More than 50,000 registered runners from 133 countries will be taking to the streets this weekend for the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon, which is now into its 18th edition.

International Elite Categories

And for the event’s international elite categories, the stage has been set for an epic showdown with 50 athletes of championship calibre representing the largest and strongest elite field in the event history, competing for a share of the SGD 420,000 prize pool.

Elite Men’s

The elite men’s category is headlined by a diverse group of runners hailing from Kenya, Ethiopia, Morocco and more, including last year’s champion Joshua Kipkorir of Kenya, Bahraini Benson Surei and Yemane Tsegay of Ethiopia.

Tsegay, who is running in Singapore for the first time ever, is impressed with the city-state and excited about the race.

He said, “Singapore is a very nice city and a young city, with a green view and friendly people. I do not know what to expect at the race tomorrow but I hope to be number one. I want to run well and finish in a good time.”

And in the women’s elite field, Priscah Cherono of Kenya is back to defend her title together with fellow country-woman Stella Barsosio, who will be hot on her heels, having just won the Sydney Marathon with a course record time of 2:24:33 hours. 

She will also be joined by Ethiopia’s Mamitu Daska and Bahrain’s Merima Mohammed, who are also set to challenge for the title.

Said Daska, “I am going to try my best to win the race.”

However, when probed further at who she thinks will be her stiffest rivals, Daska remained coy about naming her fellow competitors.

The Evening Start

The evening start, which is a first for the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon, does not faze any of the elite runners.

Said Tsegay, “I train twice a day, in the mornings as well as the evenings, so I am used to running during the evenings. I hope that all athletes will love the first evening race because of the shine and the city’s evening lights. I am very happy to come to this evening race.”

He continued, “This will be my first major evening competition but I am looking forward to it because I can see that Singapore is truly an amazing city.”

Likewise, Daska, despite having no evening running experience, is unfazed, and she aims to just go out there and run. 

She said “It is my first time running in the evening. I usually train in the mornings and afternoons, but I will just run regardless of whether there is a sun or a moon.”

Elite Wheelchair Marathon Category

In the elite field for the Wheelchair Marathon category, this too, has been expanded with the total athlete count at 16. The field sees the return of last year’s men’s champion Kota Hokonuie of Japan, and female runner-up Madison de Rozario, who will face tough competition from American Joshua George, and Australia’s Eliza Ault-Connell, who finished third last year.

Said George, 35, “I am incredibly excited to be back here. I had such a good experience last year. The hospitality in Singapore is amazing and all the athletes felt really welcomed. The race is also interesting and the course is unique.”

George is also very eager to see how the new evening time slot will affect him.

He said, “I am super excited to see how I will handle it. I will be able to sleep in the morning and I will not feel rushed to start my day. Hopefully I will still have enough energy in the evening to perform well. Last year we had to be in our hotel lobby by 2am for the 4am race start, which was very hard. So things will be much better this year.”

While George has trained and raced in the evening before, the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon will be his longest-ever evening event.

He said “I do race evening events quite often. So the start time is not too out of the norm for us, it’s just that the distance is longer than my usual evening events. The longest I have gone for an evening race is 5km… so this will be 37km more. But at least there will be sunlight for the first hour of the race, which will be nice. Last year, it was dark throughout our whole race.”

Does he personally consider himself to be more of a morning or an evening person? Says George, “Oh god, I think that I am more of an evening person but I tend to get more stuff done in the morning… so a little of both, I guess.”

He added, “But tomorrow, being race day, I will definitely do as little as possible, but will try to eat as much as I can early in the day. It will be nice to sleep in and have breakfast, take an afternoon nap and have a snack, before doing a race. It’ll be a pretty easy day.”

Singapore National Championships

On the local front, the 2019 Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon also hosts the National Championships, where top local runners compete for the championships across four categories, the Men’s and Women’s Open and Masters.

Two time National Champion, national marathon record holder and double South East Asian Games marathon gold medallist, Soh Rui Yong, 28, will be eager to defend his title against his peers, who include Giebert Foo and Mohamed Iskander, last year’s third and second place-getters.

In fact, to prepare for the race, Soh himself has recently come back from a running camp to Iten in Kenya where he was heavily immersed in the running culture there.

He said, “I got back from Kenya on Saturday, so it was three and a half weeks there, quite a quick trip. I wanted to go back there because it has been a while since I was last there, and I missed the place and my friends. It also provided a great training opportunity.”

Soh was initially expecting to have been nominated for the South East Asia Games Marathon which takes place in the Philippines, a few days after Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon, but when he did not receive the nod, he switched his focus to the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon instead.

Said Soh, “I found out that I was not in the South East Asia Games squad on 1st August and right after that, I decided to take a break before switching my focus over to the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon.” 

He continued, “I did have a setback in October when my hamstring was really bothering me and I was not really able to train properly but that was resolved when I was in Kenya – there, I was able to get in some really good training to get my body ready for the Full Marathon distance. I ran a Full Marathon distance in Kenya, doing 2 hours 53 minutes on the dirt roads and high altitudes there, so I think that I am fit and I will try to go faster than that tomorrow.”

Soh’s training block for the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon kicked off with a weekly milage of about 90km-120km before it was ramped up to about 160km in Kenya, when he was peaking for the race.

