Bangkok--22 May--Weber Shandwick
Get ready to become a part of building a running legend. The course of 16.8km through Sathorn Road will showcase the best runners in the country to compete in Singapore later this year.
adidas, a global leader in running today, announced “adidas King Of The Road: KOTR”, its very own running championship for 2012 across five countries in Southeast Asia (Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore), with the aim of uniting all runners, from social joggers to serious athletes, to build a legendary 16.8 km running route in all participating countries.
Thailand will kick the championship off on Sunday July 29, 2012 from 4.00 am — 9.00 am. With adidas upping the standards of distance running considerably this year, the event will be held at the heart of Bangkok, with the roads being temporarily closed for the event. The race starts and ends at Lumphini Park, with the runners moving along Sathorn Road to cross the King Taksin Bridge, where they will truly experience how it feels to be the “King of the Road”.
In Thailand, the event is open to participants in two categories — the ‘Closed’ category (Men/Women) is open to local runners (Thai nationality) and the ‘Open’ category (Men/Women) for international participants. The races are separated by age, 15-29 years old, 30-39 years old, 40-49 years old, 50-59 years old and 60 years old and over. The winner of each country’s Closed categories (Men/Women) will receive KOTR prizes and qualify for an all-expenses paid trip to Singapore for the “King of the Road: Southeast Asia Championship 2012”.
adidas has set a unique running distance of 16.8 km for each country. This distance comes from the combined routes across the five participating countries, which is the equivalent distance of two full marathons or 84 km. Split across five countries, the distance for each leg equals 16.8 km. The annual race is held to search for winners from each nation to join the grand final in Singapore, the host country this year, where the true “King of the Road” in each respective category will be crowned in October.
Apart from the main 16.8 km route, adidas is offering shorter running distances of 10 km. and 5 km. (any nationality) for everyone who has sport in their heart. The participants are categorized by age and gender: male under 15 years old, male 15-19 years old, male 20-39 years old and male 40 years and over, female under 15 years old, female 15-19 years old, female 20-35 years old, female 35 years old and over.
“As a global leader in running, adidas is geared towards helping runners all over the world perform better with the introduction of products, technology and platforms designed purely with a runner’s needs in mind. The organisation of running events such as the adidas King of the Road championship is meant for runners to challenge themselves and achieve personal breakthroughs,” said Mr. Vijay Chauhan, Country Manager, adidas (Thailand) Co., Ltd.
“This year will be different from the previous KOTR as adidas has received fantastic support from many areas e.g. the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (for public relations and location arrangements), the Tourism Authority of Thailand (for promoting the event to foreign residents in Thailand), the Traffic Police Division (for traffic control) and many other supporters for their kind support with other products and services. We feel very honoured to have been offered all of this for this great event.”
“We hope to contribute to the vibrant sports scene in Thailand and the region by cultivating sporting habits and active lifestyles, and hope that the adidas KOTR will offer runners the opportunity to run different routes across the region that will ultimately enhance their running experience,” added Mr. Chauhan.
Mr. Taweesak Dejdecho, Deputy Permanent Secretary for Bangkok Metropolitan Administration as one of the main supporters of the event said: “adidas King of the Road supports the policy of Bangkok in encouraging city people to exercise, while experiencing the splendid views in Bangkok. This includes a view of the Chao-Praya River from both sides, which can be difficult to see in normal daily life since this place makes up the main business area of Bangkok — ‘Sathorn Road’. The BMA sees this event as a good start to improving the standards of distance running in Thailand and raising them to international standards. We did not hesitate at all to join this event and immediately became a main supporter, and we are glad to actively help the private sector to improve sports.”
The uniqueness of “adidas King of the Road 2012”:
1. Running routes: reflect a true urban lifestyle. adidas has selected Sathorn Road, the main business district of Bangkok as the central running route. On the event day, traffic will be temporarily closed during the race period for all runners to experience the breath-taking views along both sides of the Chao-Phraya River while crossing the King Taksin Bridge and the scenic atmosphere of the Bangkok business zone at sunrise.
2. Different runners with different aspirations: adidas does not limit the event to professional athletes, but encourages everyone including students, young people, families, organizations and working people to participate in the event, to celebrate the true spirit of sports.
3. Encouraging youngsters to exercise: Supporting children and young people to exercise and to love sports is a permanent goal for adidas, and with good support from the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), adidas is delighted to be able to donate running shoes, worth 2.4 million baht to public schools in the Bangkok region. Children who receive running shoes from adidas can join the event free of charge.
4. Increasing the running standard to the global standard: For the very first time in Thailand, the “Shoe Tag”, the newest timing equipment for distance races — widely used internationally, will be used. This ‘tag’ will measure the time with a chip inside the body of the device. Hydration stations as well as food & beverages and baggage deposit will be available along the whole route to maintain competitor’s health throughout the whole race. Also, runners need to do proper warming-up and stretching exercises before and after the races.
adidas aims to target a total of 5,000-7,000 participants in Thailand for the maiden race, with a total of 40,000 participants in total across the region.
Runners and all candidates can register and find more information from today to July 20, 2012 at Tel 02-279-0046-7 or at adidas shops, fl.3 CentralWorld or fl.3 Siam Discovery or fl.2 Mega Bangna or fl.2 Central Rama 3 fl.2 Central Pinklao or G fl. Central Rama 9 or Muangthong Thani or at www.adidaskingoftheroad.com.
Registration fee starts from Bt300 (up to distance). All candidates will receive jersey and medal. (only Shoe Tag will be available for 16.8 km.)
For further media information, please contact:
Ruthaiwan Sinlapachan / Kamolpatch Yarangsee
Weber Shandwick
Tel.: 0 2343 6000 ext. 067 or 179
Email:
[email protected];
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