The Aspen-Klippa Penang Bridge International Marathon (PBIM) is now open for registration. The run, scheduled for Sunday, Dec 14, and is expected to draw 25,000 runners from all across the world, said chief minister Chow Kon Yeow.
The race route is from Aspen Vision City in Batu Kawan, across Penang's second bridge, Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah Bridge, and then back to Aspen Vision City.
The categories for the race are full marathon, half marathon, and 10km run.
The registration fees remain the same as last year and there is a saving of RM30 between early bird and regular registrations for full marathon and half marathon. For 10km and junior categories, there is a saving of RM20.
For regular registrations, the full marathon is RM150, the half marathon is RM140, with the 10km open and junior categories, at RM120 and RM90, respectively. The junior category is open to those aged between 13 and 17 years old.
Chow said 23,000 runners participated in last year’s PBIM.
“The target of 25,000 participants (this year) reflects the growing passion for endurance sports, and also Penang’s rising prominence as a global sporting hub,” he said during a press conference in Komtar on March 28.
He also stated the state’s commitment to further empowering women in sports by ensuring that events like PBIM continue to provide opportunities, support, and visibility for female athletes.
He highlighted that nearly one-third of the participants last year were women, breaking traditional barriers in endurance sports.
Chow said that last year, PBIM took the initiative to introduce a special category for visually impaired runners and proved that disability should never be a barrier to participation.
“In 2025, PBIM is looking to introduce more disability-friendly initiatives and work with stakeholders to ensure this event remains truly inclusive,” he said.
“Our commitment to inclusivity goes beyond gender as PBIM took a significant step forward by introducing a special category for visually impaired runners (VIPs) in collaboration with the St Nicholas’ Home and Aspen Group.”
State tourism and creative economy committee chairman Wong Hon Wai said that the PBIM is the longest bridge run in Southeast Asia and one of the toughest races in the region.
He said that Penang's second bridge offers a unique challenge with long, open stretches, strong crosswinds, elevation changes, and the mental test of running through the night.
“This marathon is more than just a race. It is a challenge of endurance and perseverance. A platform that unites runners from across the world and is a proud symbol of Penang's commitment to sports tourism.
This year PBIM 2025 will introduce ‘Pen Zone’, a new initiative to improve race logistics, where runners will start in different sections based on their expected finishing times.
There are also plans to expand the entertainment areas and Decathlon Resting zones to provide more comfort and recovery space for the runners.
Chow said that he welcomed the PBIM to be in Batu Kawan and to attract more visitors, to be more visible and to feel sustainable economic development.
“Reinforcing sports tourism is a vital pillar of our economic strategy. Our investment in this sector is not merely about athletics. It is about creating a sustainable economic future.”
Chow added that the state’s focus includes strengthening private partnerships to elevate event quality, investing in better facilities and infrastructure for sports tourism, expanding outreach programmes to attract more international participants, and ensuring accessibility and inclusivity in all sporting events.
“These initiatives ensure that Penang continues to lead as a premier destination for world-class sporting events,” he added.
More information about the PBIM can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/penangbridgemarathon.
Carolyn Khor is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
The User Content (as defined on Newswav Terms of Use) above including the views expressed and media (pictures, videos, citations etc) were submitted & posted by the author. Newswav is solely an aggregation platform that hosts the User Content. If you have any questions about the content, copyright or other issues of the work, please contact creator@newswav.com.