[Above: (From left) National triathletes Jeanette Wang and Mok Ying Ren, MediaCorp star Joanne Peh and MCYS Senior Parl Sec Teo Ser Luck and Nike Country Director Stanley Goh at a Nike+ Human Race 10K press event.]
COME August 31, Singapore will join 23 other cities in a one-of-a-kind 'human race'.
Sports conglomerate Nike is putting together a mammoth running event that will see an estimated one million participants running 10 kilometres each.
The series of runs held across 24 cities across the globe is called "The Nike+ Human Race 10K", and 10,000 places have been reserved for Singaporeans, with every individual runner receiving a Nike T-shirt with a unique number emblazoned on the front.
Singapore will be the only South East Asian country to feature in the race that includes cities like London, Madrid, Shanghai, Warsaw and Vancouver as official venues.
"It's an unprecedented way for us to bring an entirely new running experience to consumers around the globe," said Stanley Goh, Nike Singapore's Country Director.
"We're offering runners new ways to compete and race, as well as to celebrate as each event ends with a headlining musical act."
The planned race route here will take runners around city landmarks like the Singapore Flyer, Esplanade Bridge and Lau Pa Sat, with bands like EIC, percussion outfit Wicked Aura, and Boston rock band Boys Like Girls on hand to pump up energy levels.
Guest of Honour at the media launch, Mr Teo Ser Luck, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, also expressed his hope that this marriage of sports and music will "trigger off the sports culture in Singapore and inspire more youths to take up sports".
Among the super-fit Singaporeans to feature in the race are triathlete Mok Ying Ren and Ultra-marathon winner Jeannette Wang. Local celebs like Joanne Peh, Nick Shen and Ix Shen were also spotted at the event launch, and are likely to add to the event's glam factor come race day.
PLUS CHARITY
Apart from the obvious health benefits of preparing for, and running the race, participants will also be able to pick one of three global charities to receive a portion of the registration fees. They are: The World Wild Fund for Nature, The Lance Armstrong Foundation, and The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
VIRTUALLY THERE
Taking its name from Nike's new 'Nike+' technology that allows runners to input and track their runs online, the race will also allow runners located anywhere outside the 24 official race cities to participate by uploading their run information to the Nike+ website (www.nikeplus.com.sg).
Watch out for AsiaOne's coming test drive of Nike+ running technology
RACE INFO
WHO:
Men & Women Under 24
Men & Women Open
School Team Challenge
ENTRY FEE:
$25 for those aged 24 and below
$45 for those aged 25 and above
(Age as at Sept 1, 2008)
