KANGAR: THIS year’s Perlis Marathon received an enthusiastic response, with 7,653 participants from 17 countries, including Egypt, Jordan, Mozambique, Singapore and Japan.
It was almost twice the number of people registering for the inaugural event last year, which saw 4,018 participants. The youngest participant this year was 8-years-old, while the oldest was 80.
This time around, besides the half marathon (21km), 10km and 5km categories, the state government, together with the co-organisers, Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA) and UEM Group Bhd, introduced a full marathon (42km) category.
The majority of the participants, 5,342 of them, signed up for the 5km category, followed by the 10km category (986), while 877 people registered for the half marathon. The remaining participants took part in the full marathon.
Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Azlan Man flagged-off the full marathon at 12am yesterday, followed by the half marathon category half an hour later, while the 5km and 10km categories were flagged off by Raja Muda Perlis Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra Jamalullail at 7.20am and 7.30am at Tuanku Syed Putra Sports Complex here.
Raja Puan Muda Perlis Tuanku Lailatul Shahreen Akashah Khalil and her daughter Sharifah Farah Adriana Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra Jamalullail also graced the event and participated in the 5km run.
There were celebrities spotted at the event, such as actress Rita Rudaini and Olympian walker Yuan Yufang, who won the 42km women veteran category and took home US$3,000 (RM12,274) in winnings.
This year’s marathon was all the more special as it coincided with the 73rd birthday celebrations of Raja Perlis Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Putra Jamalullail. The celebration was held on the last night of “Malam Kilauan Cahaya”, where the Arau Palace was opened to the public from 9pm to 11pm for five days over the past two weeks.
Azlan lauded the co-organisers, government agencies as well as the main sponsor, Naza Group of Companies, for making this year’s event a success.
NCIA chief executive Datuk Redza Rafiq said the agency had targeted international participants as well as students and local communities to take part in this year’s event.
Besides promoting a healthy lifestyle, he said the Perlis Marathon was about positioning the state on the tourism map, with sports as a catalyst.
“Perlis Marathon is about creating an event of a certain standing in Perlis, creating an event that can eventually become an international event.
“This is what the Perlis menteri besar has in mind. It was his idea and vision to turn this into something similar to the Boston Marathon.
“You will see more of this happening in Perlis. You will see the participation numbers increasing and we are going to keep up this momentum. NCIA’s involvement is as the regional enabler, and we are aiming to put Perlis on the map through sports tourism,” he said.
Redza said the event also served as a platform to promote the development of Chuping Valley, an initiative that will change Perlis’s economy.
Later at 9am, Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin presented the cash prizes and medals to the winners.
Kennedy Kiproo emerged champion of the full marathon (men’s international) category and won US$6,000, while Muhaizar Mohamad won the full marathon open (Malaysia) and bagged US$3,000.
The top winners for the other categories were Rose Chekurui Kosgei (42km women international), Loh Chooi Fern (42km women open Malaysia), A. Vadiveelu (42km men veteran), K. Prabudass (21km men open Malaysia), S. Sheela (21km women open Malaysia), Soh Wai Ching (10km men open Malaysia), D. Pavithra (10km women open Malaysia), Muhammad Izuddin Rujaizat (5km men open Malaysia), Mahasa Nyan (5km women open Malaysia), J. Prethibkumar (10km junior boys), A. Manissha (10km junior girls), Muhammad Qawiem Rosli (5km junior boys) and Siti Nurain Asri (5km junior girls).
The 29-year-old Kennedy from Kenya said he had been taking part in marathons around the world, but this was his first in Perlis.
As a marathoner, he signed up for the Perlis Marathon as soon as he learnt about it from a Facebook page.
The Kenyan, who finished the 42km run in 2 hours 19 minutes, attributed his victory to his daily 30km training, a similar climate to his hometown and years of experience in marathon running..
“I really enjoyed this marathon, which to me was unique as we were able to explore almost half of the state with its scenic environment and mesmerising view of its palace,” he said.
