STANDARD CHARTERED KL MARATHON 2017 UPDATE

Sharing Event Info provided by and on behalf of Dirigo Events S/B.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

THE HEAT IS ON AT THE STANDARD CHARTERED KL MARATHON 2017

Top Malaysian marathoners competing for title and potential spot at SEA Games

KUALA LUMPUR, April 2017: The Standard Chartered KL Marathon (SCKLM) 2017 is gearing up to be a highly competitive race, particularly in the Malaysian Men’s category, as the top Malaysian marathon runners will be competing for honours as well as hoping to catch the attention of the selectors of the KL SEA Games squad.

Last year’s Full Marathon winner in the Malaysian category was Muhaizar Mohamad with a time of 2:39:24, followed by Mohd Jironi Riduan in second place with a time of 2:39:56 and Tan Huong Leong in third recording a time of 2:41:53. Not only are all three runners back for SCKLM 2017, but their contest will be given an added edge because of the SEA Games in KL later this year. Tan in particular, has been recording really fast times recently with a 2:35:24 at the Taipei Marathon in December and 2:28:19 in the recently concluded Tokyo Marathon, which is one of the fastest times recorded by a Malaysian for the full marathon.

“We are really looking forward to a hotly contested SCKLM 2017, especially in the Malaysian Men’s Full Marathon Category,” said Rainer Biemans, Director of Dirigo Events and Project Director of SCKLM 2017. “This augurs well for our event as one of our key objectives has been to raise the competitive level of the SCKLM. And as the selection for the SEA Games is only finalised in July, these runners will be eager to push hard to try to earn selection,” he added.

Defending Malaysian Men’s champion Muhaizar Mohamad knows that SCKLM 2017 is potentially his best bet to get into the national team for the KL SEA Games 2017. Muhaizar has dominated the Malaysian Men’s category for the Full Marathon the last couple of years. The Armed Forces personnel largely trains on his own but a short stint under Mark Williams, the Official Running Coach that runs SCKLM’s Running Clinics, enabled him to achieve his personal best at last year’s SCKLM. “I don’t have a personal coach so it’s going to be tough for me to post faster times. I realised how much a coach could help me when I trained under Mark Williams. The plan he devised is what helped me to achieve my fastest time so far at last year’s SCKLM,” said Muhaizar. “But as the SEA Games is on home soil this year, I will be going all out in SCKLM 2017 to hopefully beat my personal best and qualify for the Games,” he added.

Jironi on the other hand needs to better his personal best considerably if he wants to make the cut. His personal best of 2’39:58 is currently well outside the national qualifying mark of 2’35:04 for the SEA Games but the school coach is determined to beat his personal best at SCKLM 2017. “I know my timing is still below the qualifying mark but I am focused on delivering a better time at SCKLM 2017 and hopefully that puts me in contention for a SEA Games race slot,” said Jironi.

Tan, 29, could be the man to watch as his current personal best is well within the qualifying mark. He has been training in Taiwan, where he works as an engineer, under professional Taiwanese distance running coach Lim Chen Ming for the last two years and the results are beginning to speak for themselves. His timing at the last Standard Chartered KL Marathon has been shaved by almost 13 minutes albeit in much more temperate conditions in Tokyo compared to Kuala Lumpur. It will certainly be interesting to see how fast he can go in the sweltering conditions here.

“I’m really looking forward to SKLM 2017. While I’m not setting any particular goals for this event, I still want to do my best for this run and hopefully my name is in the list for the SEA Games come July,” said Tan. 

Another Malaysian to look out for in SCKLM 2017 is current national record holder of the Half Marathon Malaysian Women’s category Sheela Samivellu. Sheela smashed her own previous record at SCKLM 2016 and will be gunning to clinch a spot in the SEA Games through a strong showing in this year’s SCKLM. The Principal Assistant Director with the Ministry of Well-Being, Housing and Local Government started running from an early age and has participated in the SEA Games several times before. “I started running when I was five and the journey continues. What started as a means to be happy and to reduce stress has become something more serious now. Breaking the national record at SCKLM2016 was the proudest moment in my career so far and I hope I can finish just as strongly this year as that would put me in a good position for the SEA Games in August,” said Sheela.

