Sports | International Marathon open for registration

The registration period for the 2016 Macau International Marathon will open tomorrow for all individuals and groups interested in competing.
Additional registration periods will be open until December 3, the day before the race. Runners participating in both the marathon and half marathon will start the race at 6 a.m. on December 4. Mini marathon athletes will begin 15 minutes later. Participants will pass by Ponte Governador Nobre de Carvalho, Nam Van Lake, Templo A-Ma, and Sai Van Bridge. The distance of the mini marathon course has been increased to 5.5 kilometers.
This year, a total of 1,400, 3,600, and 5,000 participants will be available for the marathon, half marathon and the mini marathon, respectively. This represents an increase of 2,000 from last year, when only 8,000 had been arranged. According to the official games sponsor, Galaxy Entertainment, MOP2.16 million will be distributed amongst the winners of the marathon and half marathon.
Last year, from the 1,200 athletes that enrolled in the marathon, 790 finished the race and 385 were Macau residents. In total, there were individuals from 40 different countries and regions participating. Last year also marked the first time the course passed through the new campus of the University of Macau located in the Hengqin island.
The Macau Marathon was first held in 1981. Back then, 400 athletes enrolled in the event, of whom 131 were local residents, aged between 12 and 53 years.