11,000 run (sort of) for charity at the Human Race 10k

Story by REDintern Gerald Koh. Photos by REDinterns Asha Ong, Debra Chua, Gerald Koh, Nyan Fu Keong and Teo Zhijia.

The Padang, Sunday, August 31, 2008 – 11,000 runners from Singapore and Southeast Asia joined 24 other countries and an estimated 1 million other runners worldwide as they completed the world's largest ever one-day running event – the Human Race 10k. This is also a charity event as a percentage of the registration fees collected go to three global charities – the World Wildlife Fund, the Lance Armstrong Foundation, and the United Nations High Commissioners for Refugees (UNHCR).

The first runner to reach the finish line was Jauhari Johan of Indonesia in 32 minutes 45 seconds, followed about one and a half minutes later by Lim Kien Mau of Malaysia. Mok Ying Ren, the first Singaporean to finish, came in third 6 seconds behind.

The first female runner to complete the 10km race was Singaporean Vivian Tang, who finished in 39min 18sec.

The myriad musical performances after the race, especially that of American rock band Boys Like Girls, kept the energy levels high through the evening and livened up the Padang.

The race pack collection the Sunday before the run had left runners frustrated with some waiting hours on end to pick up their packs. At some points along the route, the run slowed to a walk-a-jog. Said a runner, han1911, in an online forum:

“I think the race is quite badly organised. They couldn’t control the human traffic. Resulted in a jam half way thru. Most of the time when we had to go into some underpass, there is (sic) bound to be jam.”

However, another runner, acsianray, thought it was ok.

“I’ve been to races that are organized much much worse than today’s (-cough-SAAB-cough-). I think the race wasn’t organized badly, but it wasn’t great either. Average. The race route should have been better. Nike should have anticipated the large number of runners and tried to stick to wider spaces and roads. I distinctly remember in front of Fullerton Hotel everybody had to squeeze into one lane. Race organisers also made runners wait waaaaaayyyy too long in the race pens before the race started (15? 20 min?). Aid and water stations seemed adequate and the post-race refreshments were good.”

Race Results

Men’s Under 25
1. Jauhari Johan (Indonesia) – 32:45
2. Mok Ying Ren (Singapore) – 34:36
3. Jagdish Singh (Singapore) – 37:31

Men’s Open
1. Jauhari Johan (Indonesia) – 32:45
2. Lim Kien Mau (Malaysia) – 34:20
3. Mok Ying Ren (Singapore) – 34:26

Women’s Under 25
1. Chan Dinah (Singapore) – 39:55
2. Sumiko Tan (Singapore) – 44:28
3. Phua Hui Qin (Singapore) – 47:42

Women’s Open
1. Vivian Tang (Singapore) – 39:18
2. Chan Dinah (Singapore) – 39:55
3. Tsui Ying Cheong (Singapore) – 42:55

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