Kuala Lumpur’s most iconic long distance running event
has a new route for the second time in six years
For the second time in six years, the Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2014 will have a new route to test runners’ endurance and skills on more elevated roads.
Scheduled to be held on Oct 12, participants will start and finish as usual at Dataran Merdeka. However, the new route will take them along the Duta-Ulu Klang Highway and the Ampang Elevated Highway instead of the previous years when they ran mainly on city roads.
With the anticipated increase in the number of participants this year, the new route will be an added impetus to participate in the event, apart from helping it to stay ahead of the growing number of marathon events in Malaysia.
Rainer Biemans, Director of Dirigo Events, event owner and organiser of the Standard Chartered KL Marathon, said there were several considerations when designing the new route.
“Our first consideration is always the safety of our runners. When designing the routes, we looked into various ways of leading runners onto roads that presented the least traffic hazards.”
“We also look into providing our runners with the best experience and therefore aimed at maintaining as much of the scenic landmarks such as the Kuala Lumpur Twin Towers, KTMB Station Kuala Lumpur, the National Monument and the Kuala Lumpur High Court to name a few.”
“Running on elevated highways means that runners get to enjoy the rare experience of a bird’s eye view of the city skyline plus traffic is more manageable and we are optimistic that the runners will enjoy the experience,” he said.
He also said special attention was paid to the Jalan Raja Laut and Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman turns, so collisions and congestion between Full Marathon and Half Marathon runners returning and 10km, 5km runners heading to their start points could be avoided this year.
Being the sixth edition and one of the longest-running marathons in the country, the new route is also believed to help further increase the number of participants.
“We have grown from 33,800 last year to 35,200 as of Sept 1, 2014 and we are confident the new route with the highways, will be able to take on that number during the event.
“As the event organiser, our efforts have always been channelled towards making the race better and for our runners to constantly experience something new. I believe we have achieved this once again with the new route,” Biemans said.
Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia’s Managing Director and CEO, Osman Morad, said the new route will be challenging, but he believed the Standard Chartered KL Marathon runners are Committed, Confident, Courageous, and they are up to the challenge.
“I hope this will be an exciting run, one that will stretch the participants in achieving their goals. I wish them a fun and safe experience!”
Numerous precautionary measures have been taken to ensure the runners’ safety on Race Day. These include:
- Engagement of 400 traffic police and DBKL enforcement officers to ensure a traffic-free running route and pre-race road closures
- Public conveniences such as 350 toilets, surau facilities and 28 water stations on the route as well as Dataran Merdeka
- 450 medical personnel both on the route as well as Dataran Merdeka
- 350 race officials both on the route as well as the start and finish areas
- Public transportation services from as early as 3am
For more information on the Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2014’s new route, please visit www.kl-marathon.com or call +603 7886 1717.
