8 New Things You Need To Know About The Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2016

This year marks Standard Chartered KL Marathon’s (SCKLM) eighth installation and will take place on Sunday, 7 August at Dataran Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur. We are the few lucky ones who got invited sharing session over coffee with SCKLM race director, Rainer Biemans of Dirigo Events this morning.

This year, a series of exciting initiatives will be introduced to ensure better runner's experience. Let's check 'em out!



1. Staggered Registration System

To prevent servers from crashing and other hair-pulling frustrations over the internet, the online registration will be opened in a few stages, with priority given to the last year's marathon participants and charity runners. Registration is scheduled to open on 15 March 2016. Read the full press release HERE.



2. Full marathon cut off time extended to 7 hours

SCKLM is being very generous this year and gives you an extra full hour for you to finish the race. Unless you don't train for it, it is impossible for you to take more than 7 hours to complete the 42km. You can even have time to dance, bop-skip-doodle, shashay, cart-wheel or do the nae-nae to the finish line.


3. Go hard or go home check point system

Having a extra hour for you to complete the marathon doesn't mean that you can take your own sweet time on the course. You still need to reach the designated checkpoints within the stipulated time or risk being shuttled back to Dataran Merdeka. The late comers will have their bibs marked and the finisher entitlement like medal and t-shirt revoked. For safety reasons, the late comers will not be permitted to continue.

So, commit to a training schedule, pile on the mileage and run like a pro on race day. There is no short cut to success. You don't just roll out of bed one day and decide to run a marathon. Train for it. Don't say we didn't warn ya!



4. Finisher Medal for 5km

If you want a finisher medal but you do not want to train like a lunatic, this category is for you! Perfect for newbies to running. You start with 5km first, slowly progress to 10km, and then 21km before you decide to do a 42km. Learn to crawl before you can walk.



5. Bye bye to MSIG

MSIG, the sponsor of 10km bids goodbye to SCKLM this year. So, now the 10km sponsorship spot is open for grab! Any taker? Standard Chartered and Honda remain as title sponsors for 42km and 21km respectively. And yes adidas will still be the official apparel sponsor this year.



6. Friendship Run & Pasta Party

What is a marathon without a carboloading session? This year SCKLM is offering a friendship run + pasta party combo for a fee on the eve of the race. Opened only to Full Marathon participants, the event aims to foster camaraderie amongst runners from around the world.

The Friendship Run will start from Dataran Merdeka, probably 5-7km along the KL Car Free Morning route. Participants will be given a bib for the run in the morning and access to pasta party later that evening at Dataran Merdeka. FYI, there will be no medal or finisher tee for the Friendship Run. Heheh!



7. Train with Ola Bola Coach, Harry Mountain!
OK. OK. Harry Mountain is new. But the person behind him is not. Coach Mark Williams, the official coach for SCKLM for the past few years will return to coach you in preparation for the race after his stunning movie debut in the local blockbuster Ola Bola.



8. Kids Running Clinic

Start them young. Who knows we have a mini version of Paula Radcliffe or World's marathon record holder - Dennis Kimetto in our backyard? There will be a series of running clinic for kids held to prepare them lil feet for the Kids Dash.

So, there. 8 new initiatives for the 8th installation of SCKLM. Hope you find this blog post useful.

For more updates about SCKLM, please visit http://www.kl-marathon.com/