Thousands of Runners, Millions of Expressions

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

Participants of the Electric Jakarta Marathon 2018 start their run on Sunday (28/10/2018) at the Gelora Bung Karno sports complex in Jakarta. The event hosted a 5-kilometer and 10-kilometer fun run for children, a half marathon and a full marathon.

Jakarta may be infamous for its chronic traffic jams and air pollution. However, it remains a huge magnet for runners. On Sunday, 12,314 runners took part in the Electric Jakarta Marathon 2018, 314 of whom were children.

Among the enthusiastic runners on Sunday was Romanian Andreea Bollinger. The thirty something athlete said she ran not for the money. For her, reaching the finish line is a personal victory and the greatest gift for her is enjoying the beautiful spots around Jakarta.

Andreea was not the only one. Together with her husband, American Levi Bollinger, she participated in the half marathon. This is their second Jakarta Marathon.

When she passed the National Monument (Monas), Andreea said it felt as if she was passing the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Another wonderful spot for her was the Kota Tua (Old Town) area. “Indonesia has always been special for me. There are so many beautiful spots. I love Indonesia. I love its culture,” she said, adding that she would also participate in next year’s marathon.

She said that she was impressed by the marathon. Apart from the event’s picturesque route, the politeness and smiles from the volunteers and general public made her day. Nevertheless, she continued, as an international event, the marathon could be improved, adding that the route should be cleared of all vehicles. During Sunday’s run, parts of the route were still open to vehicles.

Runner Dulmi, 58, from Sabah, Malaysia, echoed Andreea’s sentiments. “The route should be cleared of all cars and motorbikes. However, it’s good that there are officers managing [vehicle traffic on the route]. All in all, I think the Jakarta Marathon is good. The views are good. I like it,” said Dulmi who finished the marathon in four hours and 48 minutes.

Andreea and Dulmi were just two of 1,067 foreigners taking part in the marathon. The foreign runners came from India, Hungary, France, Poland, Kenya, Uganda, Brazil and Japan. Japan contributed the most foreign runners with 427.

High spirits

Enthusiasm was clear in the way local runners Vivi Dimitrio and Ravhie Walima described the event. Both did not reach the finish line. However, despite the failure, they remained in high spirits, saying that they would participate in next year’s run.

Vivi’s face turned red when she was pushed on a wheelchair towards a medic post. She was exhausted and her eyes were watery. She said she could not believe that she did not finish the marathon, despite completing it without incident last year. “I am sad that I could not finish the Jakarta Marathon this time,” said the Jakartan who injured her left knee.

She said she first felt the pain at the 7-kilometer mark but she just pushed herself. At the 32-km mark, the pain became worse. She decided to rest for a while and continued by walking and running. Unfortunately, 2 km before the finish line, Vivi could not go on. She got cramps in both legs and her left knee started paining. She was then taken the medics for treatment.

Ravhie Walimaher, 21, was also running with a limp. His legs could no longer carry him and he was helped across the finish line. He looked understandably sad, unlike the other runners who finished the marathon.

Ravhie, who lives in Sorong, Papua, participated in the full marathon. He first felt pain in his right leg at the 9-km mark. However, he pressed ahead and remained on target to reach the finish line.

Unfortunately, before reaching the 11-km mark, his leg started paining and he suffered from cramp. “I rested for a moment. From then on, I just walked lightly and only ran once in a while. As I forced myself to reach the finish line, my right leg became increasingly painful,” he said while lying down on a bed at the medic post, with his leg wrapped in ice packs.

Kenyan runners dominated the full marathon and clinched the top three positions. Bernard Mwendia Muthoni finished first in 2 hours, 19 minutes and 10 seconds. He won Rp 100 million (US$6,573.86) for his efforts. Peter Kipleting Keter finished second and Josphat Kiptanui T Chobei third.

In the women’s marathon, Kenyan runner Chesang Sheila Jepkosgei finished first in 2 hours, 46 minutes and 33 seconds. Kenyans Chemutai Immaculate and Margaret Njuguna finsihed second and third, respectively.

Among the local runners, Agus Prayogo finished in a time of 2 hours, 36 minute and 55 seconds. M Arief Hartani, 52, who participated in the 5K run, died due to heart failure.

(E20/E19)