Never been to the beautiful Indonesia in your life? Well, why not get this opportunity to visit Borneo, Indonesia by joining a running event to explore the city.
Before we talk about the run , let’s look back into the history of the Pontianak City and find out what we can expect should we turn up for the event in February.
About Pontianak City
Pontianak is a multicultural city with many different ethnic groups living in the city such as the Dayak, Malay, Bugis people and Chinese.
The diverse ethnic groups have created a unique culture that cannot be found in other parts of Indonesia.
According to Wikipedia, Pontianak City was founded on 23 October 1771 around an old trading station on the Borneo coast and is formerly the capital of the independent Sultanate of Pontianak.
It is built on swampy ground that is subjected to regular flooding by the river, requiring buildings to be constructed on piles to keep them off the ground.
Pontianak name refers to a story about ghosts that people in West Kalimantan refer to as Pontianak (a ferocious female ghost in Malay); it was a ghosts’ nest until Syarif Abdurrahman Alkadrie and his Army fought and extruded ghosts who attacked his group by shooting cannonballs.
He then built a mosque and a palace, exactly on the location of the ghosts’ nest, and settled. The mosque and the palace became the first buildings in Pontianak City. To this day, Pontianak people shoot made up cannons from logs every Ramadan and holiday events to pay tribute to the Sultan.
Pontianak features a tropical rainforest climate with large amount of rainfall throughout the year with a consistent temperature of average 23°C – 30°C throughout the whole year.
About Pontianak City Run Half Marathon 2020
The second edition of the Pontianak City Run Half Marathon will be held again in Pontianak, West Borneo, Indonesia on Sunday, February 2, 2020 in the Kapuas River Square at 4 a.m. local time.
The inaugural running event has seen close to 4,000 participants who filled the Kapuas River Square in 2019.
In the 2nd edition, Pontianak City Run has changed its name to Pontianak City Run Half Marathon 2020.
To mark the name change, a new category— the 21K half marathon category was introduced and is expected to be a new achievement for runners in West Borneo and outside the island of Borneo.
There are 4 race categories for the Pontianak City Run Half Marathon 2020 which are
- Kids 1K,
- Students 5K for ages 12-18 years,
- 5K Open
- 21K Open
As the first half marathon event in Pontianak City, the organiser is trying to give their best with a podium prize that is competitive enough for the winners of each category for both male and female participants.
One key highlight for the race of the race entitlements is the finisher medal. The Pontianak City Run Half Marathon 2020 finisher medal is designed with the characteristic of Pontianak city. This year, it’s will be a picture of Siluk or Arowana, whereas the previous year it’s a Hornbill.
If you are bored with the running the same race in your country, travel abroad to start a runcation would be interesting. Why not start with Pontianak City first?
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