Great Eastern Women’s Run 2024 achieves record participation and fundraising success

$388,000 was raised to improve women’s lives

Singapore, 27 October 2024 – Over 12,000 female runners turned up to Reach for Great at the 18^th edition of the Great Eastern Women’s Run (GEWR) 2024 held at the Singapore Sports Hub this morning. This year’s race saw a record number of participants for the 2km “Mummy + Me” and 100m “Princess Dash” categories which were put together to encourage a healthy lifestyle through sports for young girls from the ages of three to 12. These categories were fully sold out with a total of over 2,800 runners, the highest number of participants since first introduced in 2017. The race was also fully subscribed across all other categories apart from the by-invite-only 21.1km local Elite half marathon and 5km run.

Great Eastern successfully encouraged young girls to be active and experience the joys of exercising with their mothers by collaborating with Sanrio to feature its character Cinnamoroll as a special treat for participants of the 2km “Mummy + Me” and the 100m “Princess Dash” categories. Mothers and daughters bonded over fitness and fun, with exclusive GEWR and Cinnamoroll designed merchandise, including race T-shirts, bibs, and medals as their race entitlements.

This year, Great Eastern, together with its employees, financial representatives and corporate partners, also fundraised a record $388,000 through the run with the proceeds going to the event’s two beneficiaries, Daughters Of Tomorrow (DOT) and the Singapore Cancer Society (SCS). Great Eastern has been supporting the social mobility of DOT women over the past three years as an enabler in their back to work journeys. Similarly, it has been working with SCS to support cancer survivors in their recovery journeys over the past two years.

In a nod to GEWR’s integral role in uplifting female communities, run participants also included ladies from DOT, rehabilitation beneficiaries from SCS, and runners with special needs through the co-operative Runninghour.

This year’s Guest-of-Honour Mr Edwin Tong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth and Second Minister for Law, flagged off the 5km race with Mr Khor Hock Seng, Group Chief Executive Officer of Great Eastern, and presented the trophies and cash prizes to the race winners.

Commenting on the event, Minister Tong said: “As Singapore’s only all-women's race, the Great Eastern Women’s Run is an important platform that brings women together to celebrate health, wellness, community and friendship. Over the years, the sense of solidarity and sisterhood fostered through the Run has built a strong community of runners. This is testament to how sports can connect communities, champion an active lifestyle and contribute to an inclusive society.”

The by-invite-only Elite 21.1km half marathon saw the return of previous years’ winners and participants. This year, Vanessa Lee successfully defended her first-place title, finishing at 01:22:24 and beating last year’s timing. She was joined on the podium by Goh Shing Ling and Rachel See who came in second and third place respectively, with timings of 01:22:50 and 01:23:46.

Khor Hock Seng, Group Chief Executive Officer, Great Eastern, said: “The Great Eastern Women’s Run is an ongoing celebration of female empowerment and female potential. True to our race slogan of ‘Start Strong, Finish Great’, more women are setting the bar higher by clocking longer distances, evident from our sold-out 10km and 21.1km categories. We are also proud to be the launchpad for younger runners and to shape their lifelong fitness journey towards great health, alongside generations of women who have grown up participating in the run.”

“Through this year’s run, we have raised a record $388,000. We are very thankful for the strong and sustained support of our staff, financial representatives, corporate partners, elite athletes, and community runners. We are committed to creating a better, brighter and healthier future for women in Singapore through our fundraising efforts.”

Participants were treated to a line-up of activities in the Race Village after their run. They refuelled with complimentary food and drinks and captured memories at the Instagrammable photo walls. The post-race powder rooms and massage zones provided a perfect escape for those seeking to relax and freshen up. The little ones were thrilled by the burst of sweet treats from the candy cannon and took joy in the inflatable obstacle course and craft activities.

Ladies finishing strong and having fun at the Race Village

For more information, please contact:

Angeline Ang
Group Corporate Communications
Email: Corpcomms-sg@greateasternlife.com

 

Woo Jia Min / Jafri Jaafar
Edelman for Great Eastern
Email: GreatEastern@edelman.com