SINGAPORE — The iconic home-grown night race in Singapore, Osim Sundown Marathon, will venture overseas for the first time, with events planned in Penang and Taipei.

Yesterday, organisers revealed that the Sundown Marathon has been pencilled into the running calendar of Penang, Malaysia, on Dec 17. It will also take place in the Taiwan capital on Jan 14.

The Penang event will offer three race categories in the 5km, 10km and 21.1km, and take place in the heart of Bayan Lepas at Queensbay Mall.

The event in Taipei will have four categories — 5km, 10km, 23km and the full marathon — and will be held in the scenic Dajia Riverside Park, with routes promising to take runners through iconic Taiwanese landmarks, such as the Taipei 101 building.

Planning for the regional expansion of the Osim Sundown Marathon — which will enter its 10th edition in Singapore next year — started two years ago, said managing director of HiVelocity Events Adrian Mok.

“There are constraints of local applications, local governments, working with local sports associations and what-not (in every country we go into). So, the challenges of putting on the events are really multi-fold,” said Mok, 41. “(The reason for these two cities) is more of a case that we overcome these challenges a bit quicker than the others.”

Mok said there are no target figures for participation for the overseas events as of yet, but the aim is to create fans of the unique night race in those cities.

“I would always reference how we shaped the event in Singapore … We have a long-term vision to succeed in the countries we go into, in the same way as the Sundown Marathon in Singapore, as little did I know that it could draw a 30,000 crowd (this year),” he said. “With the Singapore event, we created fans who are loyal to our event. They yearn for the finishers’ tees that we designed, the medals, and the other aspects (of the event) that we create. This experience is what we want the other (participants in other) countries to feel for themselves. We want to create fans in those countries and build our base from there.”

Mok added that they are “working very hard” exploring venturing into Hong Kong and China the following year.

As for the 10th edition of the Singapore event, scheduled for March 25, which coincides with Earth Hour, organisers said they would find creative ways to “illuminate the runners” in the 5km category when the city lights go out.

A Sundown Night Festival will be introduced to the local event next year, with “containers” called art boxes in which participants can shop and view exhibitions.

Bag collection will also be more convenient, with organisers promising no queues and a phone message service to notify participants when their bags are ready. A mobile application for cashless payment will also be launched.

There will also be a “sports zone” for tryouts for other sports such as 3-on-3 basketball.