KARACHI: Pakistani runners delivered impressive performances at Sunday’s Sydney Marathon, the first edition of the event since its elevation to Abbott World Marathon Major status, with Karachi’s Faisal Shafi setting a Guinness World Record of running in a light military uniform to honour the country’s armed forces.
The race, now the seventh member of the prestigious marathon majors series alongside Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York, took runners on a scenic tour of Sydney’s most iconic landmarks.
The course wound past the Opera House, across the Harbour Bridge, through the Royal Botanic Garden and along the picturesque waterfront of Sydney Cove.
Faisal Shafi completed the challenging 42.195-kilometre course in three hours, 40 minutes and 13 seconds while wearing light military gear, establishing what the Guinness World Records confirmed as a new world record for the category.
His achievement highlighted a strong showing by Pakistan’s running community in this historic inaugural major marathon.
“It was an ideal time to pay tribute to Pakistan’s armed forces, our martyrs, and the immense sacrifices of our soldiers,” Shafi told Geo News after his feat, adding: “I am proud to have done that as a civilian on this global stage”.
Faisal highlighted that it was a military-inspired uniform designed specially for the event but running while wearing the uniform was not an easy task.
Meanwhile, the fastest Pakistani finisher at the Sydney Marathon 2025 on Sunday was Australian-based Ali Zaidi, who clocked 3:05:33 to lead the contingent. He was followed by Islamabad’s Bilal Ehsan, who posted 3:15:03 as the top performer among runners who traveled from Pakistan specifically for the event.
Fahd Mukhtar, Hamid Butt and Bacha Hussain were also among the top performers from Pakistan on Sunday’s Sydney Marathon.
Shafi’s performance also earned him his seventh star in the Abbott World Marathon Majors series, joining seven other Pakistani runners who achieved the same milestone in Sydney’s debut as a major marathon.
The course, known for its challenging hills, particularly in the later stages around Mrs Macquarie’s Chair and Art Gallery Road, tested runners’ endurance with its undulating terrain.
The elite group of Pakistani seventh-star achievers included Fahd Mukhtar from Multan (3:29:21), Hamid Butt from Lahore (3:34:26), Huma Rahman from the United Kingdom (3:38:09), Dr. Salman Khan from the United States (3:39:50), Jamal Khan from the United States (4:10:10), Yusra Bokhari from the United States (5:13:49) and Ziyad Raheem from the United Kingdom (5:37:01).
