By Nancy Nais
KUCHING, June 15: Over 2,000 locals, including foreign participants from Kenya, China, Singapore, South Korea, Indonesia, and Brunei Darussalam, participated in the HSL Samarahan Marathon 2025.
The two-day fitness festival, held on June 14 and 15, offered a total prize pool of RM40,000, featuring full-distance (42km) and half-distance (21km) events for open and veteran categories in both men’s and women’s categories, as well as an open 10km event.
Xian Wen Tan clinched the 42km top honour in the men’s open category with an impressive time of two hours and 55 minutes. Sally Yap emerged champion in the women’s category with a time of three hours and 46 minutes.
Meanwhile, the 42km men’s and women’s veteran champions were Mohd Shawal Roslie (three hours and nine minutes) and Bee Hong Ewe (three hours and 43 minutes), respectively.
Numerous participants also surpassed their personal bests in the 10km, 21km, and 42km races.
All 42km and 21km participants who completed their routes received a finisher’s medal, a finisher’s T-shirt, and an e-certificate.
Those who completed the 10km before the cut-off time were given a participation medal and an e-Certificate.
This year, organisers, including Hock Seng Lee, City Joggers Club, and Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS), meticulously designed one of Malaysia’s flattest running courses.
From the start and finish line at La Promenade, runners ran towards the newly completed Tanjong Bako road, crossing Samarahan’s natural mangrove swamps and rivers. The full marathon route also covered approximately 9km within the UNIMAS campus.
The course’s minimal elevation facilitated swift finishing times for many enthusiasts while also encouraging amateur runners to push their limits.
HSL marcom lead Abraham Tiong said the 21km half marathon category was remarkably sold out first, followed by the 42km and 10km categories.
“The overwhelming response underscores the potential of Samarahan as a vibrant community hub. The long distances outsold the shorter distances, which was a great surprise and a massive encouragement to us.
“This proved that our racecourse is well-liked by both pros and amateurs. Even before the event, so many were excitedly commenting on social media that this could become one of the ‘fastest’ races in Malaysia.
“Of course, many also took part because there are plenty of youths in Samarahan. We have two public universities, a teacher’s institute, a golf club, research centres and a large community of medical professionals from the hospitals,” Tiong said.
Kota Samarahan Municipal Council (MPKS) chairman Abang Ismawi Abang Ali graced the prize-giving ceremony, which took place at HSL’s La Promenade Mall.
Also in attendance was Morshidi Fredrick, representing the Minister for Youth, Sports, and Entrepreneur Development of Sarawak, Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
The festival kicked off with engaging 3km and 6km fun runs on June 14, with special recognition bestowed upon Voon Kim Choon, Arsyad Arjuna, and Leong Mun Kai for their imaginative costumes that spread joy among participants. — DayakDaily
