Last Saturday night, the OSIM Sundown Marathon took place at the F1 pit building.

Singapore’s largest night marathon 

Billed as Singapore’s largest night marathon, the OSIM Sundown Marathon was created in 2008 as a unique training programme for ultra-marathons that require running through the night.

It has grown from strength to strength beginning with 6,000 runners in the inaugural edition to a total of 25,000 runners across its four categories of 5km, 10km, 21.1km and 42.195km. 

The race was making a comeback in 2023 after a break of three years due to Covid-19 pandemic. 

Ran the half marathon 

I took part in the half marathon (21.1km) category this year. 

The 5km flagged off at 8pm, the 10km at 10pm and the half and full marathons flagged off together at 11.30pm. 

I took the train to Promenade Station and reached the F1 Pit Building at around 10.20pm.

Reaching the race area 

There were several runners on the train and plenty were making their way to the start point. So I was in good company. 

Entering the race precinct and the baggage check area was smooth.

Runners with baggage versus no baggage were segregated into lanes and the process was orderly and took only a couple of minutes, despite the short queues building up when I arrived. 

Vibe and activity 

At the F1 Pit Building, it was a hive of activity. There was a carnival-like atmosphere and the Jumanji movie was playing on the big screen. A few runners were watching.

As well, there were several food and drink stalls around but I didn’t really look to see what they were selling as I’d already eaten my dinner. 

As well, an OSIM massage area was also on-site too. 

Everything looked very festive and lively, just like in the days before Covid hit.

Very crowded 

Due to the throngs of people, it was impossible to find my friends at the start. But I did bump into some runners whom I knew and said hi to them. 

So I made my way into Pen A at around 11am. There were already crowds of runners queuing up to get into the respective pens.

Pen allocation this year was according to a first come, first served basis, therefore the queues. 

Entering my start pen 

I made it into Pen A and from that point onwards, it was a waiting game for the race to begin.

Emcees Ross and Kelly did a fantastic job in hyping up the crowd. They are always so bubbly and cheerful and the two of them work very well together. It was also very nice of Ross to give me a mention at the start – thanks so much Ross!

Time for flag off 

Before we knew it, it was time to run. There was a 20-second countdown and were flagged off at about 11.31pm according to my watch.

I was near the front of the pen. Right from the beginning, I found myself following the two-hour half marathon pacers. 

As I had started towards the front, I managed to avoid the bulk of the crowds and congestion at the start.

A long and humid night

Within the first couple kilometres into the run, I could feel that it was going to be a long night.

Despite it being at midnight, the humidity levels were super high, possibly close to 100 per cent, and the temperature was around 30 degrees. So the weather was very challenging to run in.

This race would definitely test me to the extreme. 

I found myself thinking, thank god I had signed the half and not the full marathon. I couldn’t imagine running a full marathon again under such tough weather conditions. 

I have already done the Sundown full several times in the past and it’s not for me. Completing a half at Sundown is good enough.

Settling into pace 

For the first half of the race, I tried to settle into my pace (about 5:40 min/km) using the 2-hour pacers as a guide. 

At this pace, it should usually be a pretty steady effort for me, but I think the humidity was too high and my body was also shutting down as I am usually asleep at this late hour.

As well, I listened to my favourite music to try and get into a rhythm. I was trying not to think about the distance I still had left in the early kilometres.  

Race route 

The route was a scenic city route, passing by key Singapore landmarks such as the Singapore Flyer, Sports Hub and the Marina Bay Sands. As it was dark, there was not really much to see though.

It was not entirely flat, with a few slopes and bridges along the way to test our stamina and endurance. 

The paths were wide throughout the run and there were no bottlenecks along the route from what I can remember. 

The half and the full would follow the same route for around 13km before the full turned off to East Coast Park due to the extra distance required.

Sections were dark

A few segments of the route were also rather dark and I had to slow down at these areas and watch my step so that I did not trip up.

I know that I am quite clumsy so it is best to be cautious.

Maybe for future editions, I wondered if it may be possible to install artificial lighting to brighten up these places. 

It was definitely good that the organisers had thoughtfully put ramps over the staircases and other possible trip points, for example, the one in front of The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands.

This was a good move because it greatly reduced the chance of runners tripping and falling. I thoroughly appreciated this.  

Running and pacing 

Along the way, I tried to have a bit of fun by taking photos and videos. I guess that to a small extent, this helped to keep me awake a little. 

The pacers, who are from Running Department, were professional and their pace was like clockwork.

They used both their watch and the distance markers to gauge the pace and distance to ensure accuracy of their pacing. This is what all race pacers would do. 

