The adidas Sundown Marathon, Asia’s first ever night ultra marathon event, was held on 31st May 2008 at Changi Point. This event attracted about 6029 participants in total. There are 4 race categories for this marathon. They are namely the ultra-marathon (84km), 42km marathon, the corporate challenge (10.5km) and the team challenge (10.5km). The route for the marathon uses the island-wide network of linear open spaces that link up major parks, nature sites and housing estates in the eastern part of Singapore. The race also brings runners through interesting sights, including lush greenery from Changi Point to Bedok Reservoir, East Coast Park and finishes at Changi Point.
Background of the Organiser
The organiser for this night marathon is HiVelocity Pte Ltd, an event company which specialised in organising sports events. What make them different from the other event companies is their out-of-the-box thinking and creative ideas. In addition, the company is built on the pure passion and love for sports. Headed by Adrian Mok, an endurance athlete who had ran an Ultramarathon of 168km, and Jeffrey Foo, a triathlete, the team is made up of energetic and driven people who live in the sports realm. HiVelocity is also one of the many co-sponsors of the National Day Parade (NDP) 2008.
Roles of Events
Having brought the Aviva Singapore Ironman 70.3 Triathlon competition to Singapore’s race stage last year, the adidas Sundown Marathon is yet another sports event organised by HiVelocity. Having organised these 2 major events on Singapore’s sports calendar would definitely help to improve the profile of the company. The race took place in the eastern part of Singapore and this helps to bring more awareness and attention to that area. The 42km long Eastern Coastal Park Connector Network, completed last December, was utilised for this event. In return, the event helps to create awareness of the park connectors which are convenient linkways to the different parks. Thus, events would help to market the place and also attracting residents, locals and tourists to the venues (i.e. the park connectors and the eastern part of Singapore). The events would also act as an animator to encourage first and subsequently repeat visits to the venues.
The stakeholders in this event are the media, the participants, the public, Singapore Sports Council, the community (residents in the eastern part of Singapore), the organiser (HiVelocity Pte Ltd), the sponsors (100 Plus, Oakley, PowerBar etc.), event partners (National Parks & Athlete’s Circle), and elected officials of the event such as the timekeepers and paramedics. In addition, for the adidas Sundown Marathon, the target market would be avid runners who took part in marathon frequently and like to challenge their limit.
Marketing Strategies
Product
The adidas Sundown Marathon is Asia’s first ever night ultra marathon and it is also the first time a night marathon is held in Singapore. Thus, the event attracts a lot of attention of Singaporeans. The organiser believe that it’s a different experience running at night as it’s quieter and runners are able to clear their minds and focus on their run. Thus, they want to bring this experience to the runners in Singapore. I believe this event would be an unforgettable experience for the participants as they would not only be able to challenge themselves with the marathon but also able to experience the fun of running a marathon at night.
Place
As for the venue of the marathon, it took place in the eastern part of Singapore. This marathon is also held entirely in the heartland. This would be a new experience for the participants as they not only run a marathon at night but also running through heartland areas. The residents in the areas and supporters can also catch a glimpse of the participants in action at any point of the route. The race brings the participants through interesting sights as well. They can enjoy the lush greenery and attractive views of Bedok Reservoirs and East Coast Park during the run. By utilising the newly completed Eastern Coastal Park Connectors Network for the event, it would help to increase Singaporean’s awareness of the park connectors. The venue is also very accessible to both the participants and audience. This is so as shuttle bus services are provided to bring them to and fro the event area. Not only that, participants and audience can also take public buses and MRT services, by driving and by taking a taxi.
Partnership
For this adidas Sundown Marathon, the event partners are National Parks and Athlete’s Circle. National Parks allows part of the 42km long Eastern Coastal Park Connector Network, completed last December and maintained by National Parks, to be utilised for this marathon. And in return, the event would help to increase the awareness of the park connectors that they are convenient linkways to the different parks and provide additional recreational areas for all. Another partner of this marathon is Athlete’s Circle, a concept store that empowers customers with information on the main sports of swimming, cycling and running. This event was also sponsored by many different sponsors in different areas like PowerBar, 100 Plus, Oakley, Ice Mountain, and Ultimate Direction and so on. In addition, an official online race bib bidding system, where participants can bid for their desired number tags, was launched. All proceeds from the online auction would go to Beyond Social Services, a special sports fund for children.
Price
There were 4 race categories for this marathon and the fee for these categories was different. For the individual ultra-marathon (84km) and marathon (42km), the fee was as follow:
- ultra-marathon: $100
- marathon: $50
Special Period (1st Feb 08 to 31st March 08)
- ultra-marathon: $120
- marathon: $65
Normal Period (1st April 08 to 30th April 08)
- ultra-marathon: $140
- marathon: $75
As for the team/corporate categories, the fee is $250. In addition, race entry packs would be given to participants who had registered for the race. Furthermore, all participants who register this year would also be entitled to a discount in the subsequent years. For those who wish to withdraw from the race, a 50% refund of the original race fee would be issued if race withdrawals were made before 5pm on 30 April 08. For registration, participants can simply register online at http://www.sundownmarathon.com/ or sign-up in person at Athlete’s Circle.
