Runners who signed up for a half-marathon in Singapore on Sunday morning, 27 September, ended up running less than half the planned distance after worsening haze forced organisers to change the event.
The inaugural Kiprun Singapore, presented by Decathlon Singapore and organised by MetaSport, was adjusted in the early hours of race day. Its headline 21.1km half-marathon was shortened to 10km, while the awards ceremony was cancelled.
The event itself was not cancelled, with the shortened half-marathon flagging off at around 5am.
Organisers Reviewed Air Quality at 2am
According to The Straits Times, organisers announced the changes on Instagram after reviewing air-quality conditions at 2am.
They said the decision was made based on predetermined thresholds as air quality deteriorated.
Besides cutting the half-marathon to 10km, organisers made all race categories non-competitive. This meant there would be no official rankings or results, while the planned awards ceremony was scrapped.
The originally scheduled 10km and 5km races, as well as the 670m Kids Dash, kept their distances. Their start times also remained unchanged.
The shortened half-marathon began at around 5am, followed by the 10km race at 6am and the 5km event at 7am. The Kids Dash was scheduled for 9am.
Kiprun Singapore had originally been promoted with a 21.1km half-marathon as its main event, alongside the three shorter categories.
PSI Entered Unhealthy Range in Several Parts of Singapore
The changes came as haze pushed air quality into the unhealthy range across several parts of Singapore.
At the organisers’ 2am review, the 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index, or PSI, was 126 in central Singapore, 109 in the east and 104 in the west, according to The Straits Times. A PSI reading from 101 to 200 falls within the unhealthy range.
Conditions worsened further in the following hours. As at 7am, the 24-hour PSI stood at 128 in the central region, 115 in the east and 106 in the west.
The north and south remained in the moderate range, at 89 and 95 respectively.
The National Environment Agency had said on 26 September that Singapore’s air quality over the following 24 hours was expected to range from moderate to the low end of the unhealthy range.
Some Landmarks Dropped From Shortened Route
The race started along Nicoll Highway and finished at Decathlon Singapore Lab in Kallang.
Shortening the half-marathon also meant runners no longer covered parts of its originally planned route, which included landmarks such as Marina Barrage, Gardens by the Bay, Marina Bay Sands and the Singapore Flyer.
The organisers acknowledged that participants had spent considerable time preparing for the event and that the last-minute changes could be disappointing.
