Many may already know that IRONMAN Asia, the organisers of the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon (SCSM) have announced their bold intention for SCSM to be one of the Abbott World Marathon Majors (AbbottWMM) by 2021.

There are currently six races in the AbbottWMM series and these are in Tokyo, London, Berlin, New York, Chicago and Boston.

I spoke to Tim Hadzima, Executive Director of the AbbottWMM, on the progress of SCSM towards becoming an AbbottWMM.

High Standards For AbbottWMM Races 

Said Tim, “The six races in the AbbottWMM are considered to be the most renowned marathons in the world and we are proud of the very high standards that we set for our events. The organisers of these events are united in their effort to advance the sport, raise awareness of its elite athletes and grow the global base of marathon runners of all ages and abilities. We see the immensely positive impact that the sport of Marathoning can have on the individuals and their communities.”

According to Tim, the six AbbottWMM races deliver several unique benefits for their runners and these are as follows:

• Unparalleled Experience – Operational excellence to ensure a premium race-day journey for the masses
• A Professional Series – where the best professional athletes in the world compete for points with the top three in the elite and wheelchair races taking a share of the USD$820,000 prize money 
• Promotes Marathon Running – In a bid to move the sport forward, AbbottWMM organisers champion anti-doping measures and other efforts.

To date, I have participated in two of the AbbottWMM races, in Berlin and London, and I definitely had a memorable experience at both events, thoroughly enjoying the amazing crowd support and flawless race-day logistics.

AbbottWMM Series Expanding

However now, the AbbottWMM series is expanding into new markets.

Explained Tim, “Wanda signed a 10-year agreement with the AbbottWMM in 2017 to take the series into new markets, targeting non-Japan Asia, Africa and other regions we currently do not have a presence in. Part of this agreement is to identify candidate races that fit certain criteria in new regions, which they have done with Singapore and Chengdu to date.”

IRONMAN Asia is a Wanda Sports Holdings company.

A Step in the Right Direction For Singapore 

And Tim also added, “Singapore was announced as a candidate city in 2017 and they are being assessed each year against the required criteria. There is still a gap between where they are and where they need to be, in order to pass. The recent announcements are definitely a step in the right direction. They still have to pass the full slate of criteria multiple times, to be an AbbottWMM event.”

One of the key announcements made, had been the SCMS becoming a night marathon with a 6:00pm evening flag-off for the Marathon and Half Marathon categories. A new route, pending approval, was also confirmed.

Said Tim, “Singapore is a vibrant global city and seems to have a real passion for running. The changes and new features for the 2019 event will help to create an event that engages more of the city. The new route will, hopefully, show the city at its best and give runners a unique experience. The city also has lots of amazing landmarks in close proximity and the world class infrastructure and public transport makes it very easy for locals and international visitors to enjoy the city and the race.”

Singapore Continues to Learn and Improve Each Year

And he continued, “The SCSM continues to work on and take on board our constructive feedback and assessment notes every year, and they are learning and improving each time. They have also attended several of the Majors to see first-hand what’s required at our races.”

Some of the criteria that SCSM still needs to meet, according to Tim, include elements such as the standard of the elite field, race logistics, media broadcast coverage, spectator numbers and medical services.

Said Tim, “All of these areas are important to ensure a world-class event and they now just need to continue to improve and work with all the government agencies and partners to make it happen.”