Jakarta, officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta and formerly known as Batavia until 1949, is the capital city of Indonesia and an autonomous region at the provincial level. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta is the largest metropole in Southeast Asia and serves as the diplomatic capital of ASEAN. The Special Region has a status equivalent to that of a province and is bordered by two other provinces: West Java to the south and east; and Banten to the west. Its coastline faces the Java Sea to the north, and it shares a maritime border with Lampung to the west. Jakarta's metropolitan area is ASEAN's second largest economy after Singapore. In 2023, the city's GDP PPP was estimated at US$724.010 billion.
The Istanbul Marathon is an international athletics event hosted in Istanbul, Turkey, in November, first held in 1979. It is the only marathon in the world whose course spans two continents, Asia and Europe.
The Great North Run is the largest half marathon in the world, taking place annually in North East England each September. Participants run between Newcastle upon Tyne and South Shields. The run was devised by former Olympic 10,000 m bronze medallist and BBC Sport commentator Brendan Foster.
Hutomo Mandala Putra, commonly known as Tommy Suharto, is an Indonesian businessman and politician. The youngest son of Suharto, the second President of Indonesia, he has long had a reputation of nepotism, corruption, and being a playboy. He gained notoriety for orchestrating the assassination of a judge who convicted him of corruption. He was convicted of murder in 2002 and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment, but was paroled in under four years.
Transjakarta or Jakarta BRT is a bus rapid transit (BRT) system in Jakarta, Indonesia. The first BRT system in Southeast Asia, it commenced operations on 15 January 2004 to provide a fast public transport system to help reduce rush hour traffic. The system is considered as the first revolutionary public transit mode in the capital city of Indonesia. The buses run in dedicated lanes (busways), and ticket prices are subsidised by the regional government. Transjakarta has the world's longest BRT system, which operates about 4,300 buses. Transjakarta aims to have 50 percent of its fleet be electric buses by 2027. By 2030, the aim is for the entire Transjakarta ecosystem to use electric buses. As of November 2023, it serves an average of 1.134 million passengers daily.
The Mumbai Marathon, is an annual international marathon held in Mumbai, India, on the third Sunday of January every year. It is the largest marathon in Asia as well as the largest mass participation sporting event on the continent. It is the richest race in India with a prize pool of US$405000.
The Hong Kong Marathon, sponsored by Standard Chartered Bank, is an annual marathon race held in January or February in Hong Kong. In addition to the full marathon, a 10 km run and a half marathon are also held. Around 70,000 runners take part each year across all events.
Bitung, officially the City of Bitung, is a coastal city at the north-eastern edge of the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia. Bitung is located in the province of North Sulawesi, and faces Lembeh Island, and the Lembeh Strait, which is known for its colourful marine life, in particular sea slugs. Bitung has a population of 187,932 at the 2010 Census, making it the second most populated city in the province after the capital Manado, rising to 225,134 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 232,440.
Merdeka Square is a large square located in the center of Jakarta, Indonesia. Merdeka is the Indonesian word for freedom or independence. Measuring approximately one square kilometer in area, if the surrounding fields within the Merdeka Square are included, it is considered one of the largest squares in the world. At 75 hectares, it is over five times the size of Tiananmen Square, and 12 times the size of Place de la Concorde.
The 2010 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships was held in Nanning, China on 16 October 2010. The competition took place on the city streets, beginning and ending at Wuxiang Square, with a total prize purse of US$245,000 at stake.
The Rock 'n' Roll Madrid Marathon is an annual marathon race which takes place in Madrid, Spain, in late April. The event was first held in 1978 and has since gained IAAF Gold Label Road Race status and had over 15,000 runners participate in the 2017 edition. A 10 km road race was added in 2010 and a Half Marathon road race was added in 2012.
PT Aviastar Mandiri, operating as Aviastar was an Indonesian passenger airline based in East Jakarta, Jakarta, Indonesia.
The Seoul International Marathon, also known as The Dong-A Ilbo Seoul Marathon or Seoul Marathon, is an annual marathon race that takes place in Seoul, South Korea. It is hosted by the newspaper The Dong-A Ilbo. It is one of two annual races over the 42.195 km classic distance in the city, alongside the JoongAng Seoul Marathon which is held in November. It holds World Athletics Platinum Label Road Race status. First held in 1931, it is the third longest-running road running competition in Asia after the Hakone Ekiden and Chugoku Yamaguchi Ekiden in Japan.
The KL Standard Chartered Marathon is an annual marathon event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The event was established in 1989. It is supported by the Malaysian Amateur Athletics Union (MAAU), Federal Territory Amateur Athletics Association (FTAAA) and Kuala Lumpur City Hall. In the 26th edition of the marathon in 2017, close to 36,000 runners participated in the event.
Jalan M.H. Thamrin or Jalan Thamrin is a major thoroughfare in Jakarta, Indonesia. The road is located at the center of Jakarta, running from the north end of Jalan Jenderal Sudirman at West Flood Canal at the south end to the roundabout near Arjuna Wijaya Statue Jakarta at the north end. Developed in the 1950s, the road was a landmark of post-colonial Indonesia and continues to have a prominent importance in Jakarta.
The 2015 IAAF World Cross Country Championships was the 41st edition of the global championships in cross country running, organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations. It was held in Guiyang, China on 28 March. It was the first time that the event was held in China, and the third occasion it took place in Asia. Senior and junior races were held for men and women, with the four races having both a team and individual element.
The Jakarta Light Rapid Transit or Jakarta LRT is one of the light rapid transit systems in Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia. It is conceived and built by the Jakarta provincial government. The first phase of the LRT, from Velodrome to Pegangsaan Dua, began commercial operations on 1 December 2019.
Heru Budi Hartono is an Indonesian bureaucrat who has been the acting Governor of Jakarta since 2022 and Head of the Presidential Secretariat since 2017. He was the former Head of Jakarta Regional Asset Financial Management Agency under Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama between 2015 and 2017. A former mayor of North Jakarta, Heru was appointed by Governor Basuki to be a candidate for deputy governor in the 2017 Jakarta Regional Head Elections if he only advanced through an independent path. He is currently the acting Governor of Jakarta replacing Anies Baswedan since 17 October 2022, until the 2024 Jakarta election.
Bundaran HI is a TransJakarta bus rapid transit station on the M.H. Thamrin Street, Jakarta, Indonesia that serves corridor 1. The station's name comes from the Hotel Indonesia Roundabout, which is located near the station. More than just being a bus station, Bundaran HI Astra station is also a new tourism spot of Jakarta, thanks to its viewing deck that overlooks the historical Selamat Datang Monument.
Geoffrey Birgen 
