Over a thousand teams gathered together at the Singapore Sports Hub on the Saturday evening, 1 August 2015 to be part of Singapore’s first ever relay-only night marathon event. The inaugural ASICS City Relay sent teams of four off on high spirits in a unique running event. Competing in the Open, Students, Running Clubs, and Corporations categories, each team member ran an approximate 10.5 km circuit along the Singapore Sports Hub precinct and the adjacent Kallang River.
As runners admired the stunning twilight view of Singapore’s Marina South, they were also greeted by energetic spectators and various exciting acts along the route. Twirling cheerleaders, daredevil flame-throwers, lofty LED-lit robots, acrobats balancing skilfully on giant balls, and more lined the course, spurring runners on with their entertaining gimmicks.
Even as a professional athlete, I was enthralled by the refreshing format of the ASICS City Relay. Against the backdrop of the immersive and colossal Singapore Sports Hub, I was motivated by the camaraderie of the teams, and the energy that felt like the ‘clash of the titans’ – absolutely breath-taking.
—Raviin S/O Muthu Kumar, 2015 SEA Games Athlete
As all the relay changeovers took place within the Singapore Sports Hub, the race was also broadcast “live” on the two giant LED screens within the stadium, complete with a Twitter feed. Claiming the top spots for the Male, Female and Mixed Open categories respectively were ‘PSA Team 1’ (2:31:11), ‘ASICS Charlie Angels’ (3:08:19) and ‘NUS Aquathlon’ (3:00:21). In the Students Category, team ‘Fluffy Unicorns’ took home the first prize with a time of 2:59:04, while ‘Mileage.sg’ (2:33:19) and ‘The Flying Doctors’ (2:40:59) ousted the other Running Clubs and Corporate Teams correspondingly.
ASICS has long been associated with marathons globally. Tonight, we were excited to hold a new and exciting race. Completing a relay marathon brings a great sense of team accomplishment for any running enthusiast and with the ASICS City Relay in place, we are truly pleased to be part of each and every team’s celebration tonight.
—Yogesh Ghandi, General Manager, ASICS Asia Pte. Ltd
Throughout the event, Zouk resident DJs Matthew and Zushan enlivened the atmosphere with catchy, upbeat tunes. The night ended with a blast, literally, as fireworks exploded with bursts of colour and light, to the oohs and ahs of the runners and spectators.
When we launched the ASICS City Relay, we saw it having massive potential here in Singapore and the runners here tonight with their families and friends, certainly gave us their seal of approval. The relay format has proved hugely popular especially with the exciting new Singapore Sports Hub venue and support of our title sponsors, ASICS, we have set the stage for a truly exciting night race which is quite different to any other existing event on the local race calendar.
—Chris Robb, CEO, Spectrum Worldwide
Were you and your team mates there for the inaugural ASICS City Relay? Share your experiences and pictures with us!
