40th marathon to be boosted with carnival

As the city’s International Marathon will see its 40th edition this year, a carnival will be held alongside the event scheduled for this coming Sunday.
The opening ceremony of the carnival was held yesterday at the Broadway Macau. The venue’s owner, Galaxy Macau, is the title sponsor for this year’s competition as it has been for the 17 preceding editions.
Held at the Broadway Macau’s food boulevard, the carnival is seamlessly blended with existing food and game stalls at the venue. These existing food and game stalls, as well as street-side happenings and performances, will operate across the duration of the carnival.
Street-side magic shows will also be held intermittently.
The carnival presents many special highlights, including free game booths, marathon-themed photo corners, captivating performances, special delicacies, exquisite handicrafts and a yoga experience.
The carnival also includes lucky draws, which include a total of 40 accommodation rewards at Galaxy Hotel. To foster an inclusive and harmonious community, the carnival also features 10 local social services organizations operating stalls to further raise their profile within the community.
In the meantime, local small and medium sized enterprises are also invited to operate stalls in the carnival so that they can garner more business opportunities amid the economic downturn brought on by the current pandemic.
The carnival is open from now until December 4.
A “History of Macao International Marathon” exhibition is also open on the mezzanine floor of Broadway Macau, aiming to provide a review of the sporting event’s development.

Athletes warm up
for the marathon
At the opening ceremony yesterday, local runner Hoi Long, who had just won a gold medal in the National Special Olympic Games, expressed her confidence in the prospect of winning a gold in the local athlete category in this coming marathon.
Last year, she also topped the local group.
A veteran runner, Hoi holds a master’s degree in education from the Beijing Sport University despite being audially-challenged since she was five months old. She is fluent in oral Mandarin, Cantonese and English, as well as Cantonese sign language and lip reading in her three spoken languages.
She encouraged local residents to pick up running as long as they are physically able to. She said that she eats, drinks and works in the same way as everybody else, proving that diet has no place in making her a fast runner.
This year, Galaxy has also set up a special “GEG Macau Cup” for local athletes competing in the marathon and half marathon so as to encourage them to strive for further breakthroughs.
Each champion from the two groups will receive a night’s stay at the Banyan Tree including breakfast, and catering and shopping vouchers which can be redeemed at the Galaxy Macau. The male and female groups have respective quotas.
In addition, the company continues to sponsor the popular “Most Creative Costume Award” and supports the “Fab 40” online special activity series hosted by the organizers.