Fun themed runs draw mixed reactions

SINGAPORE — The proliferation of fun themed running events in Singapore, particularly over the past three years, has led to concerns from some organisers that the market is becoming too saturated.

However, due mainly to its profitability, that has not deterred them from continuing to stage such events.

Last year, the Illumi Run saw 10,000 participants dancing to various genres of music along the 5km route as they were splashed with neon glow water. This year, race organiser Infinitus Productions is expecting 18,000 sign-ups and has lowered the age limit from 16 to 13 for the race from Nov 28 to 29.

On Aug 30, about 18,000 people took part in The Color Run Singapore at Sentosa. Organised by IMG Worldwide, it is an untimed 5km run where participants are splashed with coloured powder.

Although such runs have also been criticised for being gimmicky, it appears money still speaks loudest.

“We are milking this business,” said Jeffrey Foo, director of Infinitus Productions who made a 30 to 40 per cent profit from the inaugural edition. “We know shelf lives of fun runs are short. It is a profitable business, and the challenge is to sustain the interest for as long as we can. Themed running events are about the novelty factor, and they will not attract the same high number of participants into their fourth or fifth year, unless more features are added.”

To boost business, there are plans to bring the Illumi Run overseas to Shenzhen in China in December, and Malaysia and Australia next year.

There are an estimated 80 running events in Singapore this year, and about half of which could be considered non-competitive.

But with a first Garfield Run being held in July this year to 8,500 participants and a Hello Kitty Run gearing up for its inaugural edition on Nov 1, it has prompted questions of whether the local running scene is becoming too gimmicky.

“Personally, I find some of these runs rather silly, but they are still getting in the participation numbers by serving different target groups well” said Adrian Mok, managing director of HiVelocity, the organiser of the Sundown Marathon Singapore, a competitive running event which features three race categories of 10km, half-marathon and full-marathon.

“It is not a threat to serious running events like ours, but in fact may also encourage people to take up running, and progress to more serious running too.”

Pink Apple, organiser of the inaugural Hello Kitty Run and competitive races such as the 2XU Compression Run and The North Face 100 Singapore, said the expansion of the local running scene prompted them to look at cartoon-themed running events. “The running scene has definitely expanded, which is why we are now challenged,” said Michelle Ng, its business development manager.

“There is a breakaway from the tradition of serious running events, and I think it is a good idea to have runs themed around cartoon characters we all grew up with. 15,000 pre-launch tickets for Hello Kitty Run were snapped up within 24 hours!”

But Shawn Soh, an avid runner who has taken part in the Sundown Marathon Singapore and Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore — the annual race attracted about 54,000 participants last year — has signed up for the Hello Kitty Run even though his colleagues and running friends think the event is frivolous.

“There may be a stigma and some disdain … but I see fun runs as a chance to maintain my fitness levels towards more competitive runs,” he said. “Not everybody will be like me, though.”