SCB's half marathon returns

SOME 5,000 runners are expected to compete in the Standard Chartered Brunei Half Marathon 2012, scheduled for April 8.

Driven by the success of their 2010 and 2011 marathon, Standard Chartered Bank Brunei officially launched this year's edition of the marathon themed 'Run for a Reason' at the Radisson Hotel yesterday.

The event, which is supported by the Ministry Of Culture, Youth and Sports, and the Brunei Athletics Association, will start and finish in front of the Hassanal Bolkiah National Complex, Berakas, on which an accumulated distance of 33,000km will be covered.

The race categories this year will include a 21km half marathon for both men and women with open and subcategories, 10km men's, women's and special needs, a 5km Men's and Women's and a 2.5km fun run.

Standard Chartered Bank Chief Executive Officer Lai Pei-Si said that the marathon is something that is highly anticipated by those living in the Sultanate.

"When I arrived in Brunei last year, I was very fortunate to be part of the Standard Chartered Charity Run 2011. Being part of the 2011 run was truly a wonderful experience for me. Best of all, it was rewarding to have many people come up to me, telling me how much they enjoyed the experience. It was indeed through the many conversations I had with the people at the event in 2011 that our Half Marathon was born," said Lai.

"It is a dream for us to be able to build on this event, as we have done with our previous runs, to continue to better it and one day, bring a full marathon to Brunei...it is also our dream to be able to (expand) this event and make it an iconic running event for Brunei," she added.

Registration fees for the 21km (all categories) events are $40, $30 for all 10km events, $25 for 5km events and $20 for all 2.5km runs.

Part of the proceeds will be channelled towards helping the Pengiran Muda Mahkota Al-Muhtadee Billah Fund for Orphans (DANA) and Seeing is Believing (SiB) for the visually impaired charities.

The winner of both men's and women's 21km category will be awarded with a $2,000 cash prize, with second and third place winners receiving $1,000 and $600 respectively.

$1,000 awaits the winners of the 21km run, with second and third place winners getting $500 and $300.

For the 10km men, women, and special needs category, a prize of $500 awaits the winner, while second and third place winners will win $250 and $150.

A prize hamper for top 5 runners will be awarded for the 2.5km Fun Run category, in addition to a $50 Hua Ho Voucher that will be given to the best fancy dressed man and woman of the race.

Other than cash prizes, the winner of a 'Spot the Liverpool T-shirt' competition will go home with a Liverpool FC merchandise goodie bag, while the top donation collector of the marathon will be awarded with a 16GB iPod Nano.

The deadline to register for the marathon is on March 18.

Interested individuals are encouraged to sign up early to avoid disappointment of limited participants.

Categories are capped at 500 runners for the 21km category, 1,000 participants for the 10km category, 1,500 participants for the 5km run and 2,000 participants for the 2.5km category.

The Brunei Times