Marathon organisers sorry for post-race jam

The first day of the 2025 Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon (SCSM) hit a speed bump on Dec 6, with congestion issues at the Padang finish line raising the ire of many participants.

- Kimberly Kwek Sports Correspondent

They took to the event’s social media platforms to vent their frustrations with the slow-moving queues, after a bottleneck formed in the post-race zone as the half-marathon and 5km runners came in.

Several runners told The Sunday Times that they waited between 10 and 40 minutes to clear the area after finishing their races between 8am and 9am.

Participants were moved to a medal collection point after crossing the finish line at the Padang — the first time the race is ending here since 2017 - before heading to another area to collect their goodie bags and refreshments.

But runners told ST that the number of people funnelling through led to a jam.

Indonesian Khairunnisa Alkhawarijmi, who travelled from Jakarta to run the half-marathon, took 30 minutes to get to the race village.

While she mostly enjoyed the experience, she felt that the post-race procedures could have been better.

“1 will never forget about this event because this is my first half-marathon in Asia,” said the 24-year-old graduate student.

“But one critique I have for this event is maybe it should be neater because it was too crowded (at the finish line) today. It felt hotter (the longer we waited) and I felt dizzy as well.”

The 2025 edition features a new two-day format, with the half-marathon and marathon events held on separate days, with organisers Ironman Group previously stating it would offer runners a smoother and more enjoyable experience.