Singapore Marathon Explained

The Singapore Marathon, or Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon (SCSM) is an annual international marathon race which is held on the first Sunday of December in the city of Singapore.^[1] It is a World Athletics Gold Label Road Race.

History

The first competitive marathon in Singapore was held on 5 December 1982, with an estimated participation size of 15,000 runners.^[2] Only the 2,300 competitive runners would have to register while the non-competitive runners could freely as joggers along the route.

In 2002, a sponsorship deal with Standard Chartered saw the Singapore Marathon rebranded as the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon.^[3]

In 2011, 22-year-old Malcolm Sng died after running the half-marathon. He suffered from a heart condition and died from acute coronary insufficiency.

In 2013, the marathon was organised by Ironman Asia.^[4] In the half marathon, 29-year-old John Gibson, a Briton living in Hong Kong, died after collapsing 1km away from the finish line at the Padang.

In 2017, Singapore was announced as a candidate city for the Abbott World Marathon Majors, a series of the six largest and most renowned marathons in the world.^[5] In 2019, the full- and half-marathons were held in the evening in order to fulfill criteria to be listed in the Abbott World Marathon Majors, instead of the usual flag off timing at dawn.^[6] This led to a series of road closures which resulted in 3-hour long traffic jams around the city center on the race day itself as there were other major activities happening at the same time in the vicinity of the race.^[7]

In 2020, Singapore Marathon moved its race event to a virtual format due to the advisories surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.^[8] The virtual race format, titled "Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon (SCSM) Virtual Racing Series" is part of the SCSM Virtual Club initiative. Two new virtual races are made available each week for participation by runners all over the world.^[9]

In 2021, Singapore Marathon returned to in-person participation, with 4000 runners joining the event.^[10]

Race

There are four separate categories of competition: the full marathon, the half marathon, the 10 kilometres run, and the 5 kilometres run. Furthermore, in 2024, there is a marathon relay race for teams of 5, as well as a number of short running competitions for children.^[11]

Prize money for the full marathon race is divided into three categories: the open prize (for all competitors), the Singapore prize (open to national competitors), and the veteran prize (which acts as a masters competition).^[12]

Between 2004 and 2008, it was part of "The Greatest Race on Earth" series of road races, sponsored by Standard Chartered Singapore (the other three legs being the Hong Kong Marathon, Mumbai Marathon and Nairobi Marathon).^{[13] [14]}

The times recorded at the Singapore Marathon tend to be slower than those at other marathons as Singapore's climate is unusually hot and humid.^[15] Kenyans Luke Kibet and Salina Kosgei are the men's and women's course record holders, respectively. The 2006 edition also acted as the country's national championships, with Elangovan Ganesan and Vivian Tan Yoke Pin taking the honours.

List of winners

Key:

Year	Men's winner	Nationality	Time (h:m:s)	Women's winner	Nationality	Time (h:m:s)	Ref
1982	Raymond Crabb		2:24:19	Winnie Ng	Hong Kong	2:55:11
1984	Tommy Persson		2:18:30	Kersti Jakobsen		2:41:34
1986	Alain Lazare		2:19:04	Kersti Jakobsen		2:39:03
1988	Hans Pfisterer		2:22:49	Li Yemei		2:46:04
1989	Ricky Khoo		2:39:09	Toh-So Liang		2:53:09
1990	Kuruppu Karunaratne		2:21:10	Li Yemei		2:47:47
1991	Tikaram Gurung		2:42:02	Yvonne Danson		2:47:27
1992	Gareth Spring		2:22:22	Yvonne Danson		2:43:34
1993	Tan-Choon Ghee		2:42:22	Irene Chua		3:23:18
1994	Robert Nolan		2:22:40	Mieke Pullen		2:50:38
1995	Somkert Winthochai		2:35:39	Yoki Chow		3:20:19
1996	Tor-Erik Nyquist		2:24:17	Sylvia Rose		2:48:19
1997	Tsutomu Sassa		2:28:08	Ruwiyati		2:49:54
1998	Zacharia Mosala		2:27:27	Jing Lu		2:59:58
1999	Ernest Wong		2:48:43	Ruwiyati		2:54:53
2000	Nixon Nkodima		2:27:07	Ruwiyati		2:53:11
2001	Tadesse Hailemariam	Ethiopia	2:23:02	Workenesh Tola	Ethiopia	2:53:29
2002	Joseph Riri		2:18:46	Constantina Tomescu		2:36:06
2003	John Kelai		2:19:02	Yu-xi Wang		2:43:57
2004	Philip Tanui		2:17:02	Helen Cherono		2:39:37
2005	Amos Matui		2:15:57	Irina Timofeyeva		2:34:42
2006	Amos Matui		2:15:01	Salina Kosgei		2:31:55
2007	Elijah Mbogo		2:14:22	Alem Ashebier	Ethiopia	2:37:08
2008	Luke Kibet		2:13:01	Edith Masai		2:34:15
2009	Luke Kibet		2:11:25	Albina Ivanova		2:32:49
2010	Kenneth Mungara		2:14:06	Irene Kosgei		2:35:22
2011	Charles Kanyao		2:14:33.75	Irene Kosgei		2:36:42.39	[16]
2012	Kennedy Lilan		2:17:20.27	Irene Kosgei		2:37:53.51	[17]
2013	Chelimo Kipkemoi		2:15:00	Sharon Cherop		2:41:11.04	[18]
2014	Kenneth Mungara		2:16:42	Waganesh Amare		2:46:54	[19]
2015	Julius Maisei		2:17:26	Doris Changeywo		2:44:26	[20]
2016	Felix Kirwa		2:17:18	Rebecca Chesir		2:43:04	[21]
2017	Cosmas Kimutai		2:22:48	Pamela Rotich		2:38:31	[22]
2018	Joshua Kipkorir		2:12:18	Priscah Cherono		2:32:11
2019	Joshua Kipkorir		2:19:14	Priscah Cherono		2:28:54	[23]
2020	Did not hold due to COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore
2021
2022	Ezekiel Omullo		2:20:20	Esther Macharia		2:45:09	[24]
2023	David Barmasai Tumo		2:14:15	Rose Chelimo		2:37:19	[25]
2024	Geoffrey Yegon		2:16:00	Fantu Zewude Jifar		2:39:04	[26]

