Last evening, the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon (SCSM) rewrote the history books and entered a new age as Singapore’s inaugural evening race recorded its highest-ever number of 15,000 Marathon finishers in the event’s 18-year history.

Besides the Marathon, there were also the 21.1km Half Marathon as well as 10km and 5km race categories which had taken place throughout the course of the weekend.

The switch to this year’s 6pm evening start time is part of an ambitious bid by the event organisers, IRONMAN Asia, to get the SCSM listed as one of the prestigious Abbott World Marathon Majors (WMM).

Ran in the Full Marathon

I took part in the Full Marathon category and I admit that I was looking forward to the race, because for the first time at the SCSM, we would not be running a marathon under the blistering Singapore heat.

Crowd Congestion

To get to the race site, I took the train to Promenade Station, alighting at about 5:15pm. As I had been aware of the numerous road closures, I had correctly predicted that taking the train would be the best way down. I reached Promenade at about 5:15pm. 

But the moment that I had exited Promenade Station, the first thing that greeted me was a massive human jam. It was terrible and everyone was reduced to a crawl as a result. 

The long line of runners who were waiting to use the toilets at Promenade MRT Station should have been my first indication at the massive crowds that had congregated on central Singapore for the race.

As well, due to the numerous road closures present, participants were forced to make a huge detour to the road linking Singapore Flyer and Marina Bay Sands.

While having sufficient crowd control is one thing, I felt that this time around, IRONMAN Asia had really over-done it.

As well, I was also questioning IRONMAN Asia’s decision to flag off both the half and the full marathons at exactly the same time. If the two categories could have been flagged off at staggered times, some of this congestion would definitely have been alleviated.

Reaching the Race Village

When I reached the race village, I queued for about 15 minutes to use the toilet. While I was in line, I found myself hoping that I would still be able to make it in time for flag-off, with the minutes ticking by much quicker than I would have liked.

Next time for SCSM, I told myself that I would need to reach the race village an hour before the flag-off, so that things would not be so rushed.

I did not use the baggage deposit so I cannot comment on whether this had been efficient.

I caught up with my friend Rob at the start line. He was running the half marathon and after taking a photo, we both made our way together into Start Pen D. It was almost 5:50pm by this point, earlier, I heard that Pen D would officially close at 6pm sharp.

Inside the race pen, it was very crowded and as a result, there was barely any room inside, to move around much. So much for doing pre-race stretching.

Majulah Singapura plays

Majulah Singapura, the Singapore national anthem, was played about five minutes before flag-off. I mouthed the words to the anthem as it played.

However, it appeared as though a lot of the international runners did not seem to know that the anthem was playing, as many around me were still chatting to one another, rather than standing at attention. Perhaps IRONMAN Asia could have made an announcement prior to the playing of the anthem.

Race Flags Off

The race was flagged off sharp at 6pm, beginning with the elite wheelchair athletes and the elite marathoners.

In the minutes waiting to start running, I was feeling pretty restless, and tried to keep my legs moving. 

So it was a relief when my wave finally began shuffling towards the start line and the horn sounded for us to go.

My Time To Run

My wave was finally flagged off at 6:18pm.

The first kilometre was very congested and I could not run at the beginning. I was reduced to a crawl for the first few hundred metres. I had been running alongside Rob at this point, and we were chatting to each other as we ran.

It was a relief when the crowd finally began to thin out a little and I was able to speed up, whilst at the same time, I made sure that I kept my heart rate firmly under control so that my body would not overheat.

I would continue to run with Rob at 6:20 mins per kilometre for a while, but I lost him at one of the aid stations in the first quarter of my race.

Race Route

The Marathon race route brought runners around the City Hall, Raffles Place and Tanjong Pagar areas before heading out to West Coast Highway, before u-turning and heading eastwards toward East Coast Park and the Marina Bay Golf Course before finishing at the iconic Float @ Marina Bay.

With more than 90 per cent of full road closures, I felt very safe when I was running on the route, without any worries about traffic, despite the fact that it was a busy Saturday evening in Singapore so a lot of vehicles would therefore be on the roads.

Also, with the evening start time, there had been sunlight for the first hour of the race, and with my legs fresh at this point, I found myself soaking up the sights and sounds of Singapore’s cityscape as I ran along.

High Humidity Levels

As I ran, I quickly noticed that the humidity level was very high, about 90 per cent, not unusual for Singapore standards, but certainly not conducive for marathon running.

Due to this, I was already sweating buckets soon after I had begun and I constantly dialled into my heart rate and breathing patterns so that I would not push myself too hard. At this point, it was around the mid point of my Easy Zone, which was still good.

Hydration Stations

I counted 21 aid stations along the Marathon route. Some were serving water only, while others were serving both water and 100PLUS isotonic drinks. And as well, at a few of the aid stations, gels, bananas and pretzels were being given out.

The aid stations were very long, comprising of several tables each, and on both sides of the race route. There were also plenty of provisions provided, which was great to cater to the large numbers of runners present. 

It also meant that there was no need to chiong to the aid stations and grab a cup of beverage from the first table at each hydration point. To save time, I usually headed to the last couple of tables to get my hydration.

