JEDDAH, 27 February 2005 — Jeddah Mayor Abdullah Al-Muallami sounded a note of confidence over a record public participation of the 4th Jeddah Charity Marathon (JCM) set here on Wednesday (March 2). More than 12,000 participants will run the 12 km marathon.
The number is expected to grow with online registration in progress, the mayor and four other top executives of departments and agencies involved in the marathon, told a press conference at Albilad Hotel yesterday.
The JCM is undergoing some impressive changes to make the event more appealing to the public. “It’s our goal to make the JCM 2006 the first ever international full marathon distance in the Kingdom,” Talal Khalid Idriss, member of the board of directors of the Al Bir Charity, co-organizer of the event with the Ministry of Education, said. Race proceeds will go for Al Bir’s charity activities including providing computer labs at schools.
Saleh ibn Al-Turki, president of Nesma Holding Co. and chairman of Al Bir Charity Association, Abdullah ibn Mohammed Al-Howaimil of the directorate of education, Makkah, and Ihsan ibn Saleh Tayeb, director, social affairs department, Makkah, were among the others who spoke about the arrangements being finalized for the JCM. Security officials gave a full account of the arrangements all along the track.
Premier Marathons, an organization and consultancy company to marathons in the Middle East and Asia, has been contracted to advise and assist with the 2005 event with an aim to future planning and cooperation to produce and host a full international marathon in the JCM the following year. “A full marathon (42.195 km) will be an ambitious, yet an attainable project for Jeddah,” Nathan Clayton of Premier Marathons said.
In order to boost local awareness of the event and improve the general conception of the JCM as a serious and beneficial event for Jeddah and its residents, Idriss and Clayton together came up with the idea of introducing international timing specifications for the 12 km event, sponsored this year by Samsung.
Clayton’s company has also concentrated on the logistical aspects of the race ensuring that such components as water stations are correctly positioned and manned with a plentiful supply of Saudia Water, the official water of the JCM 2005, elements to eliminate cheating are implemented and star and finish procedures are controlled and easily navigated. A full risk assessment was also undertaken to ensure the safety of the participants on the course and special commemorative medals for all finishers of the event were designed and manufactured in South Africa.
Makkah Governor Prince Abdul Majeed will attend the closing ceremony to be held on Race Day at LaCosta, on the Jeddah Corniche where over SR180,000 of prizes will be awarded to the category winners. A “Camel” mascot has also been created by Premier Marathons to add a more colorful dimension and appeal to people.
For this year’s race, the organizers are selecting 1,000 participants to run with a ChampionChip attached to their shoe to provide exact timing results. The selected participants will be the first runners to be timed using this system in the Kingdom and the race itself is only the second to use this advanced timing technology in the Middle East.
