Imagine waking up at 2:00 a.m. just to go for a run at 4:30 a.m. in the morning.
No thank you. Like, who would want to do that?!
Besides the fact that you have to wake up when it’s still zombie hour, it won’t be good for your body either, especially having to exert energy to run.
Yet, many still do it out of their love for running and keeping fit at the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon (SCSM) every year, one of Singapore’s biggest marathons. If you’re one of them, I seriously salute you.
All that’s about to change now, though, so you don’t have to go through that strenuous schedule ever again.
From Sunrise To Sundown
The Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon has changed its flag-off time to 6:00 p.m.
It’s the first evening edition they will be holding since their first run in 1982, a whopping 37 years ago.
Usually, it starts between 4:30 am to 5:30 am., whereby people would have to Grab there or take a shuttle bus (which is catered just for the event) as public transport hasn’t even begun operations.
Damn early…
This year’s edition will take place from 29 Nov to 1 Dec 2019, with the kids run happening at 7:00 p.m. on the first day, followed by the half-run and the ekiden race.
The 10km and 5km runs will begin the next morning at 6:30 am and 8:30 am respectively.
Why The Change?
Their aim for changing the timing to something more, humane, shall we say, is to increase participation rate by making it more convenient and appealing for Singaporeans to join the race.
This is in line with wanting SCSM to become a world Major.
Major? Like the one you take in university?
Nope, it’s a different Major, which I’m also now finding out about for the first time, so I’ll enlighten you on it too.
Abbott World Marathon Majors
The Abbott World Marathon Majors is a series consisting of six of the largest and most renowned marathons in the world:
- Tokyo Marathon
- Boston Marathon
- Virgin Money London Marathon
- BMW Berlin-Marathon
- Bank of America Chicago Marathon
- TCS New York City Marathon.
It’s a competitive series in which the best male, female and wheelchair competitors throughout the races will be determined and awarded, so people really train hard for these marathons and take it very seriously.
Nomination
Singapore was announced as an official nominee with the SCSM to join the list of cities above in 2017 and has since been working towards earning a spot.
Competition is tight, though, for they’re only going to be expanding the list to nine cities from the six they have now.
There’s a criterion to hit to be included in the list officially, which is what Ironman, the organiser, not the superhero, is focusing on this year.
One of the requirements for a marathon to be considered in the Majors is that it has to have at least 15,000 finishers, and the SCSM only had 10,000 last year.
Geoff Meyer, the managing director of Ironman, said that with the change in timing, they’re hoping for more participants this year. “Running at 4:30 in the morning does not generate the crowd we are after. We want Singaporeans to come out and embrace this event as one of their own,” he added.
To attract even more Singaporeans to this year’s event, new spectator zones and over 26 entertainment points on the route will be included.
Ambitious as they are, the team is hoping for SCSM to be included as a Major in 2021.
It’s a good move for the race is going to start in the evening instead, because I’m pretty sure most people didn’t join only because of the ghostly start timings. Either that or they’re just lazy.
Now there’s one less excuse for you to get up off your couch and join the marathon.
Here’s a simplified summary of the South Korea martial law that even a 5-year-old would understand:
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