According to an article by Singapore’s Today journal a growing group of Singaporeans are not only embracing a healthier lifestyle, but are also rushing to sign up for a variety of endurance races.
In 2009, there were 99 races across the small South East Asian country. Singapore Today notes that these consisted of ‘triathlons, marathons and jaw-dropping ultra marathons in the forest, but also shorter or unique events, such as women’s-only 10K races, stair climbing races and cycling events.’
The Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon originally attracted 6,000 runners back in 2002. In 2009, the race drew 50,000 runners – and the race’s organisers are already promising more slots this year.
Kelven Tan, who heads the Sports Marketing Group at the Singapore Sports Council, noted that the number of races held in Singapore reflected a huge public demand. "More races will also mean a healthy all-year round calendar of endurance events which the public can participate in."
Dr Ben Tan, Medical Director of the Singapore Sports Medicine Centre, commented on the surge in participation levels and the speed at which races sell out. "When your basic needs are taken care of, you need challenges," he said.
Dr Tan reflected that many of those signing up for endurance events across Singapore were PMEBs (professionals, managers, executives and businessmen). "These people take up triathlon [and] marathon running, which are very time consuming sports. Why would the busiest people in Singapore take up the most time consuming sports?"
Tan believes that erratic and packed work schedules mean that this group of driven people "run away" from work by taking up such active lifestyle pursuits. "There are meetings, lunch appointments, overseas trips. When there is no steady rhythm, you get unsettled … then you get unproductive. They want something more fixed in their lives and they use exercise to anchor their lives down."
Adrian Mok, a director at sports events organiser HiVelocity, added that the endurance sports in the country are not necessarily a young man’s game. "We actually see more participants from the age of 30 onwards and sometimes even those beyond 60. This is not something that we find in every sport and this trend is likely to grow."
The Today article notes that sporting goods retailers are currently ‘licking their lips’. A Senior Sales Manager at Key Power International, which brings in brands such as 2XU and Newton, said sales have surged "between 30% to 40%" in the past two years.
