KLSCM 2026 Official Preliminary Selection Event For 2027 SEA Games Marathon - MA

KUALA LUMPUR, June 30 (Bernama) -- Malaysia's premier running event, the Kuala Lumpur Standard Chartered Marathon (KLSCM) 2026, has been named the official preliminary selection event for the marathon at the 2027 SEA Games.

Malaysia Athletics (MA) deputy president Datuk Wan Hisham Wan Salleh said the top five marathon runners in both the men's and women's categories who meet the qualifying standards will be included in the long list for the biennial Games.

“For the men's category, the qualifying time has been set at two hours and 45 minutes, while for the women's category it is three hours and 15 minutes. We want to give opportunities to new runners with high aspirations.

“That is why our qualifying times are slightly more lenient. However, they will then have the opportunity to be developed through the National Sports Institute (ISN) and coaching programmes so that they can achieve better times. I believe that within a year, they can improve their times by 10 to 15 minutes with the right training,” he told reporters here today.

Earlier, Wan Hisham, on behalf of MA, signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with KLSCM organiser, Dirigo Events, represented by its director, Rainer Biemans.

The MoU includes cooperation in providing athletes with a more structured development programme and greater race exposure at both regional and international levels, access to facilities and sports science services under the National Sports Institute (ISN), as well as collaborative coaching programmes.

Meanwhile, Wan Hisham said Malaysia, as host of the 2027 SEA Games, is expected to be allocated three quota places each in the men's and women's marathon events.

The 2027 SEA Games, to be held across four main clusters comprising Sarawak, Penang, Johor and Kuala Lumpur, are scheduled to take place from Sept 18 to 29.

The KLSCM is the first and only road race in the country with a World Athletics Elite Label, with the 2026 edition to be held on Oct 3 and 4.

A total of 40,000 runners, including participants from 70 countries, will compete for a total of RM500,000 in prize money for this year’s edition.

-- BERNAMA