11,000 Singaporeans thundering down the Esplanade Bridge is a sight we never thought we'd live to see, unless Lau Pa Sat had some crazy 24-hour all-you-can-eat deal (in the event which, this journalist would sacrifice all form of dignity and self-preservation to bring you THAT gripping story).

        31.08.08, 1630h, marked T minus zero for the Singapore leg of the NIKE+ 10K Human Run, a concerted effort that saw more than a million people across twenty five cities put their best foot forward for a good cause.

        In addition to local participants' pledges to the three global charities of the World Wild Fund (WWF), the Lance Armstrong Foundation, and the United Nations High Commissioners for Refugees (UNHCR), NIKE Singapore also donated SGD$30,000 to the Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund.

        Despite her small size, Singapore was the first city to close its registration for the race - that's a whopping 10,000 slots! - with more than 60% of the runners aged 25 and under.

        In fact, minus the top-notch athletes who were flagged off in the first wave of runners, the whole of Esplanade Drive looked like a track meet! One up for the Youth Olympics 2010, we're sure.

 

        Presumably taking their cue from Fashion Rocks and Live Earth, NIKE was the first to bring together music and a major running event, rewarding participants with a post-run music concert exclusive to their host city - Kanye West in LA, Fall Out Boy in Chicago, and Kelly Rowland in Paris.

      Singapore runners (and their bevy of "guests") were privy to a performance by Boston band Boys Like Girls, alongside local acts like Jack+Rai and The Great Spy Experiment.

     5000 screaming youths, after a 10km run, packed together in front of a stage on a muggy, muddy Sunday afternoon is no joke - what's this, wind-down or Woodstock?

        Despite the heat and the rain (and the obviously daunting task of running past Lau Pa Sat without stopping for makan - I mean, that's almost blasphemy!), local runners both young and young-at-heart can now proudly take their place in marathon history among 990,000 others all around the world.

        And if music be the food of, er, sports, play on, kids. Play on.

        HOOKED would also like to congratulate the NUS team who brought home the NIKE+ School Team Championship! HOOKED

      **Photos courtesy of Sya Hysteria

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