The history of marathon comes from the legend of Pheidippides. In 490BC in the Battle of Marathon a Greek messenger was dispatched by the Athenian army to run back from Marathon to Athens to convey the good news that they have defeated the Persian army. The precise distance he ran is still debatable. In 1896 the marathon became one of the original modern Olympic events. The length of a marathon was not fixed and the distances in the first few Olympic were approximately 40 kilometers (25 miles) roughly the distance from Marathon to Athens .
In May 1921 the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) set the standard distance of the marathon at a distance of 42.195 kilometers (26 miles 385 yards). This seemingly arbitrary distance appears to have been adopted from the 1908 Summer Olympics in London .
Marathon in Sabah
Sabah is one of the thirteen states in Malaysia; it is situated in the island of Borneo, the third largest island in the world. The first marathon in Sabah was held in 1984 and it was called the Daily Express Sabah Marathon. The next marathon was held 23 years later in 2008 and it was called the Borneo International Marathon (BIM). BIM was organized by Championship Sport Event Sdn. Bhd., helmed by Mr. Andrew Voon as the Race Director. It had since seen three subsequent editions. Andrew was the person instrumental in organizing the Borneo International Marathon.
On June 18th 2011 the running community was deeply shocked and saddened by his sudden demise after collapsing during his routine run in Likas, Sabah . It took some time for his group of running buddies to get over this shock and to start thinking of the fate of Borneo International Marathon. After much deliberation, meetings and discussions, Andrew's friends applied and successfully registered a running club called the Kinabalu Running Club (KRC), which has undertaken the task of organizing the fifth Borneo International Marathon on 6th May 2012.
Andrew has started working on BIM 2012 immediately after BIM 2011. He has booked Likas Stadium which is the starting point for the race. The feeling of nostalgic is still lingering for his group of friends that he left so suddenly and so we decided to choose GONE RUNNING as the tag line for BIM 2012. Our team is committed to make Borneo International Marathon 2012 a very happy and memorable run, this we are sure what our dear friend aspired.
Happy Running!
Thank you.
Written by,
Dr. Helen B. Lasimbang
Race Coordinator
