What is a marathon?
A marathon is a running race over a distance usually set at 26.2 miles or 42.16 km. It is not known how and when this sport eventually evolved from adhoc fun runs until the late 1970s to early 80s when non-competitive leisure runs became increasingly popular.
Singapore Marathon
What is Singapore Marathon and when is it held?
The past year in 2011 had been a fruitful and exciting year for the athletes and avid runners as the year has been full packed with running events and races. The calendar for 2012 is however not known to all in its entirety yet. The major marathons such as the mentioned Standard Chartered Marathon and the Sundown Marathon (formerly known as the Adidas Sundown Marathon) will still be taking place just like every other year.
Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore
The Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore, was inaugurated in 1982 and had since been successfully held annually, every first Sunday in the month of December It is organized by the Singapore Sports Council (SCC) with the objective to create opportunities for people of Singapore to excel in sports through inculcating and developing a sports culture for the nation. As many as 50,000 participants registered for the marathon in the 2009 race.
The Singapore Sports Council has also set up a Run For Good charity programme through the marathon to help raise funds for the needy and less privileged for selected beneficiaries.
What kind of competitions are there?
The competitions are basically separated into four categories, namely, the Full Marathon, the Half Marathon, the 10 km (kilometers) run, and the 10 km wheelchair race. These exclude the 10 km team competitions (the Ekiden) and other shorter distance runs participated by children, such as the 5 km Fun Run and the 750 m (meters) Kids Dash. Teams must comprise of six team members before they can qualify for the team category. The team category runs for 10 km in relay format.
The Sundown Marathon (formerly known as the Adidas Sundown Marathon)
The Sundown Marathon is an annual race held with the purpose of sports tourism in mind, and the aim of drawing thousands of both local and foreign participants to promote health and tourism through socialcultural impact in Singapore.
As a result, the event attracts a diverse group of athletes and made a record of more than 10,600 worldwide entrants in the year of 2009.
The Sundown Marathon started since 2008 and is the largest night race in Singapore to date.
What kind of competitions are there?
There are different categories of races for this event, including the Ultramarathon (84.39 km), the marathon (42.195 km), the Women’s marathon (10 km), the Corporate Team Challenge (10 km x 4 runners). The Corporate category is very popular and well received by many multinational companies.
Where do I register for the marathon and when should I register?
You may choose to submit your registration online or walk-in to any of the designated Singapore Sports Council (SSC) Sports and Recreation Centres (SRC) for Standard Chartered Marathon, or walk-in to 27 Boon Tat Street (Tel: 6372 6388, Hivelocity Pte Ltd) if you are going for the Sundown Marathon.
The registration is usually opened for three months during the third Quarter of the year (i.e. June to September) for Standard Chartered Marathon.
The registration for Sundown Marathon is now open, find out more here.