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Runners invited to greet Kudus in tiket.com relay marathon
Huge effort: Race director Dardityo Santoso, Gaery Undarsa and Liliyana Natsir talk during the Tiket
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uge effort: Race director Dardityo Santoso, Gaery Undarsa and Liliyana Natsir talk during the Tiket.com Relay Marathon 2019 press conference on Thursday in Jakarta.(Courtesy of Tiket.com)
Thousands of running aficionados are being invited to visit Kudus, a small town located on Central Java’s north coast, and run through the community with friends and families during the upcoming 2019 Tiket.com Kudus Relay Marathon, which is slated to be held on Aug. 25.
This is to be the second time the marathon, which uses the format of the Japanese ekiden, a long-distance multistage relay that allows a group of four people to run the 42.195 kilometers, would be held. Tiket.com’s cofounder and chief marketing officer, Gaery Undarsa, said he was confident the event would attract more participants this time. Therefore, he said, the organizers have planned for 6,000 participants, 500 more than last year.
“The sole reason for the race being held this time is the great enthusiasm of the locals. Through this event, we also want to introduce sports tourism,” he said in a statement sent to The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
This year, he added, the organizers would also cooperate with 40 local small and medium enterprises (SME) so they could display their products near the start/finish line at the heart of the town.
Race director Dardityo Santoso said the whole race would be divided into five categories: a full marathon (42.195 km) that adopts the ekiden format, a half marathon (21.1 km), a 10-km, a 5-km and a kids’ fun run.
“The town’s landmarks and tourism spots are going to be on the participants’ agendas,” he said.
Dardityo added that many famous badminton players would also join the race. Shuttlers like Liem Swie King, Hariyanto Arbi, Hastomo Arbi, Eddy Hartono, Christian Hadinata and Debby Susanto are among those who have pledged to participate. Liliyana Natsir, who decided to retire from badminton early this year, has also vowed to join.
“The town means something, as it is the origin of PB Djarum, the club where I used to train as a player,” she said.
PB Djarum first opened its doors in Kudus and has produced many top shuttlers, including Liliyana, who have contributed trophies from sporting events locally and abroad. The town itself has long been known as a melting pot where foreign merchants spread Islam among their domestic counterparts in the Middle Ages. Before that, Kudus was an important Hindu town. The marathon has offered a total of Rp 189 million (US$13,262) in prizes and also the chance to join a similar event in Singapore. Registration has been open since May 2 and handsome discounts await those who register within the first 24 hours.
