Recently I noticed after joined a few running events, I noticed these events are typically held at Dataran Merdeka Kuala Lumpur (Independence Square/Merdeka Square). In addition, the yearly 31 August Malaysia Independence Day Merdeka parade march is always held here.
Dataran Merdeka, located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, holds profound historical significance. Formerly known as the Selangor Club Padang, it was the site of Malaysia's declaration of independence on August 31, 1957.
To get there (Dataran Merdeka) via Public Transport LRT ➕ MRT is as follows (3 ways) :
1. 🚄MRT ➡️ drop off at Pasar Seni MRT station ➡️ take a 10 mins walk
2. LRT ➡️ drop off at Masjid Jamek LRT station ➡️ take a 10 mins walk
3. MRT ➕LRT combination ➡️ drop off at Pasar Seni MRT station then switch to LRT platform and drop off at LRT Masjid Jamek station.➡️ take a 10 mins walk
Arriving at LRT Masjid Jamek, simply exit the station and make your way across the street toward an inviting canopy structure. If you're there in the early morning, you might encounter a few homeless individuals resting, which is a customary sight and poses no harm. Continue on a direct path until a bridge comes into view; strolling across this bridge places you right at the footsteps of Dataran Merdeka. Notably, this bridge traverses the renowned KL River, now known as the River of Life—an ideal spot to capture captivating Instagram moments.
Reason for writing this article is because I was duped into coming out of MRT Merdeka station. The joke was I saw fellow participants for a run and I asked them why they were not coming out at Pasar Seni station and they say that Merdeka MRT station can reach. After coming out of the train we realized Merdeka MRT exits at Stadium Merdeka which is not at all near Dataran Merdeka, Merdeka MRT is also next to the site for PNB118 Tower.
Both sites (Merdeka MRT and Dataran Merdeka) is around 2KM apart.
Updates 01/01/2020
I just participated in the Ultron KL New Year Run 2020. After knowing how to use public transport to get to Dataran Merdeka, travelling there was really a breeze.
One thing I learnt was while the run event organizers mentioned that the run event started at 6AM, the MRT stations do not open until 6AM, so no point to reach the place at 6AM. In fact, most of the participants came around 7AM and the race flag off was only done at 7:30AM. Lesson learnt is that no need to rush down to KL if the race states that it starts at 5AM, 6AM , most people won't even be able to reach there without public transport. This probably only applies to 5km and 10km runs, those 20km and 40km runs typically flags off earlier so Public Transportation could be out of the picture.
Extra Note :
For those who intend to go to Dataran Merdeka on 31 August to see the independence day marches, the trains (MRT/LRT) have special schedules to start from 5AM onwards but this is subjected to some changes yearly so do check the official MRT/LRT Prasarana websites to confirm. Also, do note that national day parades are not always at Dataran Merdeka, there are some years where the event is held at the administrative capital of Putrajaya (Dataran Putrajaya).