I also tried a cup of the pretzels at an aid station because I wanted some salt, but the sheer dryness of the pretzel biscuits provided, didn’t really go down well with me.

It had been hard to chew them as my mouth was quite dry, and I had to get a cup of water so that I could swallow them properly. 

So perhaps the race organisers could look into providing another form of salty snacks that aren’t so dry, for future editions of this race.

Ice Bags and Splash Points

 Some of the aid stations also provided ice bags for runners to grab and either swallow down, or pour over themselves and cool their bodies down. In Singapore’s high humidity, this was a very welcome sight indeed.

And another thing I noticed about the aid stations was there there were “splash” points where the race volunteers splashed runners with cold water, to help them cool down during the race. I thought this was a really great addition to combat Singapore’s tropical humidity.

Binning Our Trash

Every aid station also had signs to remind runners to bin their trash rather than simply littering along the route. Seeing these were a good reminder for me to make sure that I threw my paper cups and gel packets straight into the rubbish bins rather than anyhow littering.

There had been more than enough bins provided along the route so it was not a problem for me to comply and do so. But looking at the amount of litter surrounding the trash bins, it had, unfortunately, looked as though many runners had not heeded the signs.

Crowd Support

The crowd of spectators also made it worthwhile, during the early stages of the race.

Usually, I have to say that it is not part of Singapore’s culture for spectators to come out and cheer on marathon runners as they are pounding the pavements. 

But in line with IRONMAN Asia’s bold ambition, creating a race-day atmosphere is one of the criteria for Singapore to become a WMM. 

So as a result, there were 27 cheer points and designated spectator zones along the Marathon route, for members of the public to come out and show their support for the runners. 

I admit that I wasn’t sure what to expect when I had first heard about this, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that small pockets of Singaporean couples and families had indeed come out, some armed with clappers to cheer the runners on. 

There were more people than I had anticipated. These spectators had been based mainly at the City Hall and central business district areas as I ran past.

My running coach, Ben Pulham, from heart-rate training programme Coached, together with a few Coached athletes who were not running the SCSM, were also among the spectators and it was a very welcome sight to see some familiar faces screaming out my name from among the crowd as I ran past. This is just what I needed to give me a boost of energy during a marathon.

I have to say that I enjoyed the support. Though it was nowhere near the electrifying atmosphere that I had experienced at both the Berlin and the London Marathons, it was still a very encouraging sign.

Performer Zones

Besides the spectators, there were also official performances at designated points along the route organised by IRONMAN Asia, and some of those that stuck in my mind had included fire performers, dancers, bands and singers.

At one point, I found myself humming along to one of the Christmas carols that was being played by one of the bands as I ran along. We are already well into the Christmas season, after all, so I guess there’s no harm getting into the festive mood.

The crowd support and entertainment had been many times much better than previous editions of the SCSM where the city streets had been completely deserted throughout the race. 

I admit that I had been sceptical at first, but the race organisers have managed to convince me that they can indeed create something special here in Singapore. So I have to say kudos to IRONMAN Asia for trying.

Unfortunately, the excitement of the spectator support lasted till the 19km mark. So that had been a bit of a bummer. But at least the official performers and cheerleaders were still present till the end, though, as a bit of a consolation.

During the second half though, there were a sprinkling of running groups who had stayed to show their support to the masses, but this had paled compared to what I had seen in the first half.

The Boring West Coast Highway

After leaving Tanjong Pagar, the out-and-back segment of West Coast Highway, in my opinion, was one of the most boring parts of the race. 

Apart from perhaps Vivocity, there was absolutely nothing to see during this segment, except the sight of the sun setting and ushering in the darkness of the night. So I had to motivate myself to carry on.

I was quite surprised that at the u-turn point of West Coast Highway, along with the other long u-turn points along the route, there was no timing mat. 

As the out-and-back segments are generally the easiest places to cut short a race course, such timing mats should be mandatory at all major running events, in order to deter potential race cheats.

It was also along this section of the route that I passed Darth Vader, who was also taking on the Full Marathon. The Force apparently was not with the powerful Sith Lord, though, because he was already walking and appeared to be struggling under the high humidity levels.

When I reached the separation point for the full and half marathon at 19km, it took every ounce of mental strength to continue on the Full Marathon route and not to be tempted to turn off with the Half Marathoners.

And spotting Coach Ben again at this junction, calling out my name, gave me the strength to carry on though.

The Second Half

My pace was still going strong after the 20km mark, but I had to find a way to distract my mind and not focus on the pain and the kilometres that I still had left to go. Pokemon Go turned out to be a rather welcome distraction at that point, for a short while at least.

East Coast Park 

The stretch of East Coast Park was very short, only a 2km stretch down the park, unlike earlier editions of the SCSM where we would have to cover the entire 10km of the park before u-turning.

30km Mark

With my gel and salt stick strategy working as I had intended, I was still feeling good when I crossed the 30km marker, in pain, but I was still in one piece and there was no cramp.

By this point though, I noticed that a lot of people were walking. I wondered whether it could have been because many of them had underestimated the new evening start time and the Singapore humidity and misjudged the pace they were capable of, as a result.