Looking forward to the race’s first evening edition 

And the Singaporean runner is particularly looking forward to the first evening edition of his local race and strongly believes that the new timing will benefit him. He said, “I usually work from 9am to 6pm and all my hard trainings are done in the evenings – which helps as I don’t have to acclimatise myself to an evening race. So I am very happy about that.”

Also, Soh continued, “I think there will also be a lot of energy on the ground because there will be more spectators out there cheering for their friends and loved ones because it is a Saturday night meaning that there is no work the next day. Friends and loved ones do not need to wake up at ungodly hours to show their support. So I am really looking forward to it, as there will be a huge difference in the atmosphere.”

Goal is 2 Hours 32 Minutes

And what are Soh’s goals for tomorrow’s Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2019?

Explained the runner, “I do have a time goal. My national record is 2 Hours 23 minutes but the best time that I have ever clocked on Singapore spoil is 2 Hours 35 minutes. I want to improve on that timing.” 

He added, “On Singapore soil, the best-ever timing run by a Singaporean was 2 Hours 32 Minutes 2 Seconds by Rameshon in 1994 so that will be my target.”

Pre Race Preparation

To prepare for tomorrow’s race, Soh is planning to sleep in and get a hearty brunch before heading to the race site. He said, “I will wake up late because I do not have work tomorrow, then I will have brunch before taking a short nap and a snack, then I will go for the race.”

Brunch for him comprises of foods such as eggs, pancakes and waffles, while his pre-race snacks consist of coffee and peanut butter sandwiches.

Said Soh, “It’s normal food, nothing out of the ordinary. I know that (Eliud) Kipchoge has a ritual whereby he eats oatmeal and honey before a race, and does not have this food during any other time inhis life. I think that this is quite cool but no, I don’t have any such pre-race rituals.” 

He continued, “But I can guarantee that tonight I will be eating a lot of carbs, such as pasta and pizza. I always carbo-load at least 48 hours before an event.”

Three-day Format and Weekend Festivities 

The race’s all-new three-day format kicked off today with the Kids Dash at 7pm with children racing across 700 meters amidst a carnival of fun and games, complete with monster trucks and inflatable installations.

And the amped-up weekend festival extends into the weekend on Saturday with the Marathon, Half Marathon and Ekiden Relay flagging off at 6pm, bringing runners through the Singapore skyline and past iconic landmarks such as the Gardens By the Bay, Marina Bay Sands, Esplanade, Singapore Flyer and the Marina Barrage.

Then finally, on Sunday 1 December, the 5km and 10km races begin at 6:30am and 8:30am respectively.

So this means that runners of all skill levels will be able to enjoy an optimised route that includes extra hydration and cooling zones.

With 27 entertainment points set up along the course, runners will be warmly supported by thousands of spectators who will be able to join in activities such as Piloxing and Zumba sessions, or enjoy both old and new tunes from various music acts.

A Truly Singaporean Event

Said Geoff Meyer, 51, Managing Director of Asia for the IRONMAN Group, the organisers of the race, “We are expecting at least 4,000 people into the spectator zones and all around the course, so we are looking forward to it. Singapore, at the end of the day, needs to come out and embrace this as a Singaporean event and we cannot do it without the people. 

He also continued, “So to all Singaporeans out there, I would urge you to get out there and be one with the athletes and enjoy it, and do Singapore proud. The whole world is watching.”

Over the past months, Meyer is excited and eager to see IRONMAN Asia’s hard work finally coming to fruition, this weekend. 

He explained, “We had a final big staff meeting this morning with 300 staff present, and the government in Singapore is working with us and on board with our vision. It is a huge undertaking to run this event at 6pm on Saturday night and a truly monumental year to get to this point, but we know the benefits and the rewards that this will have for Singapore, to be running a marathon at night, through the city centre.” 

Also continued Meyer, “It will globally resonate with runners around the world and there will be runners vying to do this in the future. There is no doubt in my mind that we are creating something special.”

Race Expo has been a success

As well, with more than 136 booths at the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon race expo, which has been running at the Marina Bay Sands Expo for the past three days, Meyer is also happy about how the expo has grown.

He said, “The activations and participation at the expo has been fantastic so I am really proud of how things have gone. My social media people have reported great reviews from the expo and all the athletes are excited to run in the evening under the city lights.”

Also added Meyer, “Indeed, it is really something that has gotten the community buzzing and we are enthusiastic to see how it all turns out.”

Singapore Race becoming a World Marathon Major by 2021, still on the cards

And if Meyer’s plans all work out perfectly, Singapore is still on board to become a World Marathon Major by 2021. He said, “The criteria set by the Abbott World Marathon Majors is very strict and you have to fulfil every element for two years in a row before being inducted. We will see how we go, but the target is definitely to achieve that ambition in 2021.”

Also added Meyer, “So this is Singapore’s chance to really showcase herself to the world in the best possible light. Singapore is a fantastic young city and so I urge all Singaporeans to get out there and have fun watching and supporting the Marathon.”

Tracking Family and Friends through the Official Race App

Friends and family who would like to support and track the runners can do so through the official Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon official race application which will deliver a digital race experience to empower users with information such as live runner tracking, race-day information, registration details, social media integration and more. 

This live-app is a free download from both the Apple App Store and the Android Google Play stores.

Live Facebook Watch

And as well, with live coverage beginning at 5:30pm on Saturday 30 November, viewers from all around the world can also tune into the race through Facebook Watch on the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon official Facebook page.