Debutants Set to Heat up Races

Several new faces will join the 2022 Borobudur Marathon Powered by Bank Jateng. Their participation is expected to lift up the competitiveness of the annual event , which carries the theme "Stronger to Victory" this year

KOMPAS/WILIBRORDUS MEGANDIKA WICAKSONO

Hendro Yap, a runner for Elite Race Borobudur Marathon 2022 Powered by Bank Jateng, passes between the Rampak Buto dancers in the Borobudur Temple Area, Magelang, Central Java, Saturday (12/11/2022.

Early Friday (11/11/2022), a number of runners, who are going to compete in the Elite Race (42,195 kilometers) and Young Talent category (10K) of this weekend’s marathon, were preparing to practice by the Progo River, next to the Puri Asri Hotel, Magelang regency, Central Java.

After officials of the organizing committee had briefed them, they started to glide along the road, led by Elite Race’s 36 runners. Among them was Hendro Yap (32).

He enthusiastically took the training session as a rehearsal by pulling himself away and ahead of the big group of runners. While he was realistic about his chance as a national racewalking athlete challenging more established marathoners, he looked determined to strive for a podium. "Of course, I will be running to win here for pride and prize. And, I will be trying hard to outweigh my limitations to prove that a racewalking athlete can win over long-distance runners," he said. He comes from Medan, North Sumatra.

Despite his status as a racewalking athlete at the national training center, Hendro has occasionally participated in marathon competitions since 2018. For him, who was born on October 24, 1990, the two disciplines of track and field sports have a common challenge, which is the reliance on physical shape, stamina, endurance and pace acceleration. In fact, he said, racewalking tended to be more challenging in that the athlete should be mindful of tricky pacing techniques throughout the race despite the shorter distance to cover.

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“What is appealing to me is that the Borobudur Marathon is known for its well-managed and professionally organized event. The routes are also challenging. For me, this event has the potential to become a world-class competition [that can encourage] tourism,” said the winner of four gold medals in the 20-kilometer race of the SEA Games during the 2013-2019 period.

Hendro's best time is 2 hours 51 minutes when he won bronze at the 2017 Jakarta Marathon. He is still well behind other athletes, such as Hamdan Syafril Sayuti of West Sumatra (2 hours 28 minutes), Muhammad Ady Saputra of South Kalimantan (2 hours 28 minutes), Musa of West Kalimantan (2 hours 35 minutes) and Eldak Kafolamau of East Nusa Tenggara (2 hours 35 minutes).

Hamdan is a household name at the Borobudur Marathon, winning in 2017 and 2018. He believed that a new champion would be born in Borobudur this year and that the young crop of debutants looked maturely skillful enough to spring up surprises.

KOMPAS/WILIBRORDUS MEGANDIKA WICAKSONO

The female runners of the Elite Race Borobudur Marathon 2022 Powered by Bank Jateng pass between the Rampak Buto dancers in the Borobudur Temple Area, Magelang, Central Java, Saturday (12/11/2022).

The former national team member at the 2015 Singapore SEA Games predicted that the top-three podiums would be dominated by Ady, who won silver at the 2019 and 2021 Borobudur Marathon, West Sumatra’s Iqbal Saputra (2021 bronze medalist) and Moses.

"All three are in their golden age and in good shape, or free from injuries in the last six months," he said.

Outside the three, Hendro was considered to have potential for making a surprise. "Hendro's strength is his mental determination to win," he said.

All three are in their golden age and in good shape, or free from injuries in the last six months.

Rating his own chance, Hamdan said he was not confident enough to compete for a podium this year as he had been training only in the last month because of an injury on his left calf muscle that he had incurred six months back and needed about three months to recover.

"I wish I had another two or three months [to train], then I would probably be more settled to target a podium," he said.

Women’s competition

In the women's group, former national top long-distance runner Triyaningsih (34) is back in contention after being ranked only in seventh place among ten female runners at last year’s Borobudur Marathon. She is irrefutably a living legend of the Red and White with her still holding the women's marathon’s national record of 2 hours 31 minutes 49 seconds.

However, Triyaningsih, who collected 11 SEA Games gold during the 2007-2017 period, is seemingly entering her twilight career. The runner from Semarang, Central Java, has been deprived of national and international competitions since she left the national training center.

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No wonder, Triyaningsih is realistic about her chances. "Now may not be timely to talk about improving [personal] records. I am just concerned about how to keep up my condition,” said the runner, who was born on May 15, 1988.

Despite her age and decreasing performance, Triyaningsih is still touted to pose a serious challenge for podium positions. The pace to the top might be a bit lighter given that two of last year’s top three finishers – defending champion Odekta Elvina Naibaho of North Sumatra and bronze medalist Irma Handayani of East Kalimantan – are not attending this year.

Meanwhile, the Young Talent category will feature 30 young runners, consisting of 23 boys and 7 girls.

This article was translated by Musthofid.