This year's Great Eastern Women’s Run set for record numbers

Bigger, better and more colourful.

That is what participants can look forward to at the Great Eastern Women's Run 2015.

Billed as the biggest all-women's running event in Asia, the Great Eastern Women's Run celebrates 10 years of empowering women in health and life.

Last year saw 15,500 participants lace up their running shoes.

This year, organisers Great Eastern are expecting a massive 17,000 turnout for the 5km, 10km and 21.1km races on Nov 1.

The event will flag off at the Singapore Flyer and end at The Float@Marina Bay.

To commemorate Singapore's 50th birthday, the race route will cover iconic landmarks such as the Esplanade, Gardens by the Bay, the F1 Pit Building, Marina Bay Sands, Merlion Park and the Singapore Sports Hub.

Runners will also run across the Jubilee Bridge as a tribute to the Republic's Golden Jubilee.

"We are capping the number of participants at about 17,000," said Colin Chan, chief marketing officer of Great Eastern.

"The race has become well-known over the years and, although our early bird registration opened just 10 days ago, sign-ups have exceeded 6,000.

"We have to limit the number of participants, because events like the 21.1km are really popular and, unfortunately, we cannot accommodate too many."

The Great Eastern Women's Run has always boasted a plethora of unique fringe activities and community initiatives. One of the new offerings this year is titled "Don A Tutu For A Cause", where proceeds from purchasing a tutu for $5 will go to one of the run's three beneficiaries.

The tutus come in pink, yellow, and blue, with each colour corresponding to its beneficiary - The Breast Cancer Foundation, Children with Special Needs (supported by Community Chest), and SingHealth Duke-NUS OBGYN Academic Clinical Program - respectively.

Unlike in previous years, the run is also stepping up efforts to give more back to the community.

COMMUNITY

"There are more deliberate efforts to encourage the running community to support the charities associated with us. It's not just about the run. It's about the community getting involved, and giving greater meaning to the race," said Chan.

Dr Khoo Kah Siang, Great Eastern's CEO (Singapore), emphasised that the run is for participants of all ages.

"We cater to a wide range of ages and capabilities. We want the participants to start at a young age, become more comfortable with participating, and eventually become more conscious of keeping fit," he said.

"That is why we have created a new category (the Princess Dash) this year aimed at those between three and nine, and also brought back last year's "#RuntoLiveGreat" programme where people introduce this run to others, and run in pairs."

How to sign up

The "#RuntoLiveGreat" programme is limited to only 80 pairs. Aside from this, four other categories are open for registration.

Registration fees for the four categories:

1. Princess Dash (100m, for ages 3-9) - $18 and $22 for early bird and normal period respectively.

2. 5km Live Great! Fun Run (Individual, for ages 13 and above); 5km Live Great! Fun Run (Pairs) - $31 (early bird), $43 (normal); $58 (early bird), $77 (normal).

3. 10km (Individual, for ages 16 and above); 10km (Pairs); 10km (Corporate team of four, for ages 18 and above) - $49 (early bird), $61 (normal); $93 (early bird), $117 (normal); $186 (early bird), $234 (normal).

4. 21.1km (Individual); 21.1km (Pairs); 21.1km (Corporate team of four), all for ages 18 and above - $58 (early bird), $75 (normal); $112 (early bird), $141 (normal); $224 (early bird), $282 (normal).

Prices above are for the public. Great Eastern Women policyholders & loyal runners get a discount during early-bird registration.

This article was first published on July 17, 2015.
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