5 Reasons to Run Downtown Singapore

Keith and I with SG50 graffiti at one of the underpasses

Surprised myself by taking up a tour of around Singapore, but not just any tour - a Running tour!

Keith, our guide for the one hour, 5km adventure, took us through Clarke Quay, Chinatown, Marina Bay, City Hall and more. The man had impressive stamina. We ran at a comfortable pace for conversation but surely, it must have been a challenge to spout history on the move, and perhaps even harder explaining places to fellow locals like ourselves!

Here are 5 Reasons why you should run around Downtown Singapore:

1. Rediscovering beauty of urban development

The Fullerton Hotel on the right, with a bridge that used to be raised to allow boats to pass under

I love parks, but there's only so many times I can run in Punggol! It was refreshing to pound the pavements of the CBD area with the (hot) office folks who have just finished work.

Our urban landscape is constantly changing too, so there's always something new to discover.

2. Learning and re-learning history

Another thing that got jogged was my memory. All that history of Singapore came to life, with an emphasis on our multicultural background and the lasting impact of WWII.

Doing the Raffles outside Victoria Theatre, which was used as a hospital during WWII

Sri Mariamman Temple, built in 1827, is Singapore's oldest Hindu temple

Civilian War Memorial, with four pillars representing the four races of Sg.

Had a solemn moment walking through the War Memorial when I was told that the remains of war victims were buried beneath it. Reminded me of a war monument in Sense 8, where the characters were reflecting on loss, terror and choices.

3. Touring with the tourists

Merlion Park, overlooking the bay area with a view of the Singapore Flyer and Marina Bay Sands

Singapore is packed with tourists in town on a weekday and nowhere is this more evident than the Merlion Park. It was crazy - every single person was trying to capture an Insta-worthy shot at the bay area, of the MBS and the Merlion. I did not expect that our local icons could rouse that kind of excitement in tourists!

Loved the feeling of being tourist for a day. I took a touristy pic there, and at the Jubilee Walk which is a new walkway linking the Esplanade to this area.

4. Getting your fitness on

It was a running tour after all and Keith is pretty serious about running! We went on without taking many breaks in between, stopping only to snap some photos so you've got to be really active to take on this tour. The upside to it is definitely working on your fitness when you're travelling, and covering as many places as possible in the short span time. You'd be surprised at how much more you can see when you speed things up a bit!

We worked up a pretty good appetite for delicious local fare as well, and with the hawkers at Chinatown nearby, we were not short of choices.

Also, my last last minute training before my 10km one at Standard Chartered Marathon this Sunday.

5. Taking postcard-worthy pictures

I think they speak for themselves:

Taking a pit stop to capture the magnificent, newly-opened National Gallery Singapore

Favourite pic of the day - sunset over Clarke Quay

We got the best of both worlds - a good work out and a tour about Singapore. The great part about it is you could get more running if you wanted. Prove that you are up to it, turn up the pace, and you could probably go a longer route and see more. If you wanted a more relaxing one, you could ask more questions, learn more history and stop to take more photos. It's pretty much up to you.

Thanks to Keith for bringing us around. He was youthful (probably a couple years younger than myself), energetic and raring to go. The muscles on his calves were testament to his passion for this tour, which sometimes requires him to do a morning session followed by an evening one. One thing I thought he could've done better was to tell us more in-depth history, but I'm probably just nitpicking! Kudos to him.

View this post as a photojournal without my crappy writing here.


This post is courtesy of the good people at BeMyGuest. It seems like a popular way of exploring the city. Keith sometimes does up to three of these a week. Interested? Check out the Historical 5km Run here.