Stage set for Bangkok Marathon
Tens of thousands of runners are set to take part in the Standard Chartered Bangkok Marathon on Sanamchai Road tomorrow morning.
This year marks the silver jubilee of the Bangkok Marathon and will see up to 50,000 competitors take part in the 21.10km half-marathon, 10km mini-marathon and 1.5km-4.5km micro-marathon or walk and fun run.
While some will be gunning for victory in the challenging marathon, many others will be simply looking to finish with a decent time, having spent weeks preparing themselves mentally and physically. That’s why “Run for a Reason” has become the theme of this year’s Bangkok Marathon.
The start and finish of the event will be on Sanamchai Road, adjacent to the Grand Palace and the Phra Men Ground (Sanam Luang), with the full 42.195km marathon starting at the unusual time of 3am tomorrow. This is aimed at sparing the athletes the scorching heat and humidity later in the day.
The marathon will be followed by the half-marathon at 5am, while the mini-marathon and micro-marathon will be held at 6.30am and 6.40am respectively. The time limit for the full marathon is six hours, while the awards presentation for all the winners will take place at 8am.
Those who cross the finish line first in the full marathon’s overall male and female event will be awarded the prestigious King’s Cup, while the top five finishers in each age group will each receive the King’s Cup plus cash prizes of Bt30,000, Bt15,000, Bt10,000, Bt7,000 and Bt4,000 respectively.
The organisers have arranged cash prizes for record-breaking runners in the International category.
A cash prize of Bt100,000 will go to every runner who breaks the current best records at the Standard Chartered Bangkok Marathon. Among men, the record time is 2 hours 16 minutes 10 seconds set in 2010, while among women it is 2:41:37, set in 2011.
Furthermore, a cash prize of Bt200,000 will also be on offer for every runner who breaks the course record (men 2:12:00 and women 2:30:00).
For Thai runners (with Thai identity card), a cash prize of Bt100,000 will be up for grabs for every runner who breaks the following records (men 2:25:00 and women 2:50:00), while Bt200,000 cash will go to every runner who breaks the following records (men 2:20:00 and women 2:40:00).
All marathon runners who complete the full 42.195km marathon within six hours will receive a “Finisher” shirt at the finishing line.
Former SEA Games double gold medallist Boonthung Srisang, who finished first among Thais in the previous edition and 14th overall, will lead Thailand’s charge this time and is expected to repeat the feat.
