THE 10km run, which was cancelled in last year’s Penang Bridge International Marathon (PBIM) due to bad weather, will be held for the last time in this year’s edition on Nov 24.
State Tourism Development, Heritage, Culture and Arts Committee chairman Yeoh Soon Hin said the PBIM committee has decided to do away with the 10km run next year in order to deliver quality instead of quantity.
“We want to ensure a more competitive running environment for runners,” Yeoh told a press conference in Komtar today.
“We are targeting 33,000 local and foreign runners this year. We have three categories, namely the full marathon (42km), half marathon (21km) and 10km.”
The run, which is one of the largest mass-participation sports, usually draws thousands out onto the streets. The route also covers the iconic Penang Bridge.
There are four stages of registration for the run, which is organised by Penang State Tourism Development office.
The first stage, starting from March 1 until March 31, is for early birds, followed by Stage 1 (April 1 to May 31), Stage 2 (June 1 to July 31 and late birds (August 1 to 15).
Upon reaching 6,500 entries, the registration for the early birds will be closed. It will proceed to the subsequent stages, with Stage 1 expecting to draw 20,000 and Stage 2 and late birds expecting to draw 6,500.
Yeoh said Brooks has agreed to be the official apparel again. All runners who have completed the race in a given time would get finishing T-shirts.
For registration, visit PBIM official website at www.penangmarathon.gov.my. For enquiry, email to [email protected].
Story by K. Thaarshenii
Pix by Ahmad Adil Mohamad