Triyaningsih, Yahuza lead RI team for GROE world marathon

Niken Prathivi ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Tue, 10/14/2008 10:28 AM  |  Sports

Indonesia's Triyaningsih and Yahuza, the fastest runners at the 2007 South East Asian Games, will be on an eight-strong national athletic squad for an international marathon race starting next week.

Called "The Greatest Race on Earth" (GROE) marathon, the competition organized by Standard Chartered Bank will be staged in Nairobi, Mumbai, Singapore and Hong Kong between October 2008 and February 2009.

The other Indonesians in the team are Ari Swandana, Hariyanto and Faizin in the men's category and Rumini Sudragni, Erni Ulatningsih, and Feri Subnaefu in the women's.

Thirty-five national teams from 24 countries, consisting of 140 runners in total, are expected to compete for a total of US$1 million in prize money.

Victory is determined by cumulative points converted from the runner's position in their respective race.

Each runner will compete in a full-length marathon in one of the four races.

Triyaningsih and Ari will open the Indonesian bid in Nairobi in October, while Rumini and Hariyanti will run in Singapore on Dec. 7. Erni and Faizin are scheduled to compete in Mumbai on Jan. 18 while Feri and Yahuza will wind up the challenge in Hong Kong on Feb. 8.

Indonesian Track and Field Association (PASI) secretary-general Tigor M. Tandjung said he expected Indonesian runners to perform well in the competition.

"Ideally, a runner needs to race at least two competitions every year. So, I really appreciate that Standard Chartered holds the fifth series race, welcoming our athletes to participate and opening up a big chance for us to win at a regional level," he told reporters on Monday.

Tigor said that the red-and-white teams would aim for a realistic target.

He said in last year's competition the Indonesian team, with few top runners, managed to take out third place in the men's and second place in the women's.

"Now with more (highly rated) runners in the team, I'm optimistic we can gain better results," he said, adding that the competition would double as preparation for next year's SEA Games in Laos.

Triyaningsih, 20, said she was aiming to clock around 2 hours and 40 minutes for the marathon distance of 42 kilometers. Her best to date is 2:59.

"This is the first time I will take part in the race. It's going to be tough, of course, but I'll just do my best and stay focused when competing with those Kenyan runners. Hopefully I can make my nation proud," she said. Triyaningsih said she would have less than two months to prepare for the run.

Yahuza, who was absent from last year's race due to his SEA Games commitment, said he was looking to beat his own record of 2:23 he set during the 2008 National Games.

"I heard that Hong Kong is quite a challenging place to compete with a hard wind and hilly tracks," said the 27 year old.

The competition commenced in 2004, using the same four host countries in Asia and Africa.

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