All Systems Go as Organisers and 40,000 Runners Make Final Preparations for Marathon 2007

All Systems Go as Organisers and 40,000 Runners Make Final Preparations for Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2007

All Systems Go as Organisers and 40000 Runners Make Final Preparations for Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2007

Singapore, 30 November 2007 - Some of the world’s renowned marathoners have descended on Singapore for the sixth edition of the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon taking place this Sunday. Representing 18 countries, 60 elite male and female runners will hit the road on a 42km route stretching from the heart of the Central Business District to the scenic coastline of the East Coast Park. The Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2007 also forms the second leg of the Greatest Race on Earth (GROE) series that includes marathons in Nairobi, Mumbai and Hong Kong. For the first time in the event’s history, elite athletes will also be able to use their timing set at the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2007 for their entry to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The top 3 finishers from last year’s men’s category - Amos Tirop Matui from Kenya, Ashebir Jote Demissu from Ethiopia and Abel Kurui from Kenya have all returned this year to conquer the route. Matui in particular will be keen to defend the title he has held for two consecutive years and fend off Demissu who has been his closest rival. The latter finished mere seconds behind Matui in previous years’ races and in the women’s race, Madina Biktagirova from Russia will be chasing for the title in Singapore for the first time in her career. Her personal best of 2hr 28:12 is 3 minutes under the winning time set by Kenyan, Salina Kosgei last year. Spectators can look forward to yet another tight finish and new course records with the earlier start time of 5.30am, which will be conducive for performance and a welcome relief for the runners.

This year’s race has already seen a record set - 40,000 runners of which includes 2,500 participants from 53 countries thus highlighting the international appeal of the race. All 40,000 runners signed up for the five race categories in a span of 10 weeks. This exceeds the initial target of 38,000 runners, and far exceeds last year’s record of 31,000 runners. To ensure the safety and overall running experience of all runners, organisers have put in place a comprehensive medical program provided by Alexandra Hospital, the marathon’s medical provider. A total of 20 doctors and 60 nurses from the hospital will be supported by 200 student nurses from Nanyang Polytechnic and Ngee Ann Polytechnic and another 100 assistants from the Red Cross and St. John’s during the event. The organisers have also mobilised 20 ambulances, 10 mobile paramedics, 24 defillabrators, and six RAV4 vehicles. Safety is of utmost importance to the organisers and medical care was top of the list for consideration when the committee met to discuss the objectives and requirements for this year’s event.

Mr Yazed Osman, Event Director for the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2007 said, “We have a 23% increase in the number of runners this year and we have increased the extent of our medical coverage correspondingly, if not more, to ensure we have this aspect well-covered. It is our intention to develop the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon to be one of the region’s best races and we have put in place many measures to ensure nothing is compromised and left to chance. The committee is also constantly introducing improvements to the event such as bringing forward the start time of the full marathon this year. This is an example of one of the many steps we have taken to enhance runners’ experience and there will be more to look forward to as we plan for even bigger races in future years.”

One thing that is familiar and has remained unchanged is the charity element of the event. In keeping with a tradition first started in 2003, runners are encouraged to “run for a cause” for the marathon’s official charity and this year, organisers have adopted the Autism Association (Singapore) as the official beneficiary of the event. S$200,000 has been raised so far and the funds will go towards the building of a new school for the Association.