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 2017 edition of the race will once again see sponsorship from Title Sponsor Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia, along with Honda Malaysia, Brooks, Lucozade, Seiko and Pacific Regency.

Elite runners will be competing to earn a slice of the almost RM500,000 in total that is on offer at the Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2017,which include bonus prizes for record breaking course times. 

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About the Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2017

Back for the ninth year, the Standard Chartered KL Marathon is scheduled to take place on Sunday, 21 May 2017. The marathon, owned and organised by Dirigo Events, will open to 35,000 participants, ranging from elite athletes to first-time distance runners. A truly international event, the Standard Chartered KL Marathon boasts participants from all over Malaysia and over 70 countries. The Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2017 continues as Malaysia’s premier running event with top runners competing for a total of USD 125,000 in prize money.

For more information on the Standard Chartered Kuala Lumpur Marathon, please log onto:  http://www.kl-marathon.com/ and http://www.facebook.com/SCKLmarathon.

About Standard Chartered

We are a leading international banking group, with around 84,000 employees and a 150-year history in some of the world’s most dynamic markets. We bank the people and companies driving investment, trade and the creation of wealth across Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Our heritage and values are expressed in our brand promise, Here for good. Standard Chartered PLC is listed on the London and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges as well as the Bombay and National Stock Exchanges in India. For more information please visit http://www.sc.com. Explore our insights and comment on our blog, BeyondBorders. Follow Standard Chartered on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

About Standard Chartered in Malaysia

Standard Chartered Bank, a member of the Standard Chartered Group was established in Malaysia in 1875 and incorporated as Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Berhad in 1984. As Malaysia’s first bank, Standard Chartered leads the way through product innovation, consistent and strong growth performance and sustainability initiatives. The Bank provides a comprehensive range of financial products and services to corporates, institutions, small and medium-sized enterprises and individuals through its network of branches across Malaysia.

In 2001, Standard Chartered UK established its third global technology & operations centre, Standard Chartered Global Business Services Sdn Bhd (formerly known as Scope International (M) Sdn Bhd) in Malaysia – the first international bank to do so in the country. Standard Chartered Global Business Services provides software development, banking operations, IT support services and customer service capabilities to the Bank in up to 70 countries. It now houses the biggest software development company in the country, International Software Centre Malaysia (ISCM) and has a total workforce of more than 4,300 people. Price Solutions Sdn Bhd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Standard Chartered Bank UK is also located in Malaysia. The company promotes and markets Standard Chartered’s financial products in Malaysia through a network of direct sales agents. Standard Chartered Saadiq Berhad (Saadiq), Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia’s Islamic Banking subsidiary was established in November 2008. It offers a full suite of Syariah-compliant products and services to individuals and corporates through its dedicated branches. In 2012, Saadiq established Kuala Lumpur as its global hub for Islamic consumer banking.

Standard Chartered employs close to 7,000 employees in all its Malaysian operations.

About Dirigo Events

The Standard Chartered KL Marathon is owned by Dirigo Events Sdn. Bhd, an award-winning event management company founded in 2011 by Rainer Biemans and Gloria Ng. The event not only draws a large number of Malaysian runners, but attracts runners from more than 70 countries around the world. 

The Standard Chartered KL Marathon was awarded the Platinum award in the Kuala Lumpur Mayor’s Tourism award in 2014 for bringing tourists to Kuala Lumpur. The award is testimony to Rainer Biemans’ and Gloria Ng’s combined experience of over 48 years in executing and creating world-class and impactful events for international clients around the world such as Europe, Brunei, India and Singapore.

For more information on Dirigo Events, please contact +603 7887 1717 or email dirigo@dirigo.com.my

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