With its historical architecture and cultural significance, the Anderson Bridge is a key part of Singapore’s colonial history and has played host to public events such as the National Day Parade and the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix. This year, it will be the finish line of the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon (SCSM).

Why Anderson Bridge? Said Santoz Kumar, General Manager, IRONMAN Group, “We are always looking to innovate and offer unique experiences for each SCSM. This year we have chosen the historically significant Anderson Bridge as our finish line, a first in SCSM history! We considered various locations, focusing on the crowd size and feasibly to scale and the potential for a different race experience.”

Anderson Bridge is located in the heart of Singapore’s Civic District and surrounded by important landmarks such as City Hall, the old Supreme Court building and the Singapore Cricket Club, giving SCSM participants a memorable run through Singapore’s vibrant cityscape. 

Santoz also added: “With the marathon attracting close to 10,000 international runners, we wanted to offer a uniquely Singapore experience. We are excited for our local runners to gain a fresh perspective of Singapore’s heritage. Plus, a new finish point this year allows us to get creative with our race route.”

Last year, the event finish line had been at the National Stadium, which was not available this year. Therefore a new venue had to be chosen.

Explained Santoz, “As they say, when one door closes, another opens. This gave us the opportunity to reinvent and explore a new finish line against an exciting and historically significant backdrop. We’re confident that our runners will enjoy this year’s race and its great location will also encourage supporters and spectators to come down too.” 

With the new finish line, it is anticipated that the mood and feel of running towards the finish will be different to previous years.

Said Santoz, “The finish line is in a new location, so the experience of running towards it will be quite different. We are also expecting more public spectatorship and support for the runners. Plus, runners and supporters may look forward to coming down to the Padang for post-race festivities. It’s going to be a blast.” 

Besides the new finish line, also new this year will be the return of the Ekiden race where teams of five runners will take turns to run the Marathon course. 

Says Santoz, “We’re excited to see the return of the Ekiden race to the SCSM 2024. This relay race allows teams of five to complete a Marathon distance together, bringing an exciting layer of teamwork and inclusivity to the Marathon. It’s a unique opportunity for runners to share the experience with friends.” 

In support of the community, Standard Chartered will provide 100 complimentary Ekiden slots on a first come, first served basis, to corporate teams who commit to fundraisers for FutureMakers by Standard Chartered, a global youth economic empowerment initiative that supports young people in our communities to learn, earn and grow.  

Those taking part in SCSM should probably have begun their training by now. With training season upon us, SCSM will conduct eight community runs starting from 31 August led by official race pacers. Singapore Sports Hub and Gardens by the Bay will be the home grounds for the SCSM training runs. All sessions are open to the public and are targeted at both seasoned and new marathoners: after all, a whopping 78% of registered participants this year are running the Marathon for the first time ever.

For this brand new group of would-be marathoners, Santoz has this to share. He said; “We are thrilled to welcome so many first-time marathoners. To help you prepare, you can train virtually with us or join our training runs with our pacers. We are launching SCSM Virtual Training Runs on our SCSM+ app later this month. We are here to support you every step of the way, in our race to Go Beyond.” 

To highlight the global appeal of SCSM, the top four international markets, besides Singapore, are Indonesia, the Philippines, China and Malaysia. 

Registrations for SCSM opened on 4th June and are still ongoing. Sign up for  the SCSM here: https://www.singaporemarathon.com/. Standard Chartered cardholders will enjoy a 15% discount and a chance to win a trip for two to the Standard Chartered Marathon in Kuala Lumpur, Hanoi, Hong Kong or Taipei.