Inspiring women to go further

THE only endorsed women’s marathon in South East Asia - Malaysia Women Marathon (MWM2019) is back for the seventh year in a row.

Organised by Tourism Selangor, to date 7,000 runners are set to take part in the marathon on March 3, 2019, at Padang Timur in Petaling Jaya.

To commemorate this year’s MWM theme, the art piece “Ode to Women” also known as “Wanita” by Malaysian artist Habsah Abang Saufi was chosen to signify empowered Malaysian women.

Tourism Selangor’s general manager Noorul Ashikin Mohd Din said Habsah’s painting was incorporated into the design of the t-shirts printed for the event, which symbolises gender equality.

“What’s more, as though this isn’t energising enough, we would like to proudly announce that we have collaborated with Swarovski Malaysia to create a symbolic medal that is decorated with precious stones from Swarovski. We can’t wait to hand this one of a kind medal to you at the finish line!” she added.

Various activities have also been lined up on Feb 28 and March 1. This includes a women’s expo, a cultural dance performance, stage performance and exhibition booths.

Tourism Selangor will also showcase a special promo price package to Kuala Selangor consisting of tourist’s hotspots such as Sky Mirror, Bukit Malawati, activities at Sekinchan, seafood dinner at Pasir Penambang and also an opportunity to see the fireflies’ at Kampung Kuantan.

Another special feature about MWM2019 is that runners can opt to complete the marathon at 30km. If the runners feel uncertain of finishing the distance after signing up, midway through the run they can decide to run back to the finish line. Their certificate will, however, indicate a 30km run instead of a full marathon distance.

This system will allow the runners who know that they aren’t able to meet the cut time to choose for a lower distance and still be able to run to the finish line. This feature will suit many full marathon runners who are starting to run the distance.

Tourism Selangor believes MWM2019 which has attracted the participation of international runners, has the potential to boost the state as a preferred tourism destination. The agency sees sports tourism as a huge opportunity to boost the state’s profile and spur economic growth in the hospitality industry.