TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo fulfilled his promise to participate in the Mandiri Jakarta Marathon on Sunday, October 27. But instead of joining the race for adults, Jokowi ran with kids in the children's race dubbed the 'Jakarta Maratoons'.
The governor lined up at the National Monument where the race took place before he ran alongside the children in the one-kilometer long track. The 'Maratoons' was divided into two categories: for kids below eight years old and the eight to 12 years old category. Jokowi took part in the latter.
Before reaching the finish line, Jokowi went out of the running track. He said that he was going straight to his official residence at Taman Suropati road "to change clothes."
Unlike Jokowi, Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan chose to join in the 5-kilometer race. The minister finished the race at around 07.00 am local time.
Gota expressed his appreciation of the regional government and the ministries for collaborating to in organizing the marathon. "I'm sure that, after this event, there would be more parties supporting marathons in Jakarta," Gita said, looking tired after running.
In what is Jakarta's first marathon, 10 thousand people from Indonesia and overseas participated. The race was divided into four distance categories: five kilometer, 10 kilometer, the 21-kilometer half-marathon and the 42-kilometer full marathon. Participants ran along some of Jakarta's main road including as Jalan Sudirman, M.H. Thamrin, Gatot Subroto, Pancoran and Kota Tua (Old Town).
ANGGRITA DESYANI
