The International Marathon celebrates its 25th anniversary in December, and again this year hundreds of athletes from all over the world will run for the money or for their personal best. As before, the Marathon has something for everyone, from the fastest track stars to the intrepid weekend joggers. In addition to the 42.195-kilometer title event, athletes will be running through the streets of Macau, Taipa, and Coloane, on December 3 in two others: the 21.0975-kilometer Half Marathon and the 5-kilometer Mini Marathon. The races draw crowds to the finish line to cheer on their favorite athletes as they win, place, or just enjoy the excitement of their achievement. Last year's event saw 904 local athletes and 1,976 overseas runners from 43 countries and regions vying for a total of MOP$872,800 in prizes.
The Macau Sport Development Board and Macau Athletic Association organize the Macau International Marathon as a way to develop local sports, to raise the level of marathon running and to strengthen friendship with people from different parts of the world. At the same time, the races boost tourism by adding another world-class spectacle to the city's calendar of events.
"Developing sport brings all different kinds of growth to Macau," according to Macau Sport Development Board President Alex Vong.
"In all the things we do," Vong says about the Macau Sport Development Board, "we get the best for our public. All of them are important because they build the image of Macau sport."
One of the reasons the races are better than ever right now is that a big part of their backing and the prizes is put up by Galaxy Entertainment Group, the event's title sponsor since 2004, who have pledged sponsorship funding to the tune of MOP3,000,000 disbursed over a three-year period.
But it's not only about the cash prizes. As Galaxy Casino S.A. Director Philip Cheng said, "running a marathon attests to and promotes the human spirit of perseverance," and "this is exactly the spirit that the people of Macau hold dear."
Local resident Ken Lam, 26, a telephone engineer, has that spirit in abundance. Lam has been running the Macau marathon since 2004, and although he was only able to remain in the race for 39 kilometers last year, he hopes to finish the marathon in December. "I want to do it while I'm still young," he said. For him, running the marathon is "a great experience" that challenges him to achieve his personal best. It's a struggle to keep running for five straight hours, but he says he can see his technique improving. "I'll keep on running as long as I can," he vows.

What the winners take home
Prizes will be awarded only to male athletes who finish the race in 2 hours 25 minutes or less and female athletes who finish in 2 hours and 44 minutes or less.
First prize for male and female categories is US$10,000, second prize US$6,000, third prize US$3,5000 with prizes of lesser amounts down to US$750 for 15th place.
Macau athletes winning first prize in the male category will receive MOP5,000; in the female category MOP3,000, second prize MOP3,000 and MOP2,000 and third prize MOP2,000 and 1,000.
Bonus prizes of US$3,000 will be awarded to the first three male athletes who finish in less than 2 hours 17 minutes, and female athletes finishing in less than 2 hours 37 minutes.
Bonuses of US$10,000 for breaking records of 2:14:00 for male athletes and 2:33:00 for female athletes, and US$5,000 for breaking records of 2:15:21 for male athletes and 2:34:57 for female athletes.
Trophies will be awarded to the oldest runner to finish within the time limit, as well as groups who finish the race with the largest number of participants in the mini Marathon. Every participant will receive a souvenir.
For more details, visit the Official Race Website at http://www.macaumarathon.com