There’s nothing “standard” about the world-famous Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore, thus this popular running event staged every year is cause for celebration and reflection. Expect the 33rd Singapore Marathon, scheduled for 5 and 6 December 2015, to surpass expectations, attract star-quality athletes and turn the nation into the biggest party site on Earth. Need incentives to register and get in on the fun? How about 33 reasons? One each to mark every anniversary year of this dynamic event!
33 Reasons to Run the Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore
1. Grab some bragging rights. Just telling others that you’ll be competing with some of the greatest runners on the planet will earn you quite the reputation.
2. Impress your boss.?when you tell him/her that you’re training hard to set a new personal best at this year’s event.
3. Get into the best shape of your life.?Sign up and become accountable to yourself and anyone else eager to see you stay healthy.
4. Achieve a new goal. Fun fact: becoming a Tibetan Lama requires a solitary retreat of at least three years, three months and three days. But all you need is three months of training and no vow of silence is required!
5. Become famous.?Who knows, you might make the front page of a Singapore newspaper, race-related website or become the object of a social media obsession!
6. Find out whether marathon racing is your cup of tea. Joining this run is a great way to answer that question you’ve been thinking about.
7. Introduce your kids to the sport you love by getting them into the Kid’s Dash on 5 December. If they catch the running bug, you get all of the credit.
8. Meet the love of your life at the Standard. It’s happened before. Besides, you’ll be in the best shape of your life after undergoing a rigorous conditioning programme, so show off those calves!
9. Hang out with world-class runners. Bring your selfie stick and set a few records for snapping so many shots, you max out your memory card.
10. Feel like a rock star. Discover what it’s like to be cheered by tens of thousands of people.
11. Show off your fashionable side by investing in a new, coordinated outfit just for this race that makes you look smokin’ hot.
12. Reward yourself. Incentivise your performance by picking out an item you really, really want and make a pledge to buy it for yourself if you show up at the start line, regardless of how well you perform.
13. Count your blessings when you run your race as you acknowledge your good fortune of having 33 healthy bones in your vertebra; one each for every year the event has been staged.
14. Push your limits. According to Angel Number, #33 stands for “All things are possible.” Invoke Angel #33 if things get tough and she will get you to that finish line!
15. Get high! You know what we mean:?the runner’s high that kicks in when you hit your stride is one of the best feelings on the planet (a few others surpass this one, but this is neither the time nor the place…)!
16. Propose! Pace the love of your life so he or she doesn’t sprint ahead of you and then drop to your knee at an appropriate point to pop the question. (Psst?hydration stations work nicely, just make sure you don’t cause obstruction to other runners!)
17. Promise yourself a feast that has nothing to do with the foods on your training diet after you run the marathon. Don’t forget beverages of your choice.
18. Run for a charity. You can create your own fundraising page at GIVE Asia and start raising money to run for a reason! Or you can help others change for the better by running for SportCares, the marathon official charity for this year.
19. Help organise the Standard Wheelchair Race if you can’t compete. You’ll feel good, contribute to a great activity and you won’t believe how much gratitude you’ll see on competitor’s faces.
20. Make your mum and dad proud?especially if you weren’t exactly at the top of your class in primary school and plan to ask for a parental loan in the near future.
21. Get spiritual. If you are Hindu and need inspiration to keep going, the songs of Rig-Veda invoke 33 divinities, so call on each one rather than quitting.
22. Make new friends. Go out of your way to befriend someone who appears to be shy or seems to be running alone with no friends by her side.
23. Make it a group effort. Round up friends, establish a training schedule and use the power of peer pressure to make sure everyone shows up for pre-marathon conditioning runs.
24. Run away from your problems. Use the marathon as an anecdote for what’s troubling you. Train to compete and divert your attention away from the job you just lost, the romance that just ended or the financial dilemma that may be haunting you.
25. Sleep like a baby. Add conditioning runs, cross-training and extra workouts to your repertoire and the insomnia you battle will disappear faster than sheep jumping over fences in your dreams.
26. Get fired up! Have you been suffering from an ongoing case of The Blahs? You know what we mean. You can’t seem to find any joy in your life. We prescribe endorphins. Trigger some and find your old enthusiasm!
27. Try something new. If you’re a half-marathoner, push your limits and register for the full marathon this year. Whether you medal or not, you’re already a winner by taking the risk.
28. Flaunt your trivia knowledge. Tell other runners that the reason marathon distances went from 25 miles to 26.2 miles is because Queen Elizabeth couldn’t see a marathon finish line from the Palace, so 1.2 miles were added to satisfy her!
29. Network for your career. Even the skimpiest race outfit has room for business cards, so don’t leave home without a supply. That stated, no handing out cards as you sprint past focused runners.
30. Use the Standard as a social ice breaker. Picture yourself commenting, “Talk about a challenging experience, you should have seen the shape I was in when I crossed the finish line at the 2015 Standard!”
31. Get free stuff. The swag you snag at the Standard gives you plenty of cred as you go about your life. Wear your shirt in the gym, while jogging or anywhere else that you’d like to engage in some silent bragging.
32. Re-discover your inner power. Forget psychotherapy, group hugs and mirror affirmations; the power you feel when you run your race at the Standard has no equal.
33. Expect the experience of running the 2015 Standard to change you forever by acknowledging this profound statement as you cross the finish line:
“The person who starts a marathon is not the same person who finishes a marathon.”
See You at The Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2015
When mums bake birthday cakes, they usually add one extra candle for good luck, so we’d like to honour that tradition by asking this question: If you could add a 34th reason to run the 2015 Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore, what would it be?