Distance markings 

In terms of the distance markers, these were positioned at every kilometre. 

But I felt that for some, the placement was not very prominent and they didn’t stand out.

As a result, I missed out on spotting some. 

Hydration Stations

The hydration stations were super regular. I counted about eight hydration points along the way for the half marathon. I made sure I took some at every hydration point because of the challenging weather conditions. 

Some served water only, but others had both water and 100PLUS isotonic beverage. There was more than plenty of the hydration available.

But the 100PLUS and water was not always cold when I drank it. There were several times when the drink was lukewarm. I always prefer my drink to be ice-cold.

Still following my football 

Around 12.30pm, the English Premier League match between Arsenal and Nottingham Forest kicked off. I was just over halfway into my half marathon at this time. 

As I am an Arsenal fan, I had hoped that listening to the game live would motivate me as I ran.

So I decided to tune into the live match audio using the LiveScore app. Well… let’s just say that this turned out to be a very, very bad decision. And let’s just leave it at that. Football fans will know why. 

Second half 

The second half of the 21km was a struggle. This point of the run took us along Marina Barrage and the Bay East Gardens. 

I was tempted to slow down, but I didn’t. I wanted to at least keep up with the pacers. We were already on the return stretch.

Split point 

When I saw the split point of the half and full marathon routes at around 13km, I was  very glad that I was running the half and not the full. 

At this stage, I had 8km left at this point whereas the full marathon still had 29km to run. 

Supporters come out 

Along the way, I really appreciated that so many running groups had come out to support in full force and cheer on those running. 

Some had even prepared motivational signs and banners too. This support really does help to lift our energy and spirits. I am thankful to them all for being awake to cheer and support us runners at such an ungodly hour.

I also took an isotonic drink from one of the unofficial runner groups who were at the beach volleyball area of the Singapore Sports Hub – I  need to say thanks to them for the much-needed drink.  

One more parkrun to go 

As I passed the 16km marker, I told myself, only one more parkrun to go. 

But my body desperately wanted to go to sleep already. It was me running against my body clock. 

I saw a lady swaying and staggering at around 18km. I noticed that was unable to run in a straight line and knocked over a barrier. She even cut into my path at one stage and I had to swerve to avoid her. I didn’t see her again after I overtook her. Hopefully she is ok.

I want to go home and sleep 

I kept the pacers within my sights all the way till about 19 or 20km, then I picked up the pace towards the finish line. 

My biggest motivation was to finish so that I could go home and sleep.  

Sub 2 hours 

I finished with an unofficial time of 1 hour 59 minutes 40 seconds according to my Garmin. Sub 2. 

At 21.16km, the race distance was accurate and on point. 

It may not be a personal best, but I still managed to run a sub 2 despite the challenging weather, which is good enough for me.

The pacers finished right behind me. Thank you to the guys and gal for the pacing! 

Finisher bling and entitlements 

Our finisher entitlements were a bottle of water, a can of 100PLUS and a banana, in addition to our race medal.

It was a bit of a walk from the finish line back to the F1 Pit Building though. 

After finishing my own run, I caught up with some friends back at the race village and we took photos and shared more about our race.

The best orange juice ever 

As well, I also had what felt like the best cup of orange juice ever from the vending machines that had been brought in. It was so shiok and refreshing.

I then made my way to Millennia Walk and called for a Grab home. Yes sleep can wait, but now it cannot wait any longer. I am tired. 

Security is efficient 

As the race was still ongoing when I left the F1 pit building, security was on hand to designate when we could cross the road so as not to disrupt the flow of those who were still running.

I thought this was managed in a very fuss-free and efficient manner. 

Hungry and thirsty 

I was feeling exhausted, hungry and thirsty all at the same time by this point. 

So I went over at the 7-eleven near my place to get some food when my Grab dropped me off.

No shuttle bus for me 

I had originally thought of taking one of the official shuttle bus provided by the Sundown Marathon organisers, but there was no shuttle bus serving my area (Marine Parade).

The nearest bus was going to Eunos, which was more than 2km away. Hopefully more shuttle bus routes can be added in future so that I have an alternative option to get home for future iterations. 

Conclusion and overall thoughts   

Overall I feel that the 2023 edition of the Sundown Marathon was well-organised and everything was smooth and efficient, from what I had seen and experienced. 

It had been a great and resounding post-Covid comeback for Singapore’s biggest night marathon on a massive scale.

That said, I did wonder  whether the organisers would consider having the half and full marathon categories flag off earlier say at 7pm or 8pm, for future iterations of the Sundown Marathon. As the current flag-off times for the longer categories make the event feel more like the SunUp Marathon rather than Sundown Marathon! 

watch my race video