Colombo Marathon would fetch US $ 10,000 each
The Lanka SportReizen (LSR) Colombo Marathon – Sri Lanka’s internationally famed long distance race – will hopefully make its final journey through the customary route, from Torrington in Colombo to the Beach Park in Negombo, as the 14th edition is set to attract over 7,500 long distance runners on October 5. But according to Thilak Weerasinghe, the Chairman of LSR, the marathon will finally do justification to its name next year soon after the proposed course around the Colombo city limits is approved by the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races, better known as the AIMS.
LSR Colombo Marathon will finally hit the roads of Colombo when the event celebrates its 15th anniversary in 2015
“The efforts we have made during the past 13 years were well paid off with AIMS placing the Colombo Marathon among other top races around the world in London, New York, Manhattan and Singapore to name a few. This is one good reason we take pride in and certainly after the 14th edition we will solely have this event around Colombo, giving the true significance of what the marathon is named after,” Weerasinghe stated at the launch of the event in Colombo last Wednesday.
Last year the LSR Colombo Marathon had over 4000 registered runners but according to the organisers over 1000 had run in the race without registered numbers on their shirts. This development has prompted them to add another category to its existing number of six, the open and veteran’s full and half marathons and the two fun runs of 10 and five kilometres.
Last year runners from Kenya dominated the main categories – the men’s and women’s full marathons – where the top two winners of each category won a grand prize of US$ 2500 each. The top three places of the men’s full marathon were won by the Kenyans while their compatriots took the top two positions in the women’s race. The remaining seven positions in the top ten were all claimed by the locals while besides the fifth spot, which was placed by an Ethiopian, all others among the top ten in the women’s race were Sri Lankans.
However from this year to add more value LSR has brought up the prize monies to US$10,000 each. This development has fast reached among long distance runners around the world. The LSR registration hotline and their online registration process have become busy desks soon after the news went public on the raised prize money according to Weerasinghe.
“The total value of the cash awards on offer will be US$ 50,000. So far over 3,500 runners have registered for this year and in the coming weeks we expect the number to reach higher. Our expectation is somewhere over 7,500 participants in total. In 2015, when the race celebrates its 15th anniversary we hope to accommodate over 10,000 participants. Our ultimate goal is to make this marathon on par with other global events, very soon,” a hopeful Weerasinghe stated.
In addition to placing the LSR Colombo Marathon in its annual event calendar, the AIMS has granted the organisers of the marathon, which is one of 54 events out of 110 held over the world, the voting rights at the international body. The 14th LSR Colombo Marathon will be flagged off at 6.00am on October 5, in close proximity to the office complex of Ministry of Sports in Torrington. The race will cover the internationally recognised distance of 42.195 kilometres before its end at the Beach Park in Negombo. The organisers will have the assistance of the Ministry of Sports, Athletic Association of Sri Lanka, Western Province Tourist Board, Western Provincial Council, the Colombo and Negombo Municipal Councils, Sri Lanka Police, the Armed Forces of Sri Lanka, National Youth Services Council, Ministry of Education, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotional Bureau and SriLankan Airlines in making the Colombo Marathon a success.