More than 53,000 runners celebrated their completion of another personal running milestone for the year after pacing through the city for the Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2014 (SCMS) on Sunday, 7 December 2014. Starting from various locations across the island – Orchard Road, Sentosa Gateway, and Esplanade Drive – the participants relished in the morning sunshine as they weaved through several icons towards the Padang.

Helium balloons hover over official pacers clad in bright neon tops. In front, the Kenyan and Ethiopian elite runners brace themselves for their marathon run.

This duo in white and shiny silver gear, complete with LED lights and exotic feathers, is just one of the many fantastic costumes seen at the race.

Overcoming New Weather Conditions

Flagging off the Marathon category this year was Ethiopian legend Haile Gebrselassie, a globally-acclaimed top runner. Finishing his race in third with a time of 00:30:00, Gebrselassie said,

“The crowd in Singapore has been fantastic and I treated the race as a celebration. It’s a wonderful atmosphere and everything was great, except the weather. The humidity is not something I expected but the guys from Kenya really pushed me to go faster.”

Left: Barber-turned-elite-runner, Kenneth Mungara, clinched the top medal in the Elite Male Category again this year, just as he did in 2010. Right: Ethiopian representative, Waganesh Amare, came out up on top in the Elite Women’s Open category.

Waganesh Amare, Gebrselassie’s female fellow compatriot, broke the hold the Kenyans have had on the Marathon category. With her winning performance of 2hr 46min 54sec, she trumped Kenyans Elizabeth Chemweno (2hr 47min 50sec) and Pauline Wangui (2hr 48min 59sec).

“The weather was really warm but I’m very happy to win the race here, especially because it’s been won by Kenyans so many times. I really didn’t expect to win, but in spite of my fatigue at the 39km mark, I felt if I pushed a little, I could really win the race, so I persevered.”

In the male open category, barber-turned-elite-runner, Kenneth Mungara, reclaimed the crown he won in 2010, finishing the race with a time of 2hr 16min 42sec. Expressing his delight in winning the race, Mungara said,

“The race today was very nice, the weather was good and I enjoyed it. I was alone and didn’t have someone to push me to go even faster. I aim to be back again and to set a new course record.”

Locals Pushing Beyond Personal Hurdles

In the local Women’s Open category, Rachel See came in first with a time of 3hr 17min 13sec. Meanwhile, Singapore’s favourite Mok Ying Ren defended his title in the local Men’s Open with a time of 2hr 53min 42sec. Recounting his experiences, Mok said,

“I am very happy, this is my longest run since my injury. This is a good comeback run and a good sign as I can move on to my next phase of training and increase the intensity. I felt that the run was really enjoyable as I ran the first 30km with a group of friends.

Moving on, I want to qualify for the next SEA Games and focus on the training once I finish NS in April. For the 2016 Olympics, I am exploring to work with coaches overseas.”

Runners are pumped up and ready to go at the 10km flag-off.

Dancing, laughter, live music, and festive colours were just some of the post-race fun!

How do you feel about the SCMS race? Did you clock your personal best timing? Are you already looking forward to the next one? Share your memorable moments with us in the comments below!