The Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon (SCSM) returned to full form over the weekend! The last time “things were normal” was the 2019 edition just weeks before the first cocoa cases hit the country.

I join the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon every year because it’s my “gratitude run”. It’s my celebration for having a work pass and being able to stay in this country. This year, I joined the 10KM run together with PJ.

Here’s the 10KM race route for 2022.

The start and finish of the 10KM is the same with all categories of this year’s race including the full marathon. The starting line is at the F1 Pit and the finish line is in front of the floating stadium. The floating stadium is due to be demolished soon so I think it might be the last time to be used for SCSM. The race village is at the F1 Pit.

The race kit collection

This year’s race entry pack collection (REPC) was at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre. We ran into our friend A and her hubby E (collecting his race kit for the full marathon!).

Race day

The 10KM race was on a Saturday (December 3) and our flag-off “rolling start” was at 6:30 AM. There was a rule that anyone joining the 10KM race must be at the starting pen before 7:00 AM. Afterwards, good luck!

We arrived at 6:55 AM and this is what the starting pen looked like:

I don’t remember how many times I’ve started a race from this location. Since we arrived at the tail-end of the 10KM category, it was empty. But look at how it was three years ago in 2019:

It was a VERY chill start since we were at the back of the pack. The music was blasting and people were taking selfies. It’s a happy feeling to experience this again. Like, the world did not end. (Or it hasn’t yet, I don’t know).

I wanted to run with PJ so I adjusted my pace and eventually walk-ran with him the rest of the route. I already knew this was not going to be a race for personal best. The past few months, the last two years… have taken a huge toll on my mental health. I’m simply happy for getting to the starting line of this race. I’m simply happy to put on a SCSM singlet again (even if the medium size made me feel like a sock puppet). I was also happy to see everyone back on the streets. And the runners? You can hear different languages. Truly, the Singapore Marathon that welcomed the world before, welcomes them back again now.

The experience at this year’s 10KM

The race route leads you towards the National Stadium after crossing Merdeka Bridge. Then it turns around and makes it way back towards Suntec Convention Centre, a U-turn back towards Nicoll Highway MRT, and then onwards to the finish line at the floating stadium. It’s not a new route, which is fine. The streets were also very clean and the hydration stations were plenty (almost every 2 to 3km?).

Because PJ is in the middle of his exams for his MBA, he wasn’t able to train for this run properly. But he still pushed anyway (it’s just a 10KM) and still proud he gave it a go. Yes, we did walk at some points of this race. He recommended we just meet at the finish line but I wasn’t aiming for personal best.

I clocked in my slowest 10KM SCSM run at 1 hr 41 mins (!) but I finished the race feeling happy… almost renewed. Like there’s something to aim for again next year. Like maybe… as what we’ve felt in 2022… life is returning to normal.

The race medal is simpler this year and has a logo of what I think is a Merlion (not a 10-legged spider spitting on a flower).

After crossing the finish line, you get a 100Plus towel (drenched in ice), a banana, a bottle of water, a can of 100Plus, and a pack of Himalaya Salt mint candy. There is no finisher shirt for the 10KM race as that’s reserved for the full marathoners.

Overall the race was, for me, 5/5 stars with the only gripe being this year’s singlet which looks good on slim people but would be challenging for those of us who are skinny fat lol. I wore my boyfriend’s L sized singlet and he wore the free shirt he got from Puma’s booth at the REPC.

Notable is an attempt to lessen on waste (that could be disputable given the nature of these events). The race programme is in PDF format, the race maps are images saved on your phone or accessible by QR code.

There are also bins that encourage much more organisation on how to dispose of waste (like recyclables vs perishable items).

I can’t speak for the baggage drop section as we skipped that.

• 10KM race route – 5/5 – nothing new, it’s a “classic”, hydration stations etc all there
• REPC (race kit collection) – 4.5/5 – nothing new, very organised… I have to drop 0.5 from the score because of the Prudential booth at the exit of the REPC… there was absolutely no way to skip that booth, they placed it so you walk into it which made introverts like me feel very uneasy!!
• Race kit – 5/5 – I prefer it like this, simple… singlet + an SCSM race belt + the plastic for the bag drop is now the same as the entire kit itself + barely any brochures… gosh, remember how it was in the early 2010s
• Race singlets – 3/5 – good fabric, but not a good fit for skinny fat
• Race village / fringe areas – 4/5 – booths were there, felt a bit scaled down but not bad (at least this all happened!), hospitality area, massages, fun activities still there… only gripe is that when exiting towards Promenade MRT there are some bottlenecks when navigating the exit route through Singapore Flyer… not a good thing if there’s a stampede or people crush event happening

Ten years ago

Conclusion

The past two editions of this race were entirely virtual (2020) or incredibly scaled back (2021). So for the 2022 edition to be “back to normal” is worth celebrating. Good job to the organisers and congratulations to everyone who showed up to run in any of the categories at this year’ SCSM.

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