Chicago Marathon in the Far East staged

Chicago Marathon in the Far East staged

JAKARTA: A shell horn was sounded to start the Chicago Marathon in the Far East at 3:20 a.m. on Sunday morning.

The 26.2-mile (42.5-kilometer) marathon started in Labuan, West Java, and was organized by the Fortune Runners, members of which are all business directors or owners.

From Labuan, participants carried flashlights up until sunrise. The course followed the coast line, and runners were accompanied by the sound of waves breaking on the shore.

A GPS was used prior to the start of the marathon to map and measure the course from Labuan to Anyer, and yellow paint marked the start line, the 10-mile point, the 13.1 halfway point, the 20, 20 and 24 mile points, and the 26.2-mile finish line in Anyer.

First to finish was Karen Yoder from the U.S., who finished in 4 hours, 11 minutes 44.96 seconds, followed by Indonesians Ralph Suhadi in 4:55:57.81, Sindhu (4:58:47.02), Kun (5:20:33.97), Howard (5:31:14.92) and Freddy (5:54:17.70). Another marathoner dropped out after suffering cramps. --JP