If you have been participating in the Sundown Marathon Singapore over the last 9 years, you soon will have the chance to step out of Singapore and enjoy the same awesome night in Penang and Taipei.

The inaugural overseas races were revealed at a press conference on Friday, 14 October.

Singapore's largest night run celebrates its 10th anniversary with title sponsor OSIM returning for the third straight year for the OSIM Sundown Marathon Singapore 2017, and the first time for the OSIM Sundown Penang 2016 and OSIM Sundown Marathon Taipei 2017.

“The spirit of the marathoner resonates with OSIM because we believe in challenging your spirit to do your best. The OSIM Sundown Marathon 2017 is particularly exciting as it will be run in Penang and Taipei. It makes our partnership more significant as Malaysia and Taiwan are two of the key countries where OSIM is present. This shows the entrepreneurial drive of the organisers in growing the sport and as a Singapore brand who has gone before, we are happy to help promote Sundown to these new markets,”

said Mr Ron Sim, Founder, Chairman and CEO of OSIM International Pte Ltd.

The Penang edition of the race will be held on 17 December 2016 in the heart of Bayan Lepas at Queensbay Mall, Penang, while the Taipei edition will be held on 14 January 2017 in the scenic area of Dajia Riverside Park, Taipei.

Both Taipei and Penang runs will feature a variety of categories which includes the popular 42.195KM (full marathon) for the OSIM Sundown Marathon Taipei and 21.1Km (half marathon) for the OSIM Sundown Marathon Penang.

Both the runs will have the 5KM and 10KM categories. No full marathon distance is available for the Penang race. The half marathon category will be slightly longer for the Taipei race with 23KM due to the design of the park.

This is the first time a Singapore marathon event will venture abroad, on the back of the rising popularity of running, and the unique event format of the OSIM Sundown Marathon.

Adrian Mok, Managing Director of HiVelocity Events, the organiser of Sundown Marathon said:

“We have been planning to go regional for quite some time, and with Sundown celebrating its 10th year, it is timely for us to go abroad to reach out to more people in different countries. The Singapore edition has attracted a significant number of foreigners, an indicator of the popularity of the race. We’re also grateful to OSIM for lending their continuous support, as this marks a major milestone for Sundown.”

Photo Credit: Ming Ham

In another milestone, the OSIM Sundown Marathon will be Singapore’s first sustainable marathon, coinciding with WWF’s Earth Hour. The marathon will take into account total carbon footprint, use of plastics and waste management.

As Asia's largest night marathon, the annual run has seen a steady increase in its participation with over 40% of overseas race entrants for the 2016 race. The high overseas participation rate has indicated the high level of appeal for the event as well as the thriving sports tourism industry in Asia.

Next year’s OSIM Sundown Marathon Singapore will take place on 25 March 2017, at the F1 Pit Building. The 10th edition has brought back the theme of ‘Sleep Can Wait’ - returning to its fundamental ethos of challenging runners to sacrifice sleep, run through the night, and beat the sunrise.

RunSociety readers can use the exclusive Sundown Marathon Promo code "SDM2017RGRUNSOCIETY" for the Singapore race to enjoy a 10% discount off the prevailing rate.