Kenyans conquer Standard Chartered KL Marathon

CLOSE to 36,000 runners converged on Dataran Merdeka to take part in the 9th edition of the Standard Chartered KL Marathon today.
It was a clean sweep by the Kenyan runners in the full marathon men's open category. Cosmas Matolo Muteti came in first, followed by five time champion Kennedy Kiproo Lilan and Tonui Kiprop.
In the women's open category, Kenyan's Elizabeth Chepkanan and Vikoti Chepkemoi came in first and second respectively while Zeritu Begashaw Wakijira from Ethiopia had to settle for third.
The full marathon Malaysian Men's category saw a close battle between defending champion Muhaizar Mohamad and Leo Tan Huong Leong. Muhaizar won this year's race with an improved time and personal best of 2:35:55. Leo came second in a time of 2:38:06 and Ow Yong Jin Kuang came in third in 2:43:45.
Yuan Yufang crossed the finished line in a time of 3:23:00 in the full marathon Malaysian women's category. Loh Chooi Fern clocked 3:25:55 to come in second and Chua Khit Yeng got third place in a time of 3:33:46.
Cosmas was delighted that he not only won the title but recorded a personal best while fighting off multiple winner Kennedy.
"I was running against strong opponents but I kept to my game plan and really enjoyed the run through some great scenery," he said.
Muhaizar was also thrilled to have retained his title, especially after the tough competition with Leo.
"It was a hard race but I'm very happy to have defended my title and even happier to record another personal best at the Standard Chartered KL Marathon," he said.
Rainer Biemans, project director of SCKLM and director of Dirigo Events, added: "We are extremely pleased to have pulled off SCKLM 2017 without any major hiccups and we hope that all our runners had a memorable run and a great experience overall.
"It is gratifying to receive such support from the local and international running fraternity and we are committed to continually improve on all aspects of this event and look forward to welcoming all of you for our 10th anniversary in 2018."
Mahendra Gursahani, managing director and chief executive officer of Standard Chartered Bank said: "As title sponsor, we are delighted to be able to play a part in empowering people from all walks of life to make a difference through this amazing event. There are inspiring stories everywhere today and this is a testament to the power of the marathon."
This was exemplified by more than 30 visually impaired runners who took part in the 5km "Fun Run", along with volunteer "running buddies" from Standard Chartered Bank, 20 autistic children from Permata Kurnia and over 100 underprivileged kids from Sivanandha Home and Care2run who participated in the race across various categories.
Standard Chartered KL Marathon's "Run For A Reason" charity initiative remains an integral part of the event, channelling funds raised to deserving charities that assist underprivileged communities and those in dire need.
This year the participating beneficiaries were the Standard Chartered Foundation, National Cancer Society of Malaysia, Dignity for Children Foundation and Hospis Malaysia.