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Standard Chartered Marathons are some of the most popular annual city marathons in the world. All the events witness huge participation from runners worldwide. Standard Chartered Bank sponsors 15 road races across 4 continents, of which 9 are marathons.
All 9 marathons are accredited by AIMS (Association of International Marathons and Distance Races), maintaining the highest level of standards and attracting good competitive elite marathoners from across the world. Here’s look at the top four Standard Chartered marathons across the world, in terms of number of participants.
1.Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon
This marathon started in the year 1997, and witnesses around 70,000 participants every year. In addition to the full marathon, this marathon has categories such as the half marathon, 10K race, 10K wheelchair race and the 3K wheelchair race.
The 19th and most recent edition was held on 25th January 2015 and had around 73,000 running enthusiasts participating in various categories coming from over 60 countries.
This event was first granted an IAAF Bronze Label Road Race by International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) in 2012, which was subsequently upgraded to IAAF Silver Label Road Race in 2013. The race has continued to keep this rating to date.
2. Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon
From 6000 participants in its inaugural year, 2002, the marathon reached a peak of 65,000 runners in 2011. It is an IAAF Gold Label Road Race and one of the most popular marathons across the world.
In its 2014 edition, Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore witnessed a participation of 53,000 runners across various categories. The 14th edition of this popular running event will be held on 6th ?December 2015. The race categories include the full marathon, Ekiden (relay race between teams consisting of six runners running full marathon), half marathon, 10K race, 10K wheelchair, and a children’s edition called the Kids Dash.
3.Standard Chartered Bangkok Marathon
This marathon attracted around 50000 participants from 40 different countries in its 2014 edition. Originated in the year 1988 to commemorate the King’s 60th birthday, this marathon was known as the Royal Marathon Bangkok. Standard Chartered Bank started sponsoring the marathon in 2006.
This event has five categories: the full marathon, half marathon, mini marathon (10K), micro-marathon (4.5K) and walker (1.5K). The 28th edition will be held on 15th November 2015.
4.Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon
This marathon changed the entire dynamics of road racing in India and made it as popular as it is today. Ever since its inception in the year 2004, the popularity of this marathon has grown by leaps and bounds.
The 2015 edition of the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon witnessed around 40000 runners participating. The marathon has six different race categories: marathon, half marathon, Dream Run (6 km), Senior Citizens Race (4.3 km), Champions with Disability category (2.4 km) and DHL Corporate Champions, which is a relay race between teams consisting of four runners running the full marathon.
The race became an IAAF Silver Label Road Race in 2009. The IAAF elevated the race to a Gold Label Road Race in 2010.
