Singapore Marathon

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The first competitive marathon in Singapore was held on 5 December 1982, with an estimated participation size of 15,000 runners.^[2] Only the 2,300 competitive runners would have to register while the non-competitive runners could participate freely as joggers along the route.^[2]

In 2002, a sponsorship deal with Standard Chartered saw the Singapore Marathon rebranded as the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon.^[3]

In 2011, 22-year-old Malcolm Sng died after running the half-marathon.^[3] He suffered from a heart condition and died from acute coronary insufficiency.^[3] In 2012, the race gained its World Athletics Gold status.^[4]

In 2013, the marathon was organised by Ironman Asia.^[5] In the half marathon, 29-year-old John Gibson, a Briton living in Hong Kong, died after collapsing 1km away from the finish line at the Padang.^[5]

In 2017, Singapore was announced as a candidate city for the Abbott World Marathon Majors, a series of the six largest and most renowned marathons in the world.^[6] In 2019, the full- and half-marathons were held in the evening in order to fulfill criteria to be listed in the Abbott World Marathon Majors, instead of the usual flag off timing at dawn.^[7] This led to a series of road closures which resulted in 3-hour long traffic jams around the city center on the race day itself as there were other major activities happening at the same time in the vicinity of the race,^[8] leading to a public outcry of unhappiness.^[9] Lim Teck Yin, chief executive of national sports agency Sport Singapore, wrote a public letter of apology in the aftermath.^[10] During Parliament, Members of Parliament Lee Bee Wah, Liang Eng Hwa and Desmond Choo raised questions on how to avoid such issues in the future.^[11]

In 2020, Singapore Marathon moved its race event to a virtual format due to the advisories surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.^[12] The virtual race format, titled "Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon (SCSM) Virtual Racing Series" is part of the SCSM Virtual Club initiative. Two new virtual races are made available each week for participation by runners all over the world.^[13]

In 2021, Singapore Marathon returned to in-person participation, with 4000 runners joining the event.^[14]

In 2025, it had a cap of 55,000 runners.^[4] After the race, Sport Singapore announced that Ironman Asia was replaced by SG Marathon Pte Ltd with a two-year extendable contract as Ironman's decade-long event management contract ended.^[15]

In 2026, BYD became the new title sponsor of the Singapore Marathon with the marathon now titled as BYD Singapore International Marathon.^[16]

There are four separate categories of competition: the full marathon, the half marathon, the 10 kilometres run, and the 5 kilometres run. Furthermore, in 2024, there is a marathon relay race for teams of 5, as well as a number of short running competitions for children.^[17]

Prize money for the full marathon race is divided into three categories: the open prize (for all competitors), the Singapore prize (open to national competitors), and the veteran prize (which acts as a masters competition).^[18]

Between 2004 and 2008, it was part of "The Greatest Race on Earth" series of road races, sponsored by Standard Chartered Singapore (the other three legs being the Hong Kong Marathon, Mumbai Marathon and Nairobi Marathon).^[19][20]

The times recorded at the Singapore Marathon tend to be slower than those at other marathons as Singapore's climate is unusually hot and humid.^[21] Kenyans Luke Kibet and Salina Kosgei are the men's and women's course record holders, respectively.^[22] The 2006 edition also acted as the country's national championships, with Elangovan Ganesan and Vivian Tan Yoke Pin taking the honours.

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Key:   Course record   Singapore championship race

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