More than 4,000 runners took to the streets this morning for the Great Eastern Women’s Run, which made its comeback as the first all-women’s physical running event since 2019.
Guest Of Honour
The Guest-of-Honour for the event this year was Mr. Edwin Tong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth and Second Minister for Law.
Tong flagged off the 5km race and also presented the trophies and cash prizes to the top three Elite 21.1km winners.
While the 21.1km competitive category had been only open to invited local elites, the 5km and 10km categories were both non-competitive and open to the masses.
For the children, there was also a 2km Mummy + Me category where a mother was required to run with their daughter. The aims of such a category is to get little girls interested in running from a young age.
Running in 10km category
I took part in the 10km category.
All race categories, including the 10km, were flagged off from Nicoll Highway with runners being taken on a scenic, picturesque journey through Singapore’s streets before finishing inside the National Stadium. The 10km category start time was at 6:30am.
I reached the Sports Hub at around 6am. As I was making my way into the start pen to join my friends, I heard my name – it was the familiar voices of emcees Ross and Kelly at the start line. They are my favourite emcees and I always look forward to them being on duty at race events. They always make me smile.
Pacing
Prior to the start, Justina, Jacqueline and I had originally planned to run together, with Jacqueline supposedly pacing us about 5 mins/km.
We started close to the front of the race pen. However there was still a bit of congestion at the beginning, so we had to weave in and out in order to escape some human traffic.
Once we were clear of the traffic, we settled into target pace. By this point, we had plenty of room to run because we were quite far in front. I felt the 10km race was also not as crowded as pre-Covid years. So participating runners were more spaced out in terms of pace.
Everything went pretty well for the first kilometre or so.
But after about two kilometres into the run, Jacqueline disappeared into the distance. We wouldn’t see her again until after the finish.
Justina and I continued running together, which the two of us would do for the whole way.
The route and surroundings
We were pacing each other at about 5 mins/km. Other than the first kilometre where Nicoll Highway was closed off for runners, the rest of the run took place on the Park Connectors at Marina Bay. So we had to dodge cyclists and pedestrians who were also using the paths.
Marshals and distance markings
There were marshals present, however, to direct runners which way to go as well as to tell members of the public to make way for the runners. This was pretty helpful. 
Kilometre markings were present along the course. These were accompanied by motivational quotes to keep our spirits high and give us the inspiration to keep going.
I particularly remember that the 8km and 9km markers were short in terms of distance. However, the last kilometre was long, so this made up for it. The overall distance was accurate according to my Garmin.
Photographers
There were lots of photographers along the route to take photos of the runners. Some were the official ones while others were volunteer photographers. This was particularly good as I always enjoy having nice race photos.
Hydration Stations
Hydration along the way was excellent. For the 10km run, I counted four hydration points, with three of them serving both water and 100PLUS isotonic drink. The beverages were ice-cold, which was great.
The weather was kind and forgiving to us throughout our run. It was cool – for Singapore standards at least, and with a bit of a breeze which felt like it helped. The sun did come out in full force in the late morning but we were long done with our run by then. So it was ok.
Finishing
The last few hundred meters had a few spectators cheering us on.
I always enjoy races that finish inside the stadium as running in always feels special. And this was the first race at the stadium since the Covid-19 pandemic became a thing of the past.
Justina and I crossed the finish line in 50 mins 40 seconds based on the official gun time.
One of the highlights about the Great Eastern Women’s Run is the generous post-race goodies. And this year certainly did not disappoint.
Race Entitlements
Upon crossing the finish line, we were ushered to the refreshments area to collect our race entitlements.
These consisted of a breakfast box containing a blueberry muffin and chocolate brownie from Polar, as well as a granola bar, bottle of water, can of 100PLUS, our race medal and a towel.
It was quite generous on the part of the organiser.
Race Village
At the race village, free yoghurt and fruit smoothies were available to runners. I remembered that previous years prior to Covid-19 used to have ice cream instead of yoghurt.
As well, there were lots of photo props and photo booths, as women generally love taking selfies and posing for pictures. I am glad that we managed to finish our run fast and take our photos before the bulk of the crowds had descended onto the National Stadium.
A powder room was also available for runners to freshen up after completion of their run. This powder room is always one of the most popular highlights of the Great Eastern Women’s Run and it is unique to this event.
For the children, there was a 7.5 meter inflatable slide to play on. It looked very colourful and eye-catching.
Claw and gachapon machines were also at the race site, for runners to try their luck at winning attractive prizes such as yoga mats, smart watches and gym passes.
Conclusion
As a whole, I have to say that the Great Eastern Women’s Run was plenty of fun and it was great to see that this all-women’s event has returned from the pandemic, stronger than ever. Running in this event amongst a huge crowd felt like pre-Covid times.
However I do wish that the 21.1km category can be open to the masses, once again.
Said Colin Chan, Managing Director, Group Marketing, Great Eastern, “It is heartening to see the GEWR community again, running together as one, to achieve their personal milestones and unlock their own versions of greatness.”
Fundraised S$220,000
There was a fundraising component to the event too, led by Great Eastern staff and financial representatives since September.
As such, a grand total of S$220,000 was raised in support of Daughters Of Tomorrow and the Singapore Cancer Society through individual and corporate donation pledges.
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