THE Penang Bridge International Marathon this year attracted a total of 26,000 participants under three categories – 42 km Full Marathon, 21km Half Marathon and 10km run.
A total of RM259,200 attractive cash prizes are up for grabs for the top 10 winners of each category.
Despite the rainy weather today, the Penang Bridge International Marathon (PBIM) 2018 was well run as many participants exhibited great enthusiasm and high spirits in completing the full and half marathons.
After the full marathon was fired off at 1.30am and the half marathon at 3am, the organisers were forced to cancel the 10km event, which was scheduled to start at 6.30am, when the weather turned bad, with lightning and thunderstorms occurring then.
Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the organising committee felt sad they had to cancel the 10km event and hoped that the runners would come back next year.
“On behalf of the state government, I want to express our appreciation for your understanding that the 10km run had to be cancelled due to weather conditions,” Chow said in his speech before the prize-giving ceremony at the car park area near Queensbay Mall.
“And I hope this decision will not dampen our spirit for a healthy lifestyle. Let us continue to be active throughout the year and let us meet again in 2019 for another exciting Penang Bridge International Marathon.
“The state government has long been an advocate of healthy living, and the Penang Bridge International Marathon reflects the state’s motto “Safer, Cleaner, Greener and Healthier Penang.”
“I believe the PBIM has popularised long distance running as a fun and accessible sports for both amateur and professional runners in Penang and the region.
“Long distance running is not merely a sport but also a test of patience and perseverance. American marathon runner John Bingham famously quoted “The miracle isn’t that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.”
This year’s Penang Bridge International Marathon attracted over 26,000 participants with 5,700 for the full marathon, 8,500 for the half marathon and 12,000 for the 10km.
Chow also thanked the runners from 65 countries, sponsors, volunteers and PLUS for another successful event.
He expressed hopes that the new organising committee would continue PBIM’s reputable legacy and take the Penang Bridge International Marathon to greater heights.
Also present at the prize-giving ceremony were the Yang diPertua Negri Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas, Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia Muhammad Bakhtiar Wan Chik, PBIM organising chairman Yeoh Soon Hin, PLUS managing director Datuk Azman Ismail, Penang Amateur Athletics Association president Datuk Syed Mohd Aidid Syed Murtaza, and state exco members Phee Boon Poh and Datuk Abdul Halim Hussain.
Yeoh, who is also the state Tourism Development, Heritage, Culture and Arts Committee chairman, said it was unfortunate the 10km event had to be called off due to lightning and thunderstorms.
“We’re more concerned with the safety of the participants and do not want any untoward incidents,” Yeoh told reporters.
“This is the first time in the history of the Penang Bridge International Marathon that we had to cancel an event. We could not delay the event because the Penang Bridge needs to be reopened by 10am.
“With a heavy heart we had to cancel it although I know the many of the runners were eager to take part. This year, the Putrajaya night marathon was also cancelled due to bad weather.”
Story by K.H. Ong & Victor Seow
Pix by Alissala Thian
Video by Darwina Mohd Daud