Singapore Women make bold statements with inspired runs amidst the cold of Nagoya City
Nagoya, 13 March 2024 - Even the cold temperatures and chilly weather could not deter Singapore's runners from a spirited performance at the 2024 Nagoya Marathon, as some 31,000 runners crossed the finish lines in the charming Japanese city.
A total of 18,000 runners took part in the 13th edition of the Nagoya Women's Marathon, which flagged off at 9.10am (JPT), with the women-only full marathon ending off at the Vantelin Dome Nagoya, as each female participant received a beautiful Tiffany and Co. medal pendant as reward for their marathon achievement upon crossing the finish line.
In the mixed gender Nagoya City Marathon, 10,000 runners took part in the 21.1km half-marathon distance, while 3,000 runners completed the 10km distance, with both categories flagging off an hour after the Nagoya Women's Marathon at 10.20am.
Singapore’s female runners who formed the New Balance contingent performed admirably with national distance runner Vanessa Lee clocking a new personal best of 1:20, which also earned her overall fourth place in the race.
Lifestyle influencer Shannon Taylor Wong also completed her half-marathon with an impressive sub-2 hour finish in her first 21.1km race effort.
Tiniest but Most Beautiful Finisher's Medal
Melissa Foo, who took on the 42.2km Nagoya Women's full marathon, was estatic after crossing the finish line, despite braving a cold.
"The crowd support was phenomenal with people lined up all the way in various costumes. And yes, the weather was cold but still bearable except for when the wind blew," she shared on her Instagram.
She was also rewarded with the Tiffany and Co. necklace which she was looking forward to the most, calling it the "tiniest but prettiest finisher’s medal".
Bold and Breaking Boundaries
Despite facing strong headwinds throughout her race, Vanessa Lee surpassed her own expectations and was happy with her results at the finish.
"I am super ecstatic! I just wanted a personal best (PB) but I came back with a high glimmer of hope that I’m much closer to my sub 80 dreams than I previously thought," said Lee.
She added: "I’m not built for cold weather. Below 10 degrees I’ll wear long tights to race, I thought I would regret it as I assumed it would get warmer as I raced, but I ended up not sweating at all.”
“I was honestly pretty bold in this race, going out hard from the start so much that I positive-split by quite a bit which I’ve never done before cause I’m actually quite a conservative runner."
"I was inspired by the interview moderator Stephen Roach had with Japanese distance runner Nozomi Tanaka at the panel talk yesterday, he mentioned that Tanaka has a front running style which means that she usually likes to take the lead in races. So I thought ‘why not, go hard or go home’ right?”
Women Empowering Women
There were also a number of other runners from Singapore who took part in the New Balance Nagoya Women's Marathon and Nagoya City Half-marathon, some of whom completed their first full-marathon while others achieved their personal bests.
Regular marathoner Cherlynn Sim, who managed to shave off 12 minutes from her personal best to become a sub 5-hour marathoner, shared: "Reflecting on the race, I reckon I could have managed my hydration better but the trade off is that I managed to avoid going to the loo so perhaps that helped trim off some time!"
She added: "Nagoya Women’s marathon was super inspiring as the women, young & old, just kept fighting on. I hardly saw anyone walking at all. The race was also super well organised with zero hiccups. Reflecting on the race, reckon I could have managed my hydration better but the trade off is that I managed to avoid going to the loo so perhaps that helped trim off some time!"
New Balance Run Club’s Jenelle, who completed her first ever full-marathon, was moved to tears at the finish.
She shared: "Crossing the finishing line in Nagoya felt emotional. I arrived with the simple goal of completing the marathon. Despite my limited training, injury, and doubts from others who said it was impossible to finish without running a 30km during training, I chose to believe in myself, and had completed it way better than my expectation."
For more content in this New Balance x Nagoya Marathon series, visit our New Balance page here.