Last year was my first ever marathon outside the Philippines during what was then called Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon (SCSM).  This year, Standard Chartered, the event’s title sponsor, decided to give it some makeover by having a name change.  But the changes with this year’s event is more than superficial—new sponsors, Race Director, routes, and event are being introduced.

ASICS would be the official outfitter of this year’s SCMS under the three-year sponsorship agreement (until 2012) and as such will be offering 15% discount off regular merchandise at ASICS Concept Stores, located at Paragon, #04-44A and Marina Square, #03-110 for participants of SCMS 2010 from August 01 to December 04, 2010.  Singapore Sports Council (SSC), the organizer of SCMS, appointed Dave McGillivray, the person behind Boston Athletic Association’s (BAA) Boston Marathon, as this year’s Race Director, but the two major changes that would be introduced this year are the new routes and the new Ekiden relay.

Full marathon runners will run down Orchard Road, Ministry of Information, Communication and the Arts building, followed by bustling Chinatown and the grand Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay.  Half marathon runners will start on Sentosa Bridge through Universal Studios and 10K runners will start off at the Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay and will run past Singapore’s Financial District before moving over to the new Helix Bridge.

The Ekiden (long distance relay) is the new addition to SCMS where six runners form a team to cover the entire 42.195K.  The first runner will flag off with the full marathon runners while the rest of the participants will be allocated to their respective stations.

I would’ve wanted to set a new course record with SCSM but it seems that with SCMS that’s no longer possible, but it does offer the charm of a new route (I think I’m more excited with 21K route, unless the marathon route covers it too) and the promise of a better race.

Registration for this year’s SCMS is already open and if you register between May 20 and June 04, 2010 you get at least 45% discount.  There’s also a 15% discount if you use Standard Chartered Credit or Debit Card.  This year’s race would be on December 05, 2010.  More details of the Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2010 will be released within the next few months.