A

round 10,000 participants are set to run in the first Jakarta Marathon on Sunday.

Up to 16 elite international runners will also take part in the Mandiri Jakarta Marathon 2013, the course of which will wind from Pluit, North Jakarta, to Bung Karno Stadium in Senayan, Central Jakarta. The event will kick off at 5 a.m.

'€œWe have prepared a total of Rp 2.5 billion [US$230,283] in prize money,'€ event organizer Andreas Kansil said on Thursday.

The Jakarta Marathon offers a number of categories: a full marathon of 42 kilometers, a half marathon, a 10K and 5K run, and a children'€™s sprint.

'€œThe maratoonz [children'€™s sprint] will be held inside the Monas [National Monument] compound and it will start at 8 a.m. so the parents who participate in a different race category can watch their children,'€ he said.

Jakarta Traffic Police operational division head Adj. Sr. Comr. Budianto said the police would stop motorized and non-motorized vehicles from entering the race route.

'€œWe will close the route from 2 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Sunday,'€ he said.

Jakarta Transportation Agency operational division head Sunardi Sinaga added that the Transjakarta route would be affected by the race and would also be closed during the event.

'€œThe affected busway routes will be closed from 5 a.m. to 11 a.m. Some of the routes will also be shortened during the day,'€ he said.

Up to 3,500 security officers, comprising City Police, the military and public order officers will be deployed to safeguard the event.

Jakarta Sports Agency head Ratiyono said that 1,000 boy scouts and members of flag-raiser groups (Paskibra) would be deployed to guard intersections.

Sunardi suggested that participants park their vehicles in areas near the venue, such as IRTI parking area in Monas square, Banteng field and Senayan.

Various side events will be held to liven the first Jakarta Marathon '€” which will also be the first internationally recognized marathon in Southeast Asia.

The side events will include the Breggfestival (breakfast festival) and art performances.

Every year, there are around 5,000 marathons held in different cities around the world.

The Boston Marathon, Paris Marathon, New York Marathon, Barcelona Marathon and Chicago Marathon are currently the world'€™s top five marathon events and each attracts between 30,000 and 60,000 participants.

In Asia, the Tokyo Marathon tops every marathon event in the continent.