The Unlabelled Run is a concept originated by the New Charis Mission to raise awareness and bring to light the negative consequences of labelling others in society.

It is common to label others but those who get labelled unfairly face stigmatisation and discrimination. The New Charis Mission aims to advocate the removal of these labels to build a more inclusive and compassionate society. 

The run event, which took place last Saturday morning, comprised of a 5km and 10km for the cause. The 2025 event marked the seventh edition of Unlabelled Run. I took part in the 10km category. This was flagged off at 7am. 

I reached Tanjong Rhu just after 6am and walked to the OCBC Square, the start point of the run. It was early and the crowd was still sparse at this point. But as time ticked on, the crowds slowly began to arrive. It was pretty crowded at 6:30am.

I headed to the start pen at around 6:45am. There was just enough people taking part in the 10km that the atmosphere felt good but it did not seem overcrowded. 

At 7am, we were off. The race began punctually. 

It was a very humid morning and I could tell immediately that it would be a tough race. 

The route was simple and straightforward, from Sports Hub to the Tanjong Rhu park connector and then back, passing the Sports Hub towards Bay East Gardens, turning just at the Marina Barrage and heading back to the Sports Hub to finish. Some parts of the route were narrow and I noted that the Bay East Gardens area was very crowded on the out stretch especially when I was running back.

There were several hydration points along the way and I was glad to note that the 100PLUS being served at every point was ice-cold when I took a cup each time. 

I tried to chase the 50 minute pacers but the gap between me and them started growing sometime after the 6km mark, by 8km I had lost the pacers. This was a pace I really should be able to maintain based on my fitness level and recent performances, but the high humidity was really getting to me. The scenery was beautiful, but I wasn’t able to enjoy it; at this stage I just wanted to see the finish line and end the suffering. 

At 9km, my pace was reduced to a slow jog and my only aim was to finish, but I managed to pick up again slightly in the final few hundred metres and finished in a time of 51 mins 10 seconds, according to my watch. I was relieved that it was over. 

The distance for this run was accurate with my watch measuring 10.01km when I crossed the finishing point.

On finishing the run, we received a finisher’s medal, as well as a can of 100PLUS and a bottle of water. The 100PLUS tasted extremely good and delicious, probably because I was feeling exhausted and dehydrated. 

The finish carnival was quite decent, with a number of booths set up. There was an in-body scale where you can weigh yourself and get a full body composition analysis for free. Since there was no queues when I was finished, I thought I must as well try it.

As well there was a booth by Yellow Ribbon selling extremely cute teddy bears as well as a spin-the-wheel where you can stand to win blind boxes and other merchandise from Manulife. 

I won a Manulife blind box which was quite cute! It feels that every business is jumping into the trend of creating blind boxes nowadays. 

Freebies to rehydrate and replenish ourselves after the run included Yakult, and free flow of popcorn and candy floss. The carnival feel was really in the air and the post-run mood was light and jovial.

When many of the 5km runners got back, it started to feel significantly more crowded and the queues everywhere got much longer. The sun was peeking out from the clouds too, and it was warmer. I was very tempted to head into the nearby Kallang Wave Mall to enjoy the air conditioning and escape the heat. 

But I decided to stay on a little longer and found a place near the stage to soak up the atmosphere, while waiting for the lucky draw to commence. The prizes were quite spectacular, including home entertainment systems, JBL speakers and headphones, and fine-dining restaurant vouchers. Unfortunately luck was not on my side! 

Overall I would say that this had been a fun and lively event and that the organisation was definitely on-point for a local run race. I would definitely consider ptaking part again depending on my race schedule and commitments next year. 

Thanks once again to Unlabelled Run and the Yellow Ribbon Singapore for an awesome and fun-filled Saturday morning! 

Race Video