SINGAPORE - Participants of The Straits Times Virtual Run's 17.5km category will be given an additional five days to complete their race.

The event, which starts on Friday (Oct 9), was supposed to end on Oct 18.

However, organisers have decided to allow the racing timeframe to be extended to Oct 23. There will be no change to the 175km race period, which is from Oct 19 to Dec 17.

Technical issues had made it difficult for some participants to activate their race entries on the MOVE by Liv3ly app earlier this week. The app, which is a fitness tracker, is the principal tool for participants to record their progress.

The high volume of traffic when the participants tried to activate their race entries on the app led to many receiving error messages instead, leading to a chorus of complaints on social media.

The issue has been resolved but organisers are seeking to assure those who encountered difficulties that they will have ample time to complete their races.

ST sports editor Lee Yulin, who is the organising chairman of the run, said: "We thank our runners for their patience over the technical issues that some of them experienced earlier this week and apologise for the inconvenience caused.

"We want to let those who experienced problems using the app know that they will still be able to submit their race details to us when they have finished."

Over 14,000 running enthusiasts have signed up for the inaugural event which this year replaces the annual ST Run.

The distances - 17.5km and 175km - have been commissioned to mark the 175th anniversary of the newspaper.