SINGAPORE - The Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon (SCSM) 2018 event week kicked off on Wednesday (Dec 5) with the official opening of the Health & Fitness expo at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre.

As of Thursday, over 20,000 runners had already collected their race packs and had a taste of the activities and race gear on offer since the doors first opened.

This year, the 8,000 sq m expo features over 136 brands from 117 vendor booths which give visitors an opportunity to test the latest running gear, pick up nutritional tips, indulge in healthy gourmet snacks, enjoy a pre-race massage, or even be the first in Asia to get a sneak peek of Under Armour's latest running shoe. The expo is free and open to the public, and runs from 10am to 10pm on Thursday and Friday, and 9am to 7pm on Saturday.

Participants can take a photo with a giant 2018 race medal, add their names onto the runner's signature wall and take part in the fan favourite running cafe where they can complete various workouts to win prizes.

Visitors who fancy a souvenir will have an unprecedented selection of SCSM merchandise to choose from at the 1,360 sq m space, where they can pick from items such as limited edition T-shirts, caps, visors, bags and laces.

As part of the weekend-long festival, organisers also prepared enhanced offerings at the first-ever Foodtastic Village at the Marina Bayfront, which opened on Thursday.

Runners can also head down to the official SCSM pre-race press conference from 11.30am on Friday to find out more about how the elite participants are preparing for the race. Fans and participants will have a chance to meet and speak with elite athletes in the marathon and wheelchair categories as well as SEA Games marathon champion Soh Rui Yong.

Saturday will be the last day of operation for the Race Entry Pack Collection Expo, while the Foodtastic Village runs until Sunday.

For more information on all of the week's festivities, please visit www.SingaporeMarathon.com