Statistics

Winners by country

Country	Men's race	Women's race	Total
	21	13	34
	3	3	6
	0	4	4
	2	2	4
	1	4	5
	0	3	3
	1	1	2
	0	2	2
	2	0	2
	0	2	2
	1	0	1
	1	0	1
	0	1	1
	1	0	1
	0	1	1
	1	0	1
	1	0	1
	1	0	1
	1	0	1
	0	1	1
	1	0	1
	0	1	1

Multiple winners

Athlete	Country	Wins	Years
Ruwiyati		3	1997, 1999, 2000
Irene Jerotich Kosgei		3	2010, 2011, 2012
Kersti Jakobsen		2	1984, 1986
Li Yemei		2	1988, 1990
Yvonne Danson		2	1991, 1992
Amos Matui		2	2005, 2006
Luke Kibet		2	2008, 2009

See also

• Sundown Marathon

External links

• • Singapore Marathon. Association of Road Racing Statisticians

Notes and References

1. News: Teoh . Melvyn . StanChart Singapore marathon closes in on participation target of 50,000 . 2 November 2024 . The Straits Times . 4 September 2024 . en.
2. Web site: Roads to be closed for 15,000 runners. eresources.nlb.gov.sg. 1 December 2019.
3. Web site: Race participant dies after completing Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon . 2024-12-03 . CNA . en.
4. News: Chen . May . Chia . Alvin . Chew . Hui Min . 4 December 2016 . tandard Chartered Marathon Singapore: 29-year-old man dies after collapsing during half-marathon . 3 December 2024 . The Straits Times.
5. Web site: Stanchart Marathon Singapore bidding to be 7th World Marathon Major. todayonline.com. 23 October 2020.
6. Web site: Athletics: Call to be part of the Singapore Marathon. hermes. 13 November 2019. The Straits Times. en. 1 December 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191115022307/https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/come-and-be-part-of-singapore-marathon. 15 November 2019. live.
7. Web site: Standard Chartered Marathon should not shut down city in land-scarce S’pore on Saturday evening, thousands agree. Mothership.sg. en-US. 2 December 2019.
8. Web site: Singapore Marathon to go virtual in 2020 . 23 October 2020 . espn.com.
9. Web site: Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon . 23 October 2020 . singaporemarathon.com.
10. News: Aziz . Sazali Abdul . 4 December 2021 . Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon marks return of in-person mass participation running events . 2 November 2024 . The Straits Times . en.
11. Web site: 13 May 2024 . Races Overview - Singapore Marathon 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240904041627/https://www.singaporemarathon.com/races/races-overview/ . 4 September 2024 . 1 December 2024 . en-US.
12. http://www.marathonsingapore.com/race-categories/ Race Information
13. http://pace.marathon-photos.com/april09/3-4.htm The Greatest Race on Earth 2008–09
14. Post, Marty (5 December 2004). Tanui leads record breakthrough in steamy Singapore . IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-11-19.
15. Butcher, Pat (19 November 2009). Kibet returns to a hot reception in Singapore . IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-11-19.
16. http://www.iaaf.org/LRR11/news/newsid=63082.html Kenyans sweep in Singapore
17. http://www.iaaf.org/news/report/kenyans-lilan-and-kosgei-take-titles-in-singa Kenyans Lilan and Kosgei take titles in Singapore
18. http://www.iaaf.org/competitions/iaaf-label-road-races/news/standard-chartered-marathon-singapore-luka-ch Chelimo Kipkemoi and Cherop make it another Kenyan double in Singapore
19. Web site: Singapore Marathon Results (2014) . 2 December 2019 . SportSplits . en.
20. Web site: Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon Results (2015) . 2 December 2019 . SportSplits . en.
21. Web site: Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon Results (2016) . 2 December 2019 . SportSplits . en.
22. Web site: Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon Results (2017) . 2 December 2019 . SportSplits . en.
23. Web site: Singapore Marathon Results (2019) . 2 December 2019 . SportSplits . en.
24. Web site: Singapore Marathon (2022) . 5 March 2023 . Sportsplits.
25. Web site: Singapore Marathon (2023) Results . 4 December 2023 . SportSplits . en.
26. News: Kwek . Kimberly . 1 December 2024 . Soh Rui Yong wins fifth StanChart Singapore Marathon national title . 3 December 2024 . The Straits Times.