As Standard Chartered KL Marathon welcomed its last runner across the finish line, many runners were already exchanging tales of strength, perseverance and motivation. Such was the scene at Dataran Merdeka where 35,000 runners took part across various categories.
Flagged off byTan Sri Datuk Mohd. Sheriff Mohd. Kassim, Chairman of Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia, Ajay Kanwal, Regional CEO ASEAN & South Asia of Standard Chartered Bank, and MahendraGursahani, Managing Director & CEO of Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia, at the break of dawn, the runners made their way through the city; absorbing the vista of Kuala Lumpur’s iconic landmarks such as the Kuala Lumpur City Centre, Parliament of Malaysia, the National Museum, Menara Standard Chartered and Dataran Merdeka which served as the race village.
The Marathon also sawKennedy KiprooLilan from Kenya defending his title for the fifth time in the Standard Chartered KL Marathon, and HirutBeyeneGuangul from Ethiopia crowned champion of the Full-Marathon Women’s Open category with the respective times of 02:18:57and 02:39:02.
The day was made even sweeter as Sheela A/P Samivellu set a new national record of 01:24:44[1], securing the first place in the Honda Half-Marathon Malaysian category.
Enjoying the victory, Kennedy said, “I am so happy to win the Standard Chartered KL Marathon again. It was a great race and everything went really well and I am very thankful for that.”
Expressing her joy, Hirut said, “It was a challenge from start to finish,but I enjoyed it a lot. Winning is always special and I am still buzzing from the excitement of crossing the finish line.”
Completing the top three in the Full Marathon Men’s Open category areTonuiKiprop from Kenya with a time of 02:18:59 and Luka KipkemoiChelimo from Kenya with 02:19:24. While in the Full Marathon Women’s Open category are Naomi JepkogeiMaiyo from Kenya with a time of 02:39:14 andElizabeth JeruiyotChemwenofrom Kenya with 02:41:09.
Malaysian Full Marathoners also put up a brave display withreturning champion, Muhaizar Mohamad winning the Full Marathon Malaysian Men’s title with the timing of02:39:23 and Yuan YuFangtaking the Malaysian Women’s category with a time of 03:19:04.[2]
At the press conference with the winners, Rainer Biemans, Director of Dirigo Events, Race owner and organiser of Standard Chartered KL Marathon, said, “As a race organiser, we are delighted with the outcome of the race. We are humbled by the support shown by the runners today and inspired by their endurance and spirit in taking on the challenges. We look forward to continue to make Standard Chartered KL Marathon the premier race in Malaysia.”
Making the race a true platform for people to do extraordinary things were 60 visually impaired runners with their running buddies taking part in the 5 km Fun Run category,36 runners with autism together with their parents in the 3 km Kids Dash and over 300 Standard Chartered Bank staff running in red tutus across different categories.
Their participation in the race was supported by Standard Chartered Bank in their efforts to tackle avoidable blindness, raise awareness and educating the public on autism and HIV.
Under Standard Chartered KL Marathon’s “Run For A Reason” initiative, a total of RM444,848.00 was raised for the beneficiaries Standard Chartered Foundation, Hospis Malaysia, Yayasan Sejahtera and IJN Foundation. The funds were raised collectively by approximately 364 runners and Corporate Challenge participantswho also did their part in raising awareness towards the beneficiaries they selected.
Managing Director and CEO of Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia, MahendraGursahani, said, “Standard Chartered Bank is proud to provide a platform for people from all walks of life to accomplish extraordinary goals. These acts are a brilliant demonstration of what personal empowerment can do for the human spirit. We salute all runners that took part in the marathon, and we thank them all for the great support shown.”
Completing the race experience over the weekend, the event organiser and owner, Dirigo Events held a Friendship Run and Pasta Party before race day to foster a sense of camaraderie and fellowship amongst runners from around the world.
This year’s edition of the race also marked the first time Standard Chartered KL Marathon implementing a new checkpoint system commonly practised in international marathons. The purpose behind this was to ensure the safety of the runners and that the roads were handed in a systematic manner. Other changes included an extended seven-hour cut-off time.
Both moves were welcomed by the relevant authorities as Standard Chartered KL Marathon looks to achieving higher international standards from a sporting and organising perspective.A total of 5,595 runners finished the Full Marathon within seven hours, 8,160 finished the Honda Half Marathon within 3.5 hours and 12,804 finished the 10KM, 2,400 finished the 5KM and 750 kids completed the Kids Dash categories.
The Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2016is made possible by title sponsor Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia, along with event owner and organiser, Dirigo Events Sdn. Bhd. and co-organiser Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur.
Supporting the Standard Chartered KL Marathon2016, are Gold Sponsor, Honda Malaysia; and official partners Seiko, 100 Plus, adidas and Pacific Regency Hotel Group.
Standard Chartered KL Marathon is sanctioned and supported by 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).
