A group of six people will be running the distance from Johor Baru to Kuala Lumpur this weekend, except that the running will take place at East Coast Parkway.
The runners, from local running group The High Panters, aim to cover at least 300km in 31hr 15min in a relay ultramarathon that is part of The Speed Project (TSP) in the United States.
And The High Panters hopes others in Singapore will also go for a run this weekend - wherever they are - so that a total distance of 869km can be covered in 48 hours to raise funds for meals for healthcare workers and the needy.
The High Panters and other runners from all over the world are taking part in TSP, a 340 mile (550km) relay race from Santa Monica Pier in Los Angeles to Las Vegas. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the race is going virtual this year.
The Singapore group wants to also raise funds for those impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic through running the race.
Said co-founder Eugene Lim, 40: "We want to do something even bigger than the run itself, beyond ourselves, and we know we can do something for the community in Singapore."
So last month, Mr Lim reached out to the Majulah Movement - an initiative founded in May that distributes meals to healthcare staff, migrant workers and seniors from low-income families - to discuss how he could contribute.
The two parties came up with the idea of getting more people to run so as to cover the 869km target this weekend. That was the total distance the Majulah Movement team covered in their food deliveries in the past three months, said Ms Ling Quek, 37.
Ms Quek, who co-founded the Majulah Movement, said that every kilometre clocked by a runner will raise funds for meals. If the target of 869km is achieved, the beneficiaries would get at least 1,500 meals, which could last for over a month.
Mr Lim's team of six runners is targeting to cover at least 300km of the 869km.
Members of the public who wish to participate have to record their own distances and send a screenshot to the Majulah Movement via Instagram.
Mr Lim said he has always wanted to join a cross-country race after being inspired by Canadian athlete and cancer research activist Terry Fox at a young age, and TSP is a race that he has been interested in.
The virtual format of the race this year will allow participants from around the world to clock as many kilometres as possible within the current record time of 31 hours and 15 minutes for the LA-to-Vegas run.
Although he will be running in Singapore, Mr Lim wants to see where his team stands in this global race. His team members are Mr Eugene Teo, 40; Mr Benjamin Lee, 33; Mr Chua Kim Choon, 48; Ms Faye Kwan, 36; and Ms Wendy Chu, 40.
Together with the overseas participants, the team will start running at 7pm on Saturday, which will be 4am Pacific Daylight Time. The race will end at 2.15am Singapore time on Monday.
If they run at a consistent pace of six minutes per kilometre with each covering 50km, they will be able to achieve at least 300km in the specified time.
On getting the public's participation to raise funds for the Majulah Movement, Mr Lim said: "You don't have to come to East Coast Parkway to run. You can run around your neighbourhood, it doesn't matter where you are, you can contribute to the mileage."
