Prabudass and Haziq clinch Malaysian Men’s Open titles as SCORE Marathon 2026 sets a record with over 50,000 participants
PUTRAJAYA: National long distance runners K. Prabudass and Muhammad Haziq Hamzah reaffirmed their status as local aces when they dominated the Malaysian Men’s Open category at the 2026 SCORE Marathon by AIA Vitality at Dataran Putrajaya here today.
Prabudass, the national half-marathon record holder, proved to be in a class of his own when he won the 21-kilometre (km) half-marathon in one hour, 13 minutes and four seconds (s).
Despite having competed in another race just two weeks ago, the 36-year-old managed to hang on for victory, leaving G. Vimal (1:13:58s) and Lai Yi Hng (1:14:57s) to finish second and third, respectively.
Prabudass admitted that age and fatigue meant he had to better manage his running pace, but he was satisfied to maintain his winning form on a route he considers one of the best in Malaysia.
“I came here to be part of the history of the record 50,000 participants and am happy to be able to run again with old friends.
“As for the national record, I will first assess my training level. If my performance is encouraging, I will attempt to break it again overseas,” he told reporters here.
Prabudass, who holds the national record of 1:06:53s, said his achievements over the years were often accomplished without a specific training block, as he preferred to adapt to the race conditions and give his best on competition day.
In the 42km full-marathon category, Haziq emerged as the top Malaysian runner when he clocked 2:44:45s, with Lim Kok Leong (2:48:53s) and Mohamad Amirul Arif Mohd Azri (2:49:33s) coming in second and third, respectively.
Haziq, who had just returned home from a run in Gold Coast, Australia, admitted that the hilly route in Putrajaya and hot weather posed tough physical challenges, but considers himself fortunate as he did not have to push too hard due to the absence of many elite runners this time.
“Alhamdullilah, for this victory. My focus after this is to prepare for the Kuala Lumpur Standard Chartered Marathon (KLSCM),” he said.
Meanwhile, SCORE Sports Management chief executive officer Patricia Tan said that she was proud that this year’s edition was officially recognised by the Malaysia Book of Records (MBOR) as the “Largest Running Event in Malaysia”.
The recognition was achieved after the event, which began in 2014, attracted 51,077 participants over two days, with the 5km and 10km categories held yesterday, followed by the 21km and 42km categories today.
Patricia said the focus this time was to enhance participants’ experience through the ‘Double Challenge’ concept as well as various exciting activities at the event venue to celebrate the running community.
“Since 2014, we have continuously worked to raise the standard of our events. This year, a larger portion of our budget was allocated towards providing added value for participants, and we aim to attract more international runners in the future to boost the country’s sports tourism sector,” she added.
