SINGAPORE - This 2021 Great Eastern Women's Run will feature a competitive virtual half-marathon category for 18 invited local elite runners, organisers announced on Wednesday (Sept 29).
The virtual half-marathon is held in conjunction with the virtual run for the public, which returns for its 15th edition after it was cancelled last year.
All 18 competitors, running with wearables, are to clock their race between 6am and 9am on Nov 14 and will submit their results digitally, where their run time (duration and pace), distance, route and heart rate will be verified.
The elite category will feature a field including the likes of 2016 Olympics marathoner Neo Jie Shi, and SEA Games marathoners Jasmine Goh (2017) and Serena Teoh (2019).
Goh, who has been participating in the GEWR since 2012, was thankful to organisers for the opportunity to race again during the pandemic.
The 2016 GEWR local elite champion said: "We've missed competing and while this race will be without traditional race elements such as a flag-off and finish line, it is no less of a contest.
"We will still be competing against the other runners on the same day, only in a socially-distant and safer manner."
Colin Chan, managing director of group marketing at Great Eastern, said the elite race was designed to remain as close to a race setting as possible while maintaining the safety of the competitors.
He added: "We hope this opportunity to compete in a simulated race setting will help our local athletes achieve their sporting goals.
"We will continue to monitor the Covid-19 developments closely and will reinstate the features of a full race for these 18 elite runners should the situation allow it."
The local elite runners will also lead a fund-raising initiative where donated funds will go to two beneficiaries - Breast Cancer Foundation (BCF) and Daughters Of Tomorrow (DOT).
Members of the public can support these causes via the Great Eastern Cares fundraising page on SimplyGiving.com.
Chan said: "Female causes are close to the hearts of the GEWR community, and this year we've added DOT to longstanding beneficiary, BCF.
"It is our wish to help advance women's causes by activating the elite runners' and the GEWR community's networks to help enable and empower women and families in need to achieve financial independence."
The GEWR, which drew close to 13,000 participants in 2019, features five different categories this year: 5km, 10km, 21.1km, 2km for mothers and daughters aged five to 12, as well as a new 113km category to commemorate the company's 113th anniversary.
For the 113km run, participants can choose to form a team of two to four to complete the distance collectively or individually.
Distances for all categories will be clocked using mobile app MOVE by Liv3ly from Nov 14 to Dec 15.
To register or for more information, visit this website.