The Final 10km Stretch

When I reached the 32km marker, I found myself counting down the last ten kilometres, focusing on nothing else at this point in time except to maintain my pace and to not be tempted to walk. I told myself that as long as I could still run, I would run, despite the pain that I was in.

There was not much scenery to see at this section of the race and it was quite boring; if there had been something interesting to see, it could have taken my mind off the pain.

The “Sng bao” being given out by a group of runners during this final stretch was very welcome though. I took one, and I felt that the coldness and sugar had invigorated me immediately. It was the best “Sng bao” that I had ever tasted.

Heartbreak Bridge

We hit the Sheares “Heartbreak” Bridge at the 38km mark. I already knew that it was coming. But after having already run for so many kilometres, this was the last sight that I had wanted to see. 

Some of the elite runners had remarked that there was crowd support at Sheares Bridge when they had run by, but when I finally reached the bridge myself, there was not a single soul to be seen. It was that point when I would have appreciated having crowd support the most, so this was a huge bummer for me.

Nonetheless, I told myself that I would not slow down and walk up the bridge. I knew that if I walked, it would destroy my running rhythm. 

So I maintained a slow jog. Climbing the bridge was tough on my legs, but not as tough as it used to be in previous years, thanks to the hill training that I do every week with Coached.

But it was great to see the top of the bridge, because it meant that the downhill was now coming – this is easily my favourite part of any running race.

Picking up the pace to finish 

I picked up the pace in the last couple of kilometres. I have no idea where this burst of energy had come from, perhaps it was due to my eagerness and excitement to complete the race. At this point, my only focus had been to get to the end point so that I could finally get my well-earned rest.

The Finish Line

It was the best feeling in my life when I spotted the finishing line up ahead at Float @ Marina Bay. I crossed the line in 4 Hours 30 Minutes 03 Seconds, bettering my London Marathon timing earlier this year, the latter being one minute slower.

This is a Singapore personal best timing that I am very happy with, not only beating, but smashing my original goal of completing SCSM 2019 in five hours.

My watch showed 43.02km when I finished the race, but I think that the discrepancy had been due to erratic and inaccurate GPS readings in the CBD area. Apparently if my GPS was to be believed, I was running at a pace of 3:32/km between the 20km and 21km splits, which was definitely not the case.

I really have to thank Coached for the marathon training and race-day execution tips. Running by heart rate is definitely more efficient than running to pace, in my opinion.

Race Medal and Entitlements 

The medal collection area was at Float @ Marina Bay. I took a few photos at the finish line before walking over the pick up my medal and finisher t-shirt. 

I have to say that this year’s medal is definitely the largest SCSM medal that I own so far, hard-earned with lots of training and effort on my part.

And the fit of the finisher t-shirt this year is a big improvement on the oversized t-shirt that had been given out during the last two editions of SCSM.

After collecting our entitlements, runners were quickly ushered by the security guards to clear away from the Float @ Marina Bay and walk back to the F1 Pit Building where the race village was. 

The security was quite strict and they did not allow runners to linger around, possibly because they were afraid of runners overcrowding the Float @ Marina Bay.

It was a long walk back, and with my legs aching, walking around was the last thing that I had wanted to do.

The Post Race Village

As we neared the F1 Pit Building, there were some simple refreshments being given out for runners to replenish their energy again after the run, including bananas, potato chips and 100PLUS. I was starting to feel quite hungry by this point, so the refreshments were definitely welcome.

And at the F1 Pit Building, there were booths by the event sponsors such as Seiko, Jaybird and Toyota. 

I didn’t really spend much time looking around at the booths because I was too exhausted and my legs were sore. But I did pick up a potong style ice cream from the Toyota booth and that tasted cold and refreshing.

Getting Back Home

After catching up again with Rob, as well as some other friends who had also run in the race, I managed to catch one of the last few buses back home.

In making our way back home from the race village, runners were, again, required to make a big detour due to the road closures. A detour and a lot more extra walking was the last thing that I would have wanted after finishing a full marathon. 

For myself, I had not bought a ticket for a shuttle bus home. Chargeable at $7 per trip, these buses were supposed to pick runners up and bring them home after their respective race.

But I later found out that there were issues and massive delays with the buses, for example, the bus that was supposed to depart at 1:30am did not leave till 2am. As a result, a lot of runners had been pretty annoyed with these logistical arrangements.

A Late Night Supper

On the way home, it was already past midnight, I was still feeling hungry so I stopped off at the McDonald’s outlet near my place for supper. 

This had been a nice way to reward myself – after having just completed a gruelling Marathon in Singapore’s humidity.

IRONMAN Asia Are Happy

Despite the ultra tight security and logistical issues that I had found to be pretty annoying, though, the race organisers are happy with how things had panned out during SCSM 2019. 

Said Geoff Meyer, Managing Director, IRONMAN Asia, “It was great to see the crowds out in full force today. The new evening time seems to have gone down well with both the runners and spectators, as is evident with the record turnouts. I am confident that we have taken another step in the right direction.”