More than 38,000 runners descended on Dataran Merdeka to take part in and celebrate the 10 th Anniversary of the Standard Chartered KL Marathon (SCKLM) today. SCKLM has firmly cemented its position as the premier running event in Malaysia and its popularity continues to grow, as evidenced by its race slots selling out in a day when public registrations opened.

The continuous efforts to make the marathon more competitive have been embraced by runners who signed up in unprecedented numbers for the Full Marathon, with over 10,000 signing up. There were also over 1,800 running tourists from 70 countries and 79 nationalities involved, making SCKLM a truly international event.

The Full Marathon Malaysian Men’s category lived up to its pre-race billing as a hotly contested affair as Muhaizar Mohamed, Leo Tan Huong Leong and Nik Fakaruddin were neck-to-neck for a large portion of the race. Muhaizar reaffirmed his superiority on home soil when he won his fourth consecutive title in a time of 2:37:04. Nik Fakaruddin finished second in 2:37:26 while Leo Tan came in third in a time of 2:38:48.

The Full Marathon Malaysian Women’s category saw a brand new winner this year when Loh Chooi Fern won in a time of 3:18:44 while Yap Yee Ling clocked 3:30:13 to come in second and Yee Pei Ni got third place in a time of 03:32:26.

Muhaizar was also thrilled to have retained his title, especially after the intense competition with Nik Fakaruddin and Leo Tan.

“It was a tough race especially as all three of us recently competed in the Tokyo marathon which has affected our preparations for the Standard Chartered KL Marathon. Still, I’m very happy to have won the 10th Anniversary edition and my fourth title,” said Muhaizar.

Cosmas Matolo Muteti, from Kenya won the Full Marathon Men’s Open category for the second year running, successfully defending his title in a time of 2:16:47 to take home USD17,500 while the Full Marathon Women’s Open category was won by Elizabeth Chepkanan Rumokol from Kenya in a time of 2:38:48 also earning USD17,500 in the process.

Kiprop Tonui from Kenya came in second in the Full Marathon Men’s Open with a time of 2:17:13 while Kennedy Kiproo Lilan from Kenya finished third in a time of 2:18:44. In the Full Marathon Women’s Open, Nancy Joan Rotich from Kenya took second place in a time of 2:58:25 and Susan Merrie Swier from USA had to settle for third place with a time of 3:29:53.

Rainer Biemans, Project Director of SCKLM and Director of Dirigo Events, said:

“It has been an amazing couple of days at SCKLM2018 and we couldn’t be happier with the turn-out, which has been our biggest yet, befitting our 10th Anniversary celebrations.”

The community element of the event is symbolised by SCKLM’s charity programme called Run For A Reason (RFAR), which aims to raise funds for deserving charities that assist underprivileged communities and those in dire need. This year the participating beneficiaries are Seeing Is Believing, the National Cancer Society of Malaysia, Dignity for Children Foundation and Hospis Malaysia.

SCKLM’s 10th Anniversary celebrations also incorporated new routes for the Full and Half Marathons which took in more of KL’s iconic landmarks but remained as challenging as usual with its route undulations. The hilly stretch beginning from Km32 was especially gruelling for a lot of runners, who thankfully had SCKLM Pacers encouraging and motivating them all the way.

One of these Pacers was Kin K. Yum, a regular Pacer for SCKLM who ran his 100th marathon today.

“Today I’m truly ecstatic as looking back, I have covered approximately 4,518 kms spanning 26 countries in this running journey of mine,” said KK.

The award-winning SCKLM mobile App was also given a cool update that incorporated a new photo feature that enabled runners to download photos of them taken by strategic cameras along the routes. The Apps seamless social media connectivity then allowed runners to instantly post their memorable running moments on their preferred social media channels.

To commemorate SCKLM’s 10th Anniversary, the last finishers to approach the Finish Line were given a rousing end with confetti blasts and cheering spectators urging the runners home.

The 2018 and 10th Anniversary edition of the race once again saw Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia returning as title sponsor, along with a host of returning sponsors, including Seiko, Brooks, Lucozade and Pacific Regency. The event is owned and organised by Dirigo Events with co-organiser Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur. Standard Chartered KL Marathon is sanctioned and supported by the 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).