Watch out! Colombo Marathon today
View(s):The 13th edition of Colombo Marathon, organised by Lanka Sportreizen (LSR) jointly with the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotional Bureau and SriLankan Airlines, will flag off today at 6.00am from Torrington. The biggest marathon to be held on Sri Lankan soil will set off from the proximity of Independence Square at Torrington and proceed to Negombo Beach Park, 41:195 kilometres away, covering the distance of an internationally accepted marathon. The event will finish off at the Beach Park in Negombo with the awards ceremony at noon.
“The marathon will run through Borella, Dematagoda, Peliyagoda and Wattala before turning off to Pamunugama alongside the Hamilton Canal, before passing through Talahena, Pitipala, Doowa and the destination, the Negombo Beach Park. This is the route that the Colombo Marathon has been run for the past few years but last year we were compelled to use the Colombo-Negombo route. This year the marathon will be run again on its usual course,” Thilak Weerasinghe, the Chairman of LSR explained about the route.
According to LSR confirmation the final number of registrations has come to an approximate figure of 4000 inclusive of 125 foreigners from 25 countries. The most of them runners will come from the marathon domains of Ethiopia and Kenya in addition to Maldives.
Weerasinghe further explained that the Colombo Marathon which was placed in the event calendar of World Marathon Guide now has been recognised by the Association for Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS).
“The AIMS has granted Colombo Marathon the voting rights, making it one of the 54 races that has been given recognition from 110 races around the world,” he added.
In 2012 Kenyan Geoffrey Birgen won the main marathon with a timing of 2 hours 26:40 minutes to win a handsome cash award of US $ 2500 in addition to an air ticket presented by one of the sponsors, SriLankan Airlines. This year too this offer will be open for the winner with cash awards offered up to 10th place in the men’s and women’s categories. The second and third places will receive US $ 1500 and US $ 1000 respectively. – NA
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