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StanChart Singapore Marathon will have new routes, 2-day format

This year’s Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon (SCSM) will feature new race routes and, for the first time, a two-day format.

Taking place on 8 and 9 December, Singapore’s biggest annual road race will see all adult race categories – 5km, 10km, half-marathon, full marathon and team-of-five Ekiden relay – start at the Formula One Pit Building and finish at The Float at Marina Bay.

Only the 600m Kids Dash, to be held on 8 December, will take place at the Universal Studios Singapore in Resorts World Sentosa.

The other major change in format this year: the races will be held over two days. The 5km and 10km races will flag off on 8 December from the F1 Pit Building and head towards the Kallang Basin, with the former routee turning back upon reaching Crawford Street and the latter one heading further on towards the Sports Hub before returning.

On the morning of 9 December, the half-marathon, marathon and Ekiden relay runners will race past the Padang in the direction of the Central Business District, then round back towards the Marina Bay Golf course.

To combat the perennial bottlenecks that have occured at the start of races in recent years, this year’s flag-off point near the Singapore Flyer will see a wider space in order to to give runners easier pen access and let them set their own pace right from the beginning. Organisers have also secured full road closures spanning 95 per cent of the race routes.

Meanwhile, runners can expect an improved bag deposit system, as well as more hydration and cooling zones throughout the half-marathon and marathon routes. Participants have often complained of the long waiting times needed to deposit and retrieve their belongings.

Said Geoff Meyer, managing director of race organiser Ironman Asia, “All successful sporting events put their participants first, while delivering on world-class standards…SCSM is the leading race in the region, and we’re confident that our new route, enhanced entertainment and runners’ perks will edge us closer to our goal of joining the elite group of World Marathon Majors.”

The World Marathon Majors is a race series consisting of six of the largest and most renowned marathons in the world – Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York City.

The Singapore marathon has been awarded the Gold Label by the International Association of Athletic Federations (IAAF) for fulfilling a list of criteria in being an elite road race – the only race in Southeast Asia to be awarded this honour.

So far, close to 40,000 participants have signed up for the race.

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