Singapore, 22 May 2016 -The Marina Bay area was awash in a sea of blue as more than 12,000 participants and spectators took part in The Straits Times Run in the City at the F1 Pit Building on Sunday morning.

The event, backed by presenting sponsor Panasonic for a fourth consecutive year, saw runners enjoy a scenic morning route that took them through the heart of the city, passing some of Singapore's most iconic landmarks such as the Singapore Flyer, Marina Barrage, Jubilee Bridge, Gardens by the Bay and the National Stadium.

Minister for Social and Family Development Tan Chuan-Jin was this year's Guest-of-Honour, flagging off runners in the 10km category, before taking part in the 10km run himself. Participants also took part in the OCBC Mighty Savers 5km Family run and the 18.45km run, aptly named to mark the year that The Straits Times (ST) was founded.

As this year's event was moved from the Singapore Sports Hub - where it had been held the last two years - to the F1 Pit Building, a splash of Formula One pizzazz lit up the runners' experience.

Through a tie-up with Singapore Grand Prix, organiser of Formula One's first night race, runners took off from the same starting grid as the F1 cars, and they crossed the finish line with the SGP chequered flag waving them on. A replica of a Formula One car also provided race goers and visitors to the post-race carnival some excitement as the public tried their hand at changing the tyres of the car in the SGP Pit Stop Challenge. Exclusive autograph sessions and pit lane passes were given out to the fastest participants.

The carnival, featuring more than 10 food trucks and sponsors' tents, was the largest at an ST Run to date. Besides food, there was live music as well as appearances by S-League footballers and mascots. ST journalists like sports columnist Rohit Brijnath were also on hand to meet readers.

The big winners of the day were Stephen Munhathia Nkubitu (men's 18.45km), Margaret Njuguna (women's 18.45km), Elija Muturi Karanja (men's 10km), Jasmine Goh (women's 10km).

Minister Tan said: 'It was very good to see so many people coming out and enjoying themselves with family and friends. I think organised runs like this are important because it is a focal point for people to attend. For some, it is an opportunity to train up, for others they just come for a good day out. There are a lot of fun events here as well, and it is really good to see so many events being organised. What it does for a healthy and fit lifestyle is important. And from a community perspective, it is an opportunity for friends and family to come together.'

Mr Warren Fernandez, Editor of ST, said: 'I'm very happy that so many people turned up, and they seem to be enjoying themselves. Each year we organise this run because we want to get the readers to come and join in and enjoy themselves. I think we had a perfect day , lovely weather, very scenic route. It was a wonderful event.'

This is the fourth edition of the ST Run. The first event was held at the Punggol Waterway in 2013 while the last two were held at the Singapore Sports Hub.

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About The Straits Times

The Straits Times, the English-language flagship daily of Singapore Press Holdings, is the most-read newspaper in Singapore and is followed widely in the region for its comprehensive coverage of local, regional and world news, provided by its correspondents in 20 bureaus in major cities worldwide.

Launched on July 15, 1845, The Straits Times underwent a major redesign across all platforms in July 2015, when it celebrated its 170th anniversary. This revamp is part of its continuing efforts to refresh its products, maintain quality and stay relevant to the changing needs of its readers. Its integrated newsroom operates round-the-clock, providing readers with news as it happens on all platforms, from its website at www.straitstimes.com, Apple and Android apps to social media.

The Straits Times is a member of two media networks - the Asia News Network and the Impact Journalism Day alliance of newspapers - and it has won multiple international media awards, including from the Society of Publishers in Asia, the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers, the Pacific Area Newspaper Publishers' Association (Panpa), Society of News Design and Wan-Ifra. Its revamped paper won a gold medal for overall newspaper design by the World Association of Newspaper at the Asian Media Awards in Manila this year.

About Singapore Press Holdings Ltd

Incorporated in 1984, main board-listed Singapore Press Holdings Ltd (SPH) is Asia's leading media organisation, engaging minds and enriching lives across multiple languages and platforms.

Media The English/Malay/Tamil Media group comprises the print and digital operations of The Straits Times, The Business Times, The New Paper, Berita Harian, My Paper (English section) and two student publications IN and Little Red Dot. It also consists of Tamil Murasu Ltd, which publishes Tamil Murasu and tabla!; book publishing arm Straits Times Press; SPH Data Services, which licenses the use of the Straits Times Index, in partnership with the Singapore Exchange and FTSE Ltd; financial data company ShareInvestor; and the two English stations of SPH Radio - Kiss92 and ONE FM 91.3.

The Chinese Media group publishes three Chinese newspapers - Lianhe Zaobao, Lianhe Wanbao and Shin Min Daily News; the digital editions of Lianhe Zaobao and Lianhe Wanbao, four student weeklies - zbCOMMA, Thumbs Up, Thumbs Up Junior and Thumbs Up Little Junior, ZBBZ Newsgazine and My Paper (Chinese section). It also operates SPH Radio's Chinese radio station, UFM100.3, and Focus Publishing, which produces a range of books and magazines including U-Weekly.

SPH's other new media initiatives include AsiaOne, Stomp, zaobao.sg, omy.sgand SPH Razor.
On an average day, 2.8 million* individuals or 68 per cent of people above 15 years old, read one of SPH's news publications in print copies or one of our digital platforms. (* Nielsen Media Index 2015, Monday-Sunday, read any SPH newspapers in print or digital format)

SPH Magazines, SPH's wholly-owned subsidiary, publishes and produces more than 100 magazine titles and has various online sites, like hardwarezone.com, herworldplus.comand luxuryinsider.comin Singapore and the region, covering a broad range of interests from lifestyle to information technology. It has also invested in digital newsstand Magzter.

SPH also provides out-of-home (OOH) advertising options where it manages large format screens and static billboards at key locations in the Central Business District, Orchard Road, City Fringe as well as major heartland hubs.

SPH Buzz is a modern retail convenience chain with a network of stores around the island.

SPH has a 20 per cent stake in MediaCorp TV Holdings Pte Ltd, which operates free-to-air channels 5, 8 and U, and a 40 per cent stake in MediaCorp Press Limited, which publishes the free newspaper, Today.

PropertiesSPH REIT is a Singapore-based REIT established to invest in a portfolio of income-producing real estate primarily for retail purposes. SPH REIT comprises Paragon, a premier upscale retail mall and medical suite/office property in Orchard Road and The Clementi Mall, a mid-market suburban mall in the centre of Clementi town.

The Seletar Mall, located in Sengkang, is SPH's latest retail development. This property is a potential asset to be injected into SPH REIT. SPH's wholly-owned subsidiary, Times Development Pte Ltd, also developed a 43-storey upmarket residential condominium, Sky@eleven, at Thomson Road.

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EducationSPH has a 22 per cent stake in preschool and enrichment provider MindChamps.

For more information, please visit www.sph.com.sg.

SPH - Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. published this content on 24 May 2016 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein.
Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 24 May 2016 10:05:02 UTC.

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