“Sportainment” – the culmination of sports and entertainment. Here in Singapore for the first time – Brooks Run Happy presented by Aquarius Isotonic brought a brand new experience to the local running enthusiasts.

4,000 runners, who were also partygoers, were treated to a myriad of entertainment starting from pre-race to the after-run party. While the race deviates from the norm of performance and record breaking, the participants still had their adrenaline pumped throughout with the atmosphere of effervescent lights and dynamic music.

The race organisers, Pink Apple Pte Ltd, designed the race to bring about the true essence of running – you run for yourself, for your passion and your love for sports.

Ms Michelle Ng, Project Lead for Brooks Run Happy 2012, said that Run Happy is a race that is set to be different from any other running event in Singapore. She also said that the run was planned with the “holiday mood” to create an experience similar to a year-end party together with partners Brooks and The Coca-Cola Company.

“This was why the distance was set at 9km instead of a standard 10km run – so that people saved the energy for the last kilmometre to party with Zouk’s DJ Ming,” said Ms Michelle Ng.

Before the race, Singapore’s very own ShiLi & Adi took on the check-in pen with a refreshing take on some Top 40 hits, getting the runners all psyched up for the race. Then, warm up dancers planted amongst the crowd led everyone up to a “hip-hop Gangnam style” dance. The atmosphere on Marina Bridge was certainly pumped up.

An entourage consisting of Mr Robert Lu, Keypower International, Ms Michelle Yeo, The Coca-Cola Company, and TV personalities and Singapore Cancer Society Ambassadors, Tara Rushton and Keagan Kang flagged off the runners. The sea of runners clad in blue headed towards Marina East on their 9km run, which featured some of the most scenic landmarks in Singapore.

The runners finished the race with a club-like party, to the music spun by DJ Ming, from Official Music and Dance Partner, Zouk – one of the oldest and most established club in Asia.

The party also featured dancers and Brooks Brand Ambassadors. Runners were now officially converted to partygoers and enjoyed the plentiful finger food and drinks, including all-new Aquarius and all-time favourite Coca-Cola, proudly brought to the event by The Coca-Cola Company.

The party ended on a high note with two lucky participants winning a trip to San Francisco to take part in the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon on 7th April 2013.

At the end of the year, Brooks Run Happy 2012 is a good way to round off the year and remind ourselves of the reasons why we run.

Running does make us happy.

Note to self: Keep Calm and Run Happy.