Haze in Singapore: Runners train in mall, families head for indoor playgrounds

SINGAPORE – As the worst haze since 2015 enshrouds Singapore, runners have turned to running inside malls, yoga and other indoor exercise routines, and families are heading to indoor playgrounds.

Elmer Loy Suan Sheng, who usually runs outdoors up to six times a week, did not have any of his regular sessions for more than a week starting from Oct 9 because of the worsening air quality.

Instead, the insurance manager could only run on a treadmill.

On the morning of Oct 17, he joined X-Run Singapore, an indoor event at Marina Square mall, where about 15 fitness enthusiasts ran laps within the premises.

“It beats running on a treadmill,” said Loy, adding that the mall also provides a cooler environment for running. Marina Square gave X-Run Singapore permission to hold its run inside the mall.

Joseph Estrella, 49, retail associate at Key Power Sports, the organiser of the indoor run, and run lead for X-Run Singapore, said the session was a way for runners to continue their marathon preparations – the annual Singapore international marathon is scheduled from Dec 4 to 6 – without compromising their well-being.

Participants ran varying distances of between 9km and 21km on the mall’s second and third floors between 7am and 9am.

Estrella said X-Run Singapore intends to make Saturday indoor runs a regular alternative whenever poor air quality makes outdoor training unsuitable. The next mall run is slated for Oct 24.

Singapore has registered unhealthy 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index readings daily since Oct 5 – as at Oct 17, the 13-day period was the longest continuous stretch of poor air quality the country has had to endure since the 2015 haze crisis.

Like X-Run, another running club here that usually trains five times a week also cancelled its sessions from the start of October amid worsening haze conditions.

Eugene Beh, founder of Singapore Runners Club, said the group monitors the one-hour PM2.5 readings regularly before deciding whether to proceed with the day’s planned run.

Speaking to The Straits Times on Oct 16, he said the club’s members, who number around 17,400, have been forced to turn to alternatives to get their workouts in. Beh, 52, suggested indoor gym workouts and at-home workouts such as yoga and stretching.

The club is also encouraging its members to engage in stair-climbing workouts in an enclosed space.

Many other fitness enthusiasts have been left disappointed after several running events were cancelled because of the haze.

The 2026 edition of the Great Eastern Women’s Run, slated to take place on Nov 1, was cancelled on Oct 16 owing to the “worsening air quality” caused by the transboundary haze.

The Singapore Half Marathon 2026 Powered By JomRun was cancelled by organisers. The race, with 5km, 10km and 21km routes, was originally scheduled to take place on Oct 11. The Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants run, slated for Oct 17, was also cancelled the previous night.

Another event, The Garmin Run 2026, is set to take place on Oct 25. On its Instagram page, the organisers said they were monitoring the 24-hour PSI and one-hour PM2.5 readings.

The decision on whether to carry on with the race, which has 6,000 registered participants, will be made at 11pm on Oct 24, the night before the event, a Garmin spokeswoman said.

No participants have requested to withdraw from the run, which has a 10km route and a 21km route, she added.

“If the half-marathon (21km) is truncated to 10km, all resources from medical and aid stations will be deployed to the 10km route,” she said, adding that all aid stations would have sufficient hydration for runners who require assistance and would keep masks on standby for runners who may require them.

“All vulnerable individuals are strongly advised not to proceed with the run if the run proceeds as planned,” the spokeswoman said.

On Oct 15, ActiveSG’s outdoor and non-air-conditioned sports and recreation facilities across most of the island were closed as the haze situation worsened. Many facilities were also closed the next day.

Outdoor recreational activities elsewhere, for adults and children alike, have also taken a beating.

Long Hatta, operations manager at cable ski-park Wake Park in East Coast Park, said they observed about a 50% decrease in customer footfall at the park, though he noted that this was an estimate. The park’s bar, which operates in an open-air, al fresco setting, has seen its customer count drop by roughly half, he added.

Families with young children to keep occupied have had to reconsider visits to swimming pools and outdoor playgrounds.

While such outdoor spaces are regular haunts for kitchen operations manager George and his seven-year-old son, the worsening haze has forced them to rethink their family outings.

The 58-year-old, who declined to share his surname, has been taking his son to an indoor playground near their home in the north instead, as he is concerned that the poor air quality could affect the boy, who has a sensitive nose.

“I’m glad there’s this indoor playground option because the haze has been so bad for the past few weeks,” said George, who has taken his son to Sunshine Childhood Playground in Bishan five to seven times over the past month.

He said his son’s school had also warned parents that it might have to close if the situation persisted.

For Felicia Lim, 38, the worsening air quality means limiting the time her young child spends outdoors, particularly because her daughter has asthma.

“My daughter can get breathless if she stays out too long in the haze, so we are opting for indoor playgrounds nowadays so she can still enjoy her playtime. But she prefers playing outdoors, so she’s rather sad about it,” the human resources executive said of her eight-year-old.

A man who identified himself only as Ray said he would take his kids to the children’s pool at Tampines Hub regularly before the haze worsened, but he stopped after they started to itch after one particular day at the facility. The 40-year-old said this was not something his kids usually experienced.

On Oct 17, all ActiveSG sports facilities resumed operations as haze conditions eased slightly.

A Sport Singapore spokeswoman said the PSI forecast guides planning for the next day’s operations and activities, including when air quality is expected to reach the very unhealthy range, while the latest one-hour PM2.5 readings help determine whether activities need to be adjusted based on prevailing localised conditions.

Refunds for bookings, gym and swim passes affected by haze-related facility closures are processed automatically and people who wish to voluntarily cancel bookings at facilities that remain open may request a refund, she added.

Beh was reunited on Oct 17 with about 30 members from the club who took part in a 30-minute run in Sembawang. Although the original route spanned between 7km and 10km, the run was cut short by a one-hour PM2.5 reading of 80 in the north.

“It is good to be back,” he said.