Laguna Phuket Marathon to Take Place on Sunday 14 June 2009

The fourth Laguna Phuket International Marathon, presented by Nike, will take place on Sunday 14 June 2009 at the resort complex.

Organised by Go Adventure Asia, the marathon expects to welcome some 4000 participants, including 1500 international runners from approximately 40 countries to participate in this year’s event.

A series of events will kick-off on Friday 12 June starting with a two-day expo featuring sponsor booths and a number of activities including a welcome pasta party the evening before the event and a farewell party on race day. Race day on 14 June will comprise a 42k Marathon, a 21k Half-marathon, a 10.5k Run, a 2k Kids Run and a 5k Walk.

The 42k Marathon’s scenic course will start and end within Laguna Phuket, passing through tropical rainforests, rubber plantations and local villages, heading north towards Nai Yang beach before turning back to Laguna Phuket. The course is flat with some rolling hills inbetween.

The start time of the 5k Walk has been moved back an hour to 8am to encourage more participation from families and corporate groups. Last year, some 800 participants took part in the walk and this year the organisers aim is to break the 1000 participants mark.

Participants in any of the races at the 2009 Laguna Phuket International Marathon are also encouraged to take part in fundraising for charity, whether it is a charity of their choice or the Laguna’s preferred cause, which currently is a disadvantaged school, Ban Klong Sai School in neighbouring Phang-nga province. Each participant taking part in the fundraising effort is to pledge to raise a certain amount of money for the cause at the same time that they pledge to compete in one of the races on 14 June.

After a successful introduction in 2008 and in an effort to emphasize the fun aspect of the Laguna Phuket International Marathon a photo contest for runners, walkers, volunteers and spectators will again be held in conjunction with the event. The idea has been proposed by renowned eco marathoner and slow running advocate Hajime Nishi, who has taken more than 50,000 photos during his 550 marathons in 71 countries since 1990. Nishi himself will again take part in the event to demonstrate his ethos of slow running and environmental protection with other runners.

Online registration is open until 5 June 2009.

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