The Asian Games Marathon Course: An Early Morning Start for Loops of the City's Main Roads

Its skyline punctuated by skyscrapers demonstrating Indonesia's economic ascension. A lush plaza holding a famed tower, the symbol of the metropolis. When Jakarta hosts the Asian Games next week its marathon course will loop around the city's main streets, starting and finishing from the Games' main venue, Gelola Bungarno Stadium. In light of the heat and humidity of the races' summertime dates, Aug. 25 for men and 26 for women, the marathons will get off to early starts at 6:00 a.m. local time, 8:00 a.m. Japan time.

Leaving the stadium for the main streets, the Jakarta course turns to the north before turning back. Each of the two loops is about 20 km, both mostly flat and straight with the only hills coming in the gentle climbs onto and off the waterway bridges that dot the route. At a rotary about 5 km from the start, runners are greeted by a statue of a man and woman built in 1962 the last time Jakarta hosted the Asian Games. Running on amid the highrises, around 7.5 km runners will catch sight of the famous Monas monument to Indonesian independence, a pure white tower rising over 130 m above the city from the heart of a green plaza, the symbol of Jakarta.

Addressing concerns about the heat and humidity, a spokesperson for the Games' organizing committee emphasized, "With an early morning start it will be fine. It will only be 25 or 26˚C, and it the humidity won't be high like it is in the afternoon." With an excellent 2:06:54 to his name at February's Tokyo Marathon, Hiroto Inoue (MHPS) was focused without being overconfident, commenting, "We're getting there 4 or 5 days beforehand, so I think that should be enough time to get used to it."

source article:
https://www.sankei.com/photo/story/news/180816/sty1808160002-n1.html
translated by Brett Larner

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