Samuel Kim was the first in line to collect his race pack for next week's Straits Times Run at the Hub yesterday morning after queuing for almost 11/2 hours at the Sports Hub's OCBC Arena Hall 5.
He turned up at the venue after he had taken his "wife to work early". The 44-year-old, who will take part in the 5km category, started running only about a month ago.
It was his decision to "keep fit again and make myself more healthy". However, he will be running alone in the Sept 27 run because his wife will be busy looking after their children.
The ST Run race packs were available for collection from 10.30am to 8pm yesterday, with 4,715 participants coming to claim their blue bags of goodies.
Stanley Tan was among the early birds to collect his race pack for the 18.45km category, the longest of this year's distances.
The 52-year old is an avid runner with more than 30 years of experience under his belt and is also a member of the Mizuno F1 Runners.
He runs an average of 15km daily and participates in more than 35 races a year.
"My passion is running, and I've been running for years, so it's like a habit," he said.
Many of the runners The Straits Times spoke to expressed excitement for the event next week.
For instance, 17-year-old Bryan Ching will be spending quality bonding time with his parents as they take part in the 5km run.
He said: "I'm very busy with my schoolwork so this run is a chance to spend time with my parents."
Most of the runners, however, are concerned about the haze that has shrouded the Singapore sky over the past week.
Some are more cautious, with 50-year-old Samuel Peh saying that if the Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) rises above 100, he would not turn up for the run.
Yet, others had a higher threshold of what they deemed a hazardous level.
As 55-year old Tan Geok Sian said: "Unless it goes beyond 200, it should be quite all right."
The collection of race packs will continue until tomorrow at the OCBC Arena.
