The 2012 Land Rover Malta Marathon is set to reach record numbers again this year after it was confirmed that 2,500 athletes will take part in the marathon, half marathon and walkathon on Sunday, February 26.

Speaking at the event’s launch at the Radisson Blue Resort, Joe Micallef, chairman of the organising committee, expressed his delight at the record number of participants.

“We are very pleased that we’ve been able to attract a record number of participants for this year’s race,” Micallef said.

“Since the inaugural marathon in 1986, there has been a steady increase in the number of participants. From an initial entry of 109 runners, the number gradually rose to 1,000 in both the 2008 and 2009 editions. There was a sudden rise in 2010 when the number grew to 1,400.

“Yet, the field burst to 2,200 in 2011. This year, the participation has again gone up to 2,500. Besides, we have also witnessed an increase in the number of foreigners who total around 1,000.”

Micallef said this year’s races will be held in memory of John Walsh, one of the co-founders of the Malta Marathon who passed away in September.

“The growth in the popularity of road running in Malta owes a lot to John Walsh,” Micallef said.

“His regular articles in The Times have been a source of inspiration to many a reader and many runners admit that they took up the sport thanks to him. Thus, it was natural that this year’s edition is dedicated to him.

“Without knowing, thousands of runners who have taken part in the Malta Marathon, Half Marathon, walkathon and the Mdina 2 Spinola events over the past years, have a piece of John’s legacy in their homes as he designed the majority of the medals for these races.

“John had already finished the design for the 2012 Land Rover Malta Marathon medals. The design has been altered to incorporate a tribute to him.”

Carol Walsh, John’s wife, is set to make a comeback in this year’s half marathon, a race she has won a record 15 times in her illustrious career.

The men’s marathon is expected to be one of the fastest for many years with the expected participation of three African athletes of a high calibre.

Moroccan duo Mohamed Hajjy and Abdelekrim Kabbouri, the winner and runner-up of last year’s marathon, will be back. However, their task of repeating last year’s success will be challenged by Kenyan Sammy Kipkemboi Kiprotich who has run the marathon under 2 hours and 20 minutes.

Malta’s hopes will again rest on Jonathan Balzan who finished third last year. Charles Darmanin, who has run in all 26 Malta marathons, is set to stretch his record further when he competes in the 2012 race.

As in previous years, there will be a 2km Fun Run which starts from the Sliema Ferries. This year’s run is open to parents as well as children and one can apply by contacting the Pembroke Athleta club.

Registration of local runners will take place at the Urban Jungle outlet in Sliema between tomorrow and February 23 while overseas runners can collect their number and chip between February 23 and 25.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.