International Marathon this Sunday

About 6,000 runners from several parts of the world are set to compete in the 33rd Macau International Marathon this Sunday morning.
This year, participants of the Marathon and Half Marathon courses are required to run across the Sai Van Bridge, finishing a route that spans the Science Centre on the Macau Peninsula to the Harmony Roundabout in Cotai.
“It’s been a tradition over thirty years that every year on the first Sunday of December, we’ll welcome long-distance runners from all over the world to this annual track competition in Macau,” stated the chairman of General Association of Athletics of Macau, Mr Ma Iao Hang, at the press conference held yesterday.
The organizers invited top athletes from Kenya, Ethiopia, China and lusophone countries to join the competition. “Similar to previous years, this year’s marathon received an overwhelming response from both local and overseas top distance runners, which adds to the recognition of this impressive sporting event,” said Mr Philip Cheng, director of the Galaxy Entertainment Group that has been the event’s title sponsor for a decade.
Male champion of the last Macau Marathon, Julius Maisei from Kenya, told the Times that this year he sees stronger competitors, as there are more top athletes from his home country and Ethiopia joining the long-distance race.
“Last year there were no Ethiopian runners. When the Ethiopians are there, the race is faster,” he said. “I think it’s going to rain and it’s going to affect our performance and the time. You cannot run well when the road is slippery.”
“I like Macau and I’ll continue coming here. I like the environment here, because of the view I see, especially from the bridge. It’s good that you climb and go down the bridge, it’ not a plain track, it’s more fun,” he commented.
Since the marathon is run in the early hours of the morning, traffic control measures will be taken from 11pm the previous night, while the roads will be closed between 3:30 am and 10:30 am.
A total of 700 personnel will be deployed for the event; the organizer said that this year they have been better trained. In 2012, a course mistake occurred in the marathon resulting in athletes running three extra kilometers. At one point in the route, two leading athletes turned the wrong direction and the other 2,000 runners followed them.