PCCW Global Charity Run is an annual charity run which aims to give back to the society. This year, the full proceeds from the run will be donated to Make-A-Wish Singapore. The run is sponsored by PCCW Global, the international operating division of HKT, Hong Kong’s premier telecommunications service provider.
Held at Silver Leaf, Garden by the Bay, the race features a 5km morning run.
Race Entry Pack Collection
The Race Entry Pack Collection (REPC) was held on 12 and 13 May 2017 at Velocity@Novena Square. My friend, who collected the race pack for me, said that the REPC was very smooth with no queue at all. Inside the race pack, we received an event singlet, cooling towel, race bib and timing chip, as well as a drawstring bag.
The stock of the event singlet is limited. As I registered late, my preferred singlet size has run out of stock. It’s surely a popular race.
5km Run
The race was flagged off at 7:12 a.m., right when I reached the start pen, 3 minutes ahead of the scheduled flag-off time. I then set off running towards Marina Barrage.
It was a cool and breezy morning, perfect for an early morning outdoor run. I ran past Flower Dome, Cloud Forest and Satay by the Bay before I spotted elite runners at the opposite lane. I had barely run 1km at that time, while the elite runners have probably completed 2.5km.
The only hydration station in this race was located at Marina Barrage. We were given cold isotonic drinks. Marina Barrage was also the place where 1km distance marker was located.
While the lanes in Gardens by the Bay and Marina Barrage bridge are narrow, I didn’t face any bottlenecks.
From Marina Barrage, we ran through the bridge towards Gardens by the Bay (East) where the first U-turn point was located.
The 2km distance marker was located on Marina Barrage bridge.
After the 3km distance marker, I passed by the finish line and saw a lot of runners finishing their runs. I told myself, 2 more kilometres to go.
I continued running towards Marina Bay Sands before finally making a U-turn and came back to Gardens by the bay. Soon after, it was the finish line.
Post-Race
Right after the finish line, there was a queue for medal and drink collection, followed by another queue for finisher’s tee collection. Both queues moved quite fast. The whole queueing took me around 7 minutes. I was given 2 boxes of Sports Water isotonic drinks.
At the race village, we spotted the Instagram Print booth. My friend and I love getting our photos printed, so we queued for it. Basically, we had to post our photos to Instagram using hashtag #pccwglobal and set our profile to public. Then when we reached the front of the queue, our photos would be printed in less than 5 minutes.
Event Overview
- PCCW Global Charity Run 2017 is a good run for a wonderful cause, to grant the wishes of children facing life-threatening illnesses.
- It is held in the morning of a Wednesday, so people who start work early may need to get a time off from work.
- The race has limited slots and singlet stocks. For future participants, do register as early as possible.
- There is a distance marker for every kilometre.
- The route is well-marked with safety cones and signage.
- The only hydration point for this race is located at Marina Barrage and it serves cold isotonic drinks.
