All Four One at the Mizuno Ekiden

The third edition of the Mizuno Ekiden took place around the Marina Bay on a balmy Saturday evening on 19^th August. There were nearly 4000 runners in teams of four competing in the long-distance relay.

With an emphasis on teamwork and camaraderie, each member of the competing teams ran a loop around the bay area and then passed the team sash to the next runner at the transition area. Featuring full and half marathon categories, the event was perfect for both experienced and new runners.

By sectioning the long distances into four parts, the whole event feels less daunting than having to complete the event solo and you can even convince your non-runner friends to get in on the act.

Runners were greeted to a Japanese-themed carnival prior to their race with the beats of Taiko drums. “Having held the event for the third consecutive year, we are happy to see the participant’s continuous support for Mizuno Ekiden,” said Mr Kiyoshi Tatani, President of Mizuno Singapore. “We hope that through this friendly competition, friendships can be deepened and Japanese values such as perseverance, resilience and teamwork can be fostered. We look forward to seeing participants display such values not only at this event but also in their everyday lives.”

In the half marathon Corporate Category, Team COL from the Singapore Prisons Service consisting of Mr Cleeve Mu, Mr Ramesh Palaniandy, Mr Yew Meng Tan and Mr Zainul Arrifin once again clinched the top prize. The team completed their race in 1:24 and successfully defended their first place win from last year. They have been winners of the same category since the race inception.

“Compared to last year, the competition this year was much tougher and we were not in the top positions in the first half of the race. Thankfully, we managed to close the gap and eventually emerge as this year’s champions and defend our title,” exclaimed team member, 41-year-old Palaniandy.

In other categories, the quartet of Mark Calton, Takuya Sawada, Creighton Connolly, Yuta Suda of Team Shufflers 1 won the full marathon Open Category with a time of 2:36 while team F1 Runners won the half marathon Open Category with a finishing time of 1:20.

Check out http://www.mizuno.asia/ekiden or https://www.facebook.com/MizunoEkiden for more event information.

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