Over 14,500 women of all ages braved the weather and converged at the iconic Singapore Sports Hub for today’s Great Eastern Women’s Run (GEWR) in celebration of their commitment to leading an active lifestyle.
GEWR, Southeast Asia’s largest all-women run, marked its 13th year in unifying women in health and fitness. Participants enjoyed a picturesque run as the new routes took them through some of Singapore’s most iconic landmarks, and saw them ceremoniously finishing at the National Stadium.
Joined by Guest-of-Honour Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, thousands of enthusiastic runners lined the streets of Nicoll Highway as they embarked on their quest to break their personal bests and reach their fitness goals.
The event was also graced by Mr Lim Biow Chuan, Member of Parliament (Mountbatten) and Deputy Speaker of Parliament, as well as Great Eastern top management helmed by Group Chief Executive Officer Mr Khor Hock Seng.
The Half Marathon saw the return of previous Singapore top winners such as Mok Ying Rong, Rachel See and Anne Qihui. International elites that joined them included Asian Games 2018 representatives such as Zhang Meixia of China and Linda Janthachit of Thailand.
A close competition between Kasumi Yoshida from Japan and Namjilsuren Semjid from Mongolia was apparent throughout the race. However, in the last leg, Kasumi Yoshida slowly and steadily pulled away from her competition to breast the finishing tape.
Her winning time of 01:19:01, was over one minute faster than the 2017 Elite Open Category winning time, held by last year’s winner Jin Ming Ming.
Retaining her title in the Elite Closed Category, 25-year-old Mok Ying Rong trimmed her winning time by slightly over 3 minutes to 01:27:21.
Mok said:
“Today’s run was very challenging, I felt that my competitors were really on form, especially the international runners. This race was a really good one for me, it was an opportunity for me to break through my limits and actually push through for a new personal best for this season. The route is very refreshing because I’ve been doing the Great Eastern Women’s Run half marathon for quite a while, and with this new route, I was inspired to run even better.”
Results of Great Eastern Women’s Run 2018
21.1km Half Marathon Elite Category (Open)
- Kasumi Yoshida, Japan: 01:19:01
- Namjilsuren Semjid, Mongolia, 01:23:19
- Zhang Meixia, China: 01:24:34
21.1km Half Marathon Elite Category (Closed)
- Mok Ying Rong, Singapore: 01:27:21
- Rachel See, Singapore: 01:28:00
- Jie Shi Neo, Singapore: 01:34:59
To mark Great Eastern’s 110th anniversary, the ‘110-Metre Sprint’ was specially introduced to provide an added dimension to GEWR, and attracted great interest from schools. Catered to runners who preferred short distances, it was the first time a mass running event in Singapore organised a sprint category for those age 13 and above.
This year saw enhancements at the GEWR race village too, with a slew of refreshing new experiences introduced for runners. Participants were treated to post-race massages, a powder room to freshen up in and unique photo booths for Instagrammable photo opportunities!
There were exciting treats in store for the little ones including bouncy castles, sculpted balloons, face painting and a specially created My Little Pony Garden, where they were able to get up close and personal with the magical ponies of the popular animated series.
GEWR raised S$51,500 in support of two women-related causes — Breast Cancer Foundation and Women’s Health Research and Education Fund. Participants chipped in by customising their race bibs and t-shirts, as well as bought colourful tutus in support of the causes.
