The Colombo Marathon, officially known as the LSR Colombo Marathon and formerly known as the LSR International Marathon, is a marathon held annually since 1998 in

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo m ...

, capital city of Sri Lanka. It is a permanent member of Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS). It also has voting rights in AIMS, which makes it one of 56 races out of 110 worldwide with that right.

History

In the late 1990s, Sri Lankan tour operator LSR decided to start an international marathon in Sri Lanka because there was no such event in Sri Lanka at that time. The first marathon, the "LSR International Marathon", was held in the city of

Galle Galle ( si, ගාල්ල, translit=Gālla; ta, காலி, translit=Kāli) (formerly Point de Galle) is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the southwestern tip, from Colombo. Galle is the provincial capital and largest city of Southern ...

in 1998. The host city of the marathon subsequently changed to

Negombo Negombo (, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the west coast and at the mouth of the Negombo Lagoon, in Western Province, from Colombo via Colombo - Katunayake Expressway. Negombo is one of the major commercial hubs in the country an ...

Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...

, and then

Dambulla Dambulla ( si, දඹුල්ල ''Dam̆bulla'', ta, தம்புள்ளை ''Tampuḷḷai'') is a town situated in the north of Matale District, Central Province of Sri Lanka. It is the second largest populated and urbanised centre af ...

, before Sri Lanka's capital

hosted the event for the first time in 2004. In 2006 the name of marathon was changed to the "LSR Colombo Marathon".

Organization

Travel agent and tour operator company Lanka Sportreizen (LSR) is the organizer and primary sponsor of the marathon. The event is also supported by the

Ministry of Tourism The Minister of Tourism is the head of the governmental department that specializes in tourism, recreation and/or culture. The position exists in many different countries under several names: *Ministry of Tourism and Environment (Albania) * Minist ...

, the Ministry of Youth Affairs, the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

, and the Ministry of Sport, along with

Sri Lankan Airlines SriLankan Airlines (formerly known as Air Lanka) is the flag carrier of Sri Lanka and a member airline of the Oneworld airline alliance. It is currently the largest airline in Sri Lanka by number of aircraft and destinations and was launched ...

and the

Sri Lanka Police Service (The one who lives by the Dhamma is protected by the Dhamma itself) , mission = , formedyear = , preceding1 = Ceylon Police Force (1866–1972) , dissolved = , superseding = , employees = ...

. Technical assistance is provided by the Athletic Association of Sri Lanka. Some of the key objectives of the marathon are to promote recreational activities in Sri Lanka and to promote Sri Lanka as safe and ideal place for tourism and sports.

Participants and prize

The 2015 edition of the marathon hosted around 7,000 runners from more than 30 countries, who participated in various categories. The prize money for the event was increased from 2014 to encourage an increase in participation, with the prize money for winner of full marathon increasing from $1,500 (US) to $2,500 (US). The event includes a special full and half marathons for men and women over 50 years in addition to a "fun run" of 5 and 10 km for youth aged more than 15 years.

Course

The full marathon starts at the headquarters of the

Ministry of Sports A Ministry of Sports or Ministry of Youth and Sports is a kind of government ministry found in certain countries with responsibility for the regulation of sports, particularly those participated in by young people. The Ministry of Youth and Sp ...

and proceeds through the suburbs of Borella,

Dematagoda Dematagoda is in Colombo, Sri Lanka represented by divisional code 9 (Colombo 09). It is surrounded by Borella, Maradana and Kolonnawa Kolonnawa ( si, කොලොන්නාව, ta, கொலன்னாவ) is a town located on the eas ...

Peliyagoda Peliyagoda is a town in the Western Province of Sri Lanka, lying mostly on the north shore of the Kelani River. As of 2020 it had an estimated population of 28, 784. The Airport Expressway's entry point and the Toll Plaza starts from the Peli ...

Wattala Wattala ( si, වත්තල, ta, வத்தளை) is a large suburb of Colombo city, in Western Province, Sri Lanka, situated around 9 km from Colombo city centre. This suburb is situated on A3 highway from Colombo to Negombo. Around ...

, along the

Hamilton Canal The Hamilton Canal ( Sinhala: හැමිල්ටන් ඇල ''Hæmiltan Æla'') (also commonly known as the Dutch Canal) is a canal connecting Puttalam to Colombo, passing through Negombo in Sri Lanka. The canal was constructed by the Bri ...

, Pamunugama, Thalahena, Pitipana and Duwa, finishing at the

Beach Park.

Results

References

{{reflist Marathons in Sri Lanka Athletics competitions in Sri Lanka Recurring sporting events established in 1998