After you shake off the “I swear I’ll never do that again” post-race delirium, you’ll be sure to contemplate your next big marathon. Why not make it a genuinely different one? If you want a truly unique marathon experience, the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon, held every first Sunday in December, will undoubtedly leave an indelible memory to savor. After six successful stagings and a well-earned reputation for being a premier, world-class running event in Asia, the race’s participation is now 40,000 strong, of which 2,600 are overseas runners from 52 countries.

What better destination to warm you up before the holidays? Singapore offers something for everyone as a safe and friendly nation of diverse culture, history, languages, races, exotic food, and an abundance of shopping malls.

Singapore sits on the Equator and the weather reflects its geographic reality with the race being dubbed by certain quarters as one of the four hottest marathons in the world. To accommodate the heat and humidity, in typically warm Singaporean hospitality, the race organizers have made the run more comfortable to overseas runners by pushing the start time earlier from 6am to 5:30am. The superbly orchestrated event starts off punctually with the Full Marathon category and despite the massive 12,000 full marathoners present; you’ll be overjoyed by the ease with which you can seed yourself in an appropriate time corral.

The event’s tagline is “Run Your Own Race”, whereby the event seeks to encourage participation in distance running and sees a winner in every entrant who dares to take up the challenge. The course makes its way from the start point on Esplanade Bridge, adjacent to the magnificent Esplanade, which is Singapore’s equivalent of the Sydney Opera House. The unique architecture of this icon, coupled with the enchanting view of the Singapore River at the backdrop, serves up an incredible image at the pre-dawn start. At the sound of the start gun, runners make their way by Marina South and get to work by running through the Central Business District, where impressive skyscrapers stand as evidence that this island nation has come a long way in the last 40 years. The route then heads to the East Coast Park’s lushness where the entire stretch is shaded by trees with beachfront views, before returning to the city. And then to the finish line at the Padang, past City Hall, the exact location where Singapore declared its independence four decades ago.

The event also has a supporters’ campaign and a kids’ event. Runners’ spouses can assume the role of a Runspirator and board the Runspiration Tour to cheer the runners on at different sites along the route, while children can enjoy the 750M Kid’s Dash.

Not to mention this event is only part of Singapore’s growing list of top class endurance races. The country also plays host to the OSIM Singapore International Triathlon in July, and the Aviva Ironman 70.3 Singapore in September. Other running events include the adidas Sundown Marathon, JP Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge, Army Half Marathon, Great Eastern Women’s 10K and Anlene Orchard Mile.

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