Malaysian marathon runners are forced to make tough decisions because a number of running events will be happening on the same day this October.
The clash came after Standard Chartered Malaysia made a surprise announcement on Monday (13th July) afternoon that their marathon had to be postponed due to the request of the Ministry of Youth and Sports to be aligned with the inaugural National Sports Day.
The official statement issued by Ministry of Youth and Sports reads:
Standard Chartered KL Marathon was originally scheduled to fall on 4th October but has now been postponed.
When asked whether they could shift the date again, the race organiser simply stated:
It is our hope that all of our participants will rally to support 10 October and the Marathon’s position as flagship event of National Sports Day. We do recognise that some participants simply will not be able to accommodate the date change therefore, we have developed some options for runners to make the transition as smooth as possible for participants
Many participants were upset and expressed their disappointments about this particular decision as most of them have already booked their flights and accommodations. The Ministry of Youth and Sports also made a blunder by shifting the SCKLM date because the first-ever Reebok Spartan Race is also set to be held on 10th October this year. Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin even launched the world-class obstacle race on 2nd July to mark the 100-day countdown to the eagerly-awaited National Sports Day.
Khairy said:
The Reebok Spartan Race will be one of the iconic events to anchor the National Sports Day. The race is expected to draw a whopping 15,000 participants.
He added, “It’s the global leader in the sport of obstacle racing and we’re happy that it will be hosted here for the first time in the South-East Asian region.”
Other running events that will also be happening on 10th October include Petzl Trail Night Run and The Music Run. It is unclear whether other race organisers will be shifting their event dates as none of them have updated their Facebook page regarding the SCKLM fiasco.
More to come as the story unfolds.
