia’s premier running event. The
Full Marathon Open category and the Malaysian Women’s Full Marathon category
are also expected to be hard fought affairs.
Leo Tan: Tokyo Marathon 2018
SCKLM2018’s Malaysian
Men’s Full Marathon category will see an intriguing battle between a few
runners in particular, namely Muhaizar Mohamad, Leo Tan, Nik Fakaruddin and Ow
Yong JinKuang. Muhaizar, Leo and Nik recently competed in the Tokyo Marathon
and finished spectacularly by breaking their own personal bests. Leo Tan, who is
an engineer based in Taiwan, was the first to finish and beat his previous
personal best of 2:28:19, also posted in Tokyo last year, by recording a
blistering 2:25:28, which is unofficially the new national record.
Muhaizar Mohamad: Tokyo Marathon 2018
Muhaizar, in his
first attempt at an overseas marathon also performed admirably despite not
being able to travel early to Tokyo to acclimatise and having to run in close
to freezing temperatures for the first time in his life. The Armed Forces
personnel also bettered his own previous best of 2:31:52 which was posted at
the KL S.E.A. Games 2017 and which earned him Malaysia’s first medal in the
Marathon for over 44 years. Muhaizar finished the Tokyo Marathon in 2:27:21,
which was also faster than the previous national record.
Nik Fakaruddin: Tokyo Marathon 2018 (in the middle - blue)
Nik Fakaruddin, Muhaizar’s
colleague in the Armed Forces and training partner, also smashed his previous
personal best by almost 10 minutes to post 2:31:01 in his first attempt at an
overseas marathon. Ow, who finished in third place behind Muhaizar and Leo at
SCKLM2017, could also spring a surprise as his preparation for SCKLM2018 would
have been unhindered as compared to the other three runners who ran in the
Tokyo Marathon just a few weeks ago. All four runners are in with a shout of
claiming victory at SCKLM2018 and the running community will be eagerly waiting
to see who emerges as the 2018 Malaysian Men’s Full Marathon champion.
“In fact, all top 10
finishers of the Malaysian Men’s Full Marathon category at SCKLM2017 will be
back this year” said Rainer Biemans, Director of Dirigo Events and Project
Director of SCKLM 2018. “I’m really happy that the fastest marathon runners in
Malaysia all look to participate and perform well in SCKLM to see who is the
best in Malaysia. The level of quality that we have locally is showing signs of
advancement with Muhaizar and Leo’s rivalry in particular creating great
interest and encouragement among local runners,” he added.
A couple of other
categories at SCKLM2018 will also be generating a lot of interest come Race
Day. The Men’s Full Marathon Open category is also expected to see stiff
competition between five-time consecutive SCKLM champion Kennedy KiprooLilan
and the person who upstaged him last year to win, Cosmas MatoloMuteti. Both
will be back this year and Kennedy will be eager to reclaim his title from
Cosmas.
The Malaysian Women’s
Full Marathon category will also see a challenger to perennial champion and
national record holder Yuan Yufang. Annie Yee, another Malaysian who performed
well at the Tokyo Marathon by posting a personal best of 3:15:00 is expected to
give multiple winner Yufang a run for her money this time around and a new
champion might yet be crowned this year. Loh Chooi Fern, who finished second
behind Yufang in 2017 will also be running this year and hoping to do one
better at SCKLM2018. And finally, all eyes will be on the Malaysian Women’s
Half Marathon category, where Sheela Samivellu, two-time SCKLM winner and
national record holder, will be gunning to see if she can better her own mark
of 1:24:44, previously set at SCKLM2016.
“We’re expecting a
really competitive SCKLM2018 with a few categories expected to see strong
competition between the top contenders, which bodes well for the continued
success and relevance of SCKLM,” said Rainer. “It is heartening to note that
these runners want to take part in SCKLM because they want to compete against
the best, and on a fully certified course. On our part, we will do our best to
create the best conditions possible for such contests to take place,” he
continued.
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 201810th
Anniversary edition will be the largest yet with more than 38,000 runners
taking part, and will once again see sponsorship from Title Sponsor Standard
Chartered Bank Malaysia, along with Brooks, Lucozade, Seiko and Pacific
Regency.
For more information and updates on SCKLM, please
visit:
