TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The high interest in BII Maybank Bali Marathon caused the organizers' to be optimistic that the race would at least have 5,000 participants. The marathon will be held in September 14, 2014 on streets at Gianyar Regency, Bali.

"More than 2,000 runners participated in the marathon’s first year, which is 2012," said BII Maybank president director Taswin Zakaria on Tuesday. "The number increased by 50 percent to more than 3,000 participants in 2013. This year, we target 5,000 participants from national or international."

According to Taswin, runners from 46 countries last year went through distance of 42 kilometers. The date was set in September to avoid legislative and president elections and Ramadhan month. "So the committees have a lot of time to prepare," he said.

The marathon is divided to three main races for adult, which are full marathon (42 kilometers), half marathon (21 kilometers) and 10 kilometers. The children category only has one race, which is called the children sprint.

ADITYA BUDIMAN