Record Participation Expected for 5th Year of Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon

Record Participation Expected for 5th Year of Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon

Breast Cancer Foundation named the Official Charity for the Singapore Marathon

After a record attendance of runners last year, the fast-growing Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon (SCSM) is back on 3 December 2006. 28,000 runners is the number that the organisers are targeting this year, a 30 percent increase from 2005.

The event started with 6,000 runners in 2002 and grew to 21,000 last year, a more than 3-fold increase. The organisers are optimistic that this year's event will attract more runners as distance running and the promotion of health and fitness have been fast gaining popularity.

"Running as a choice sport has seen a staggering increase of 71% over the last five years according to the National Sports Participation Survey 2006 and we hope to see more Singaporeans competing in internationally-acclaimed events too," said Oon Jin Teik, Chief Executive Officer of Singapore Sports Council (SSC).

"As a marquee event on the Sporting Singapore calendar, the race has come a long way and it's to the credit of our loyal runners and corporate partners that we have a world-class event which attracts not just local but international elite athletes," Jin Teik added.

Commented Loh Lin Kok, Co-chairman of the SCSM 2006 Organising Committee and President of Singapore Athletic Association (SAA), "Over the years, the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon has expanded from just four to the existing seven categories, allowing for participation from more segments of the public. To cope with the expected increase in the number of runners this year, we are putting in extra measures, such as an increase in the number of water points and road marshals. All necessary measures are being put in place to cope with the ever-increasing crowd at the Singapore Marathon."

BCF-Standard Chartered Run For A Cause
In addition, the organisers have adopted the Breast Cancer Foundation (BCF) as the official charity for the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon this year. The BCF-Standard Chartered Run For A Cause is an initiative to raise S$150,000 towards promoting breast cancer awareness and providing support for women affected by breast cancer. Each year, about 1,100 women are diagnosed and 270 females die from breast cancer, and organisers hope that the BCF-Standard Chartered Run For A Cause will spur on more people to do their bit for charity. A group of breast cancer survivors will be attempting the 10km run for the first time.

BCF and Standard Chartered are targeting 500 runners who will each raise a minimum of S$300 using a Run For A Cause pledge card. Standard Chartered Bank will waive the registration fee for these runners.

Lim Cheng Teck, Chief Executive, Standard Chartered Bank Singapore, said, "The Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon is an excellent platform for us to engage our staff and the community - we build community activities around the marathons that we sponsor around the world, and our partnership with the BCF reinforces our focus on health and fitness. More women are running, so this is a great platform to reach out to them on this issue."

For the third year running, Singapore is the second leg of The Greatest Race on Earth (GROE) marathon series and elite participants have the chance to compete in Nairobi, Mumbai and Hong Kong as well. It's the first of its kind in the marathon race circuit and features one of the biggest prize purses in the professional athletics scene - US$1.5 million. Also since the introduction of the Elite Runners programme and GROE to the Singapore Marathon, it has seen race records having been broken almost every year.

Issued on behalf of Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon Organising Committee