• Runners at the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2020 can choose to race via augmented reality
• There will be five categories and runners may take part for free  
• They may buy race entitlements and have them delivered to their homes or collect them at assigned time slots
   

SINGAPORE — Runners at this year’s Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon (SCSM) will be zipping down Orchard Road and racing past well-known landmarks such as Gardens by the Bay and the Marina Barrage, all through augmented reality.

They will be able to create avatars and see themselves compete with fellow runners in real-time, backed by various in-video features that re-create elements of the race experience.

This will be the first time that augmented reality races are offered for the annual marathon event, as details of the event were announced during a press briefing on Thursday (Oct 29).

From Nov 27 to Dec 6, runners here and overseas can race in one of five different categories:

• SCSM Grand Finale Rouvy Augmented Reality 10km

• SCSM Grand Finale Rouvy Augmented Reality Half-Marathon

• SCSM Grand Finale Virtual Race 10km

• SCSM Grand Finale Virtual Race Half-Marathon

• SCSM Grand Finale Virtual Race Double Up Challenge

Using a tracking device such as a smart watch, runners of the virtual races can complete their marathon outdoors and clock the information later. Runners can do this anytime within the 10-day time frame, preventing people from congregating in groups to run outdoors.

For those who plan to join the indoor augmented reality categories, they will be able to do so by downloading the Rouvy mobile application on their smart devices and using foot pods while running on a treadmill.

Foot pods, which are devices attached to shoes, must be used because they track cadence, which other devices such as smart watches do not. Cadence refers to the number of steps that a runner takes a minute.

Alternatively, participants may book an augmented reality run at one of 12 ActiveSG sport centres around the island through the ActiveSG app.

Registration for this year’s race is free, but runners can choose to pay for accessories and race entitlements such as a runner’s singlet, backpack, drink bottle, medal, official photo and downloadable e-finisher certificate.

For Singaporean runners, they may get these entitlements through delivery or collect them during pre-registered time slots at the SCSM 2020 Grand Finale Celebration event on Dec 5 and 6 at Gardens by the Bay.

For international runners, the items can be shipped to them.

Speaking at the media launch of the event, Mr Geoff Meyer, group managing director with Ironman Asia, which is the organiser of the marathon, said that a weekly SCSM virtual club has received more than 80,000 participants across its virtual races over nine weeks. Of these, 20 per cent were international participants.

The SCSM virtual club allows runners to take part in weekly challenges and races since it opened in August.

Mr Meyer said: “This will be a race like no other, and a celebration at the end of a very challenging year.

“Now that we’re reaching our grand finale, we’re hoping to get a total of 150,000 people running.”

Mr Keith Tan, chief executive officer of the Singapore Tourism Board, noted that with two in 10 of the participants being international runners, using augmented reality is a great opportunity for “runners from all over the world to experience the sights and sounds of our beautiful city virtually this year”. He hopes that this inspires them to visit Singapore in time to come.

Mr Nick Kao, 37, a marketing director who joined last year’s marathon, said that the virtual races have been very fun and he is excited about the augmented reality race because he can visit different places and it feels like a game.

“It also eliminates the feeling of loneliness while running alone because you can see other competitors running through augmented reality, so I’m looking forward to it.”

Para-athlete Shariff Abdullah, who was one of the first to try out the augmented reality run during the media event on Thursday, said that the ability to race this way is a great opportunity for people with disabilities since they can compete using a treadmill.

The 52-year-old, who has taken part in the marathon for 11 years and plans to do both the augmented reality and virtual races this time, said: “This year is a unique experience to run a marathon using augmented reality because of Covid-19, but I’m excited that we can still participate in this year’s race.”