Winners of the Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2016
Full Marathon Men’s Open
Position | Name | Country | Time |
1st | Kennedy KiprooLilan | KEN | 2:18:57 |
2nd | TonuiKiprop | KEN | 2:18:59 |
3rd | Luka KipkemoiChelimo | KEN | 2:19:24 |
Full Marathon Women’s Open
Position | Name | Country | Time |
1st | HirutBeyeneGuangul | ETH | 2:39:02 |
2nd | Naomi JepkogeiMaiyo | KEN | 2:39:14 |
3rd | Elizabeth JeruiyotChemweno | KEN | 2:41:10 |
Full Marathon Malaysian Men
Position | Name | Country | Time |
1st | Muhaizar Mohamad | MAS | 2:39:25 |
2nd | Mohd. JironiRiduan | MAS | 2:39:57 |
3rd | Tan Huong Leong | MAS | 2:41:54 |
Full Marathon Malaysian Women
Position | Name | Country | Time |
1st | Yuan YuFang | MAS | 3:19:04 |
2nd | TahiraNajmunisaa Bt. Muhammad Zaid | MAS | 3:28:01 |
3rd | Melissa Lim Yi-Xin | MAS | 3:31:29 |
Full Marathon Veteran Men
Position | Name | Country | Time |
1st | Joseph MwangiNgare | KEN | 2:25:57 |
2nd | Jonah KipseremTarus | KEN | 2:38:04 |
3rd | Julius Kimtai Rotich | KEN | 2:45:29 |
Full Marathon Veteran Women
Position | Name | Country | Time |
1st | Margaret Njuguna | KEN | 3:04:01 |
2nd | Cochet | FRA | 3:25:19 |
3rd | Caroline NdutaNgugi | KEN | 3:29:19 |
Honda Half Marathon Men Open
Position | Name | Country | Time |
1st | Charles MunyuaNjoki | KEN | 1:07:44 |
2nd | Samson Kiplagat | KEN | 1:11:10 |
3rd | Samuel Muya | KEN | 1:12:12 |
Honda Half Marathon Women Open
Position | Name | Country | Time |
1st | Hannah WaberaGathingi | KEN | 1:22:20 |
2nd | Tabitha Wambui | KEN | 1:22:42 |
3rd | Sheela A/P Samivellu | MAS | 1:24:44 |
Honda Half Marathon Men Veteran
Position | Name | Country | Time |
1st | Nakamura Tsubasa | JPN | 1:25:13 |
2nd | Guianus Bin Salagan | MAS | 1:28:18 |
3rd | Chan Shan Ching | HKG | 1:28:53 |
Honda Half Marathon Women Veteran
Position | Name | Country | Time |
1st | Rachel Pepper | NZL | 1:44:59 |
2nd | SivabhaliniThevendiraraj | MAS | 1:45:03 |
3rd | Joanne Poh Leng Grange | MAS | 1:46:23 |
10km Speed Men Open
Position | Name | Country | Time |
1st | James Karanja | KEN | 0:33:32 |
2nd | Azwan Bin Bunjing | MAS | 0:35:48 |
3rd | Chew JeeKeng | SIN | 0:36:38 |
10km Speed Women Open
Position | Name | Country | Time |
1st | Mak Rainbow | CAN | 0:40:50 |
2nd | Danielle Nant | NZL | 0:41:46 |
3rd | Tan Sok Hue Sumiko | SIN | 0:45:20 |
10km Speed Men Veteran
Position | Name | Country | Time |
1st | Jeffrey Ross | GBR | 0:36:37 |
2nd | Lim Khon Seng | MAS | 0:37:38 |
3rd | Khoo Hua Seng | MAS | 0:41:22 |
10km Speed Women Veteran
Position | Name | Country | Time |
1st | Tan Pei Leng | MAS | 0:49:13 |
2nd | Lorna Wong | MAS | 0:49:27 |
3rd | Leong Poh Yeng | MAS | 0:51:45 |
Corporate Challenge
Position | Name | Time |
1st | Turner International Malaysia Sdn Bhd | 2:48:33 |
2nd | IDC Market Research (M) Sdn Bhd | 3:07:56 |
3rd | Valuecap Sdn Bhd | 3:29:20 |
Ministries Challenge
Position | Name | Time |
1st | JabatanPenyiaran Malaysia | 2:31:25 |
2nd | Department of Irrigation and Drainage | 2:34:43 |
3rd | JabatanPerangkaan Malaysia | 2:37:32 |
Universities Challenge
Position | Name | Time |
1st | UniversitiPertahanan Nasional Malaysia | 2:06:26 |
2nd | Taylor’s College Sri Hartamas | 2:38:13 |
3rd | Universiti Tenaga Nasional | 2:46:46 |
[1]Subjected to Malaysia Athletic Federation (MAF) endorsement
[2]For full list of winners, please refer to end of press release