Four-way fight for Marathon crown at the KLSCM 2023

The 15th edition of Kuala Lumpur StanChart Marathon (KLSCM) will see a heated contest between four of Malaysia’s top distance athletes in the Men’s Full Marathon category.

Defending champion Poo Vasanthan will be pressed to cling onto his title but will face stiff competition from five time KLSCM champion Muhaizar Mohamad, national marathon record holder Leo Tan and national half marathon record holder Prabudass Krishnan who will be making his debut in the marathon this year.

Poo Vasanthan. Photo credit: KLSCM

A tough and intense race ahead

The full marathon route for this year will be similar to last year’s event – meaning a flatter course that allows for faster finishing times.

Photo credit: KLSCM

Said Poo, “I expect a tough race against these more established runners and I need to make sure that I follow my race strategy down to the last detail.”

Dirigo Events, the owner and organiser of KLSCM, is thrilled that these four top runners are competing against each other for the first time.

Says Rainer Biemans, Project Director of KLSCM and Director of Dirigo Events, “We are anticipating an intense battle between these runners. Two of them have won the category before and the other two are national record holders. I think it will come down to the conditions on the day and how well each of them executes their game plan.”

More than 40,000 runners to take to the streets of KL

The KLSCM will see over 40,000 participants taking to Dataran Merdeka this weekend to take part in the iconic event. This is the only race in Malaysia recognised by governing body World Athletics with a Road Race Label.

Sustainability

This year also sees KLSCM begin their sustainability journey and a number of measures are being introduced to make the event more environmental.

Said Rainer, “We are excited to be embarking on this journey towards sustainability. In order for us to operate in the long term, we have a duty to ensure that our event mitigates our carbon footprint to preserve the environment.”

Title sponsors Standard Chartered Malaysia are also believers in making KLSCM an eco-friendly race to effect positive societal change.

One of the key measures that are being introduced is the reduction in the use of paper cups as all water stations will have refillable options and runners are being encouraged to bring their own cups or bottles to refill as they run.

To promote this, KLSCM have been selling collectibles in the form of lightweight collapsible cups and bottles for runners to buy and use on race day. The organiser also plan to compost the 3.5 tonnes of organic waste from the fruits that are given out to runners during and after the race.

Choosing apparel partner Pressio was also a decision with sustainability in mind because Pressio are a champion of sustainability, as all the garments they produce have been created with sustainable materials and technology including recycled yarns, non-dying and biodegrading, and complete with traceability.

In fact, 90% of Pressio garments are produced in a solar-powered high-tech factory in Johor. As well, KLSCM also will eliminate single-use plastics in the production of their running bibs and medals and are providing free public transport for participants to get to the race to eliminate greenhouse gases from private cars.

Kids Dash and Golden Bibs

The Kids Dash is also returning this year, after being excluded from last year’s race due to health and safety issues. There will be a 1km and 2km Kids Dash and children will take centre stage on Saturday running a looped circuit around Dataran Merdeka.

As well, 44 special KLSCM participants who have completed Full Marathons in 10 prior editions of KLSCM will also have the honour of being bestowed Golden Bibs and also have special privileges granted to them, such as VIP access to the Standard Chartered Hospitality marquee and express lanes for the race entry pack collection. This is also to celebrate the 15th year of KLSCM.