National athletes grab 10K race awards
Arya Abhiseka, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
National athletes won the 10K run for friendship, which involved fewer than 14,000 people, held on Sunday morning to celebrate Jakarta's 476th anniversary.
Agus Prayogo from the Central Java town, Salatiga, managed to reach the finish line in 30 minutes, 55 seconds in the male elite runner category, while Ferry Subnafeu from East Nusa Tenggara hit 35 minutes, three seconds in the female elite category.
Another national athlete, Gde Karang Asem, notched up second place in the 10-kilometer run, with 31 minutes, 15 seconds.
Third place was grabbed by Fery Junaedi from Bangka Belitung, who reached the finishing line two seconds after Karang Asem.
The female runners in second and third place were Trianingsih and Erni Wulatningsih, both also from Salatiga. They respectively took 35 minutes, 18 seconds and 36 minutes, 12 seconds to finish.
The first-place winners received Rp 15 million each, those in second place Rp 10 million and third place Rp 7.5 million.
Meanwhile, Patricia Kendall, a U.S. citizen, swiped sixth place, under the category of foreign participants, saying she was surprised to be awarded a prize that she had never won in any race before.
"The event was pretty well organized and I will definitely come back next year," she said.
The race was participated in by top professional and amateur runners. Military, police and government officers, NGO members, students and representatives from embassies also took part.
The runners started from City Hall and encircled Jakarta's main roads, Jl. MH Thamrin and Jl. Sudirman, before returning to the finishing line at City Hall.
Governor Sutiyoso pulled the trigger on a pistol to start the race at 6:30 a.m.
The entire race lasted about one hour and 30 minutes, with top professionals taking the major prizes.
Other winners from different categories included top runner Rusmini from Aceh, who immediately dedicated her third-place win in the "run for friendship" race symbolically to her brothers in the war-torn province, to very warm applause from the audience.
Meanwhile, confusion occurred during the awards ceremony as the organizers were often unable to locate winners, who were supposed to come forward to the podium to receive their medals.
However, most participants appeared satisfied at how the event was organized. Each participant who reached the finish line was given a certificate for completing the 10K race.
The proceedings were closed with a musical performance by singer Dorce Gamalama, who entertained runners and spectators with Poco Poco, a popular dance from Ambon, Maluku.
The audience looked happy and danced throughout the song, enjoying the bright healthy morning.
"I love running; I think we need to have more events like this to maintain a healthy nation. Mens sana in corpore sano (a sound mind in a sound body), right?" said Wahyudi, 57, who finished the race in one hour.