Promotion
The adidas Sundown Marathon was advertised in newspapers and through their website (http://www.sundownmarathon.com/). Detailed information and the latest details of the marathon can be found on the website. This allows participants to get information about the race easily. Posters promoting the marathon can also be seen at bus stops to reach out to a larger audience. In addition, banners were also hung by the roadside in the eastern part of Singapore to promote the event. A campaign featuring four local athletes at four different stages of the adidas Sundown Marathon was used to promote the night race. Furthermore, to attract more participants to participate in this event, cheaper early bird and special period prices were charged to those who had registered for the race earlier. Attractive prizes were also given to the winners of the different race categories. These prizes include adidas sponsorship contracts and the opportunities to take part in this year’s Berlin and Auckland Marathons, which would be an unforgettable experience for runners.
People
The people who were involved in this marathon are the participants taking part in the different race categories, the organising committee, the officials, the guest-of-honour (Ms Grace Fu Hai Yen), VIP participants such as Mr Teo Ser Luck, Mr Michael Palmer and Dr Fatimah Lateef and volunteers. The VIP participants would set a good example and help to promote sports and healthy lifestyle to the locals by participating in the marathon themselves. On the other hand, volunteers are also very important and vital in ensuring that the event runs smoothly and in making it a success.
Rating of the Organisation of the Event
In a scale of 1 to 10, I’ll give the event a rating of 7. Overall, I feel that the adidas Sundown Marathon is quite well-organised. I think the organiser done a good job as they had the stakeholders in mind when they were planning the event.
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Firstly, there was an athlete’s rest area for the runners; a medical massage centre, medical post, a changing tent and a baggage deposit tent cater to the participants. All these facilities help to meet the needs of the participants. There was also a car park area reserved for the participants to make it easier for them to park their cars. For the volunteers, there was a volunteers tent for the volunteers to rest and deposit their belongings. As for the VIP, there were areas set aside for them to rest and park their cars. Furthermore, there was also a media and information area for visitors and media to get the information they needed about the marathon. Basically, most of the needs of the stakeholders were catered for.
Also, I think the place is quite accessible as there are many forms of transportation that the visitors can used to get to the venue. Personally, I like the campaign adidas has for the Sundown Marathon. I think the advertisements are creative and inspiring and to me, I believe adidas had succeeded in gaining attention for the marathon through the campaign.
However, I think that they could have done a better job for the carnival area. For the carnival, the stalls there were mainly stalls opened by the sponsors to promote and sell their products. There was no activities for visitors like myself to participate in. I was quite disappointed as there was nothing much for me to do when I was at the event. I suggest that there can be games and activities for visitors to participate in. For example, they can have fun and interesting games like a mini marathon or other sports-related games so visitors can occupy themselves while waiting for the participants to finish the race.
Potential of the Event
Sports tourism had been increasingly important and is now a major sector in Asia. With Beijing hosting the Summer Olympic Games this year, the world’s attention would no doubt turn to Asia. Globally, the sports market is expected to achieve sales of US$111.1 billion in 2009. With Singapore hosting several major sports events like the Formula One Grand Prix, South East Asian Games, 1st Youth Olympic Games and Asian Youth Games, the sports tourism sector in Singapore is certainly bright. This would in turn help boost the economy of Singapore. Furthermore, with Singapore Sports School and the upcoming Sports Hub, sports tourism would definitely be something big in Singapore in years to come. The major sports events would also help to generate interest of people towards sports and in turn participate actively in sports activities.
Thus, with the sports tourism industry becoming more significant and tourists becoming more interested in sports, such events like the adidas Sundown Marathon would definitely be attractive to the tourists. I believe that the unique nature of the marathon – Singapore’s first ever night marathon, would help to attract the attention of the tourists and encourage them to take part in the event. Taking part in a night marathon would also be a new experience for many of the participants. I think Singapore can organise more unique and special sports events, such as the adidas Sundown Marathon, to garner the attention of the tourists.
Aligning Value of the Event with the Tourism Mission of Singapore
According to the Singapore Tourism Board’s website, the tourism mission of Singapore is “We develop & champion tourism, so as to build the sector into a key driver of economic growth for Singapore”.
Sports tourism is an up-and-coming business sector in Singapore and it is playing an increasingly important role in the economic growth of Singapore. In addition, by organising more major sporting events would also help to develop the tourism and economy of Singapore.
I suggest the organiser to have made the marathon a larger scale event to attract more attention of the tourists. I think they can market the event overseas to attract more participants from overseas to take part in this event. With the tourists and overseas participants coming to Singapore for the event, they would eventually spend in Singapore and contribute to the tourism income.
Here are some pictures taken during the event:
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