Big cash prizes on offer at Colombo Marathon

MARATHON: There's big money to be won at the 9th Colombo Marathon 2008 on Sunday October 5 commencing at 6 a.m. from the Ministry of Sports Grounds at Torrington Square.

The Colombo Marathon, organised by Lanka SportsReizen (LSR) - a leading local travel company, is named after the famous city marathons such as London, New York and Hawaii.

This year's event is supported by Ministry of Sports and Public Recreation with the Athletic Association of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka Tourism, SriLankan Airlines, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Youth Affairs, Negombo Hotelier Association, Sri Lanka Police and several other private entrepreneurs.

The following cash awards will be presented to all those who excel: 1st prize: Rs. 250,000 plus air ticket to a destination where SriLankan Airlines fly and participate at any event, 2nd prize: Rs. 150,000, 3rd prize: Rs. 100,000, Fourth prize: Rs. 50,000, 5th prize: Rs. 25,000, 6th and 7th prizes: Rs. 10,000 each, 8th, 9th and 10th prizes: 5,000 each.

Commenting on the upcoming event, Minister of Sports Gamini Lokuge said that the 9th Colombo Marathon will provide a wonderful opportunity to further popularise the country's sports and image abroad.

Major event

"The Ministry of Sports decided to get involved with this event from last year", he told reporters at a press briefing held in this regard at the Sri Lanka Hotel School Auditorium last Thursday (Sept. 11).

"This Marathon has now become a major event in the calendar of the Ministry of Sports and our intention is to see that it is promoted in this country in such a way that it could be conducted in a similar scale as the more renowned New York and London Marathons," the Minister added.

Minister Lokuge stated that he has taken a personal interest in the success of the Colombo Marathon and that his aim was to see that this event becomes a permanent fixture in the world sporting arena, so much so that Sri Lanka's image could get a boost in the eyes of the rest of the world.

"We invite competitors and journalists to visit Sri Lanka and see for themselves what a peaceful country Sri Lanka is", he said. "Some foreign countries put out adverse travel advisories so that many foreigners are dissuaded from coming to Sri Lanka."

"I think this sporting event organised jointly by the Ministry of Sports and Tourism and with the co-ordination of many other ministries and organisations, is a wonderful tool to portray our country as well as what our sportsmen and sportswomen could achieve collectively on the sports field," Minister Lokuge said.

The Minister also urged the media to give the "Colombo Marathon" as much publicity as possible, so that the foreign media too could highlight it in their publications enabling more foreigners to compete at the up coming event.

National and global scale

Thilak Weerasinghe, LSR Managing Director, airing his views on the marathon noted that his firm was glad to bask in the glory for the event begun in 1998 on a small scale, but now has taken significance on a national and global scale. "We firmly believe that by providing opportunities for such activities, Sri Lanka is positioned a popular destination for recreational activities," he said.

Colombo Marathon was launched in 1998 at Galle Dutch Fortress and attracted nearly 28 foreigners and about 328 local participants. The most successful event thereafter was held in Negombo, Kandy, Dambulla and Colombo and has gained popularity with each passing year to the delight of marathon enthusiasts who now look forward to this annual event with keen interest.

Thilak Weerasinghe further said: "With this objective, the LSR International Marathon was later included in the World Marathon Guide and became an annual event in the calendar of sports.

Since the, then Colombo Marathon has received the membership of the Association of the International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS) too," Weerasinghe said. Chairman of Sri Lanka Tourism, Renton de Alwis, speaking on the occasion, said: "Sri Lanka Tourism is supporting the event with prize money to attract the best in marathon running in the world and to grow the event with time, to be a truly international event.

"Although it is still limited in participation of international runners, we are optimistic about its future and then we could put it amongst the best city marathons of the region, if not the world.

Boost image

"We are also confident that the Colombo Marathon will boost the image of the country as an adventure sports destination," De Alwis added.

Another special feature of the Colombo Marathon would be that the total registration fee will be donated to uplift a school with recreational facilities in the Giriulla educational area in the Kurunegala district. It was revealed at the press conference that the organisers expect a total participation of over 1,000 competitors with over 70 foreigners on line to join their local counterparts. Foreign participation is expected from European destinations such as France, Belgium and Switzerland, etc. The 9th Colombo Marathon will cover the full International Professional Circuit distance of 42.195 km, with pleasure runs of 5 km-10 and half marathon also in theoffing.

J.K.