All Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) National Servicemen (NSmen) taking part in the SAFRA Bay Run and Army Half Marathon in 2013 will get a discount of at least 75 per cent on their registration fees.
This means they will pay S$12, instead of the usual S$65 for the 21-kilometre run. Those taking part in the 10-kilometre run will pay S$8, down from the usual S$44. While for the five-kilometre category, it will be S$5 instead of S$22.
This is the first time such a big offer has been handed to the NSmen. Some 300,000 of them will be eligible for the discount.
NSmen are those who have completed full-time national service.
The huge discounts are part of the organisers' bid to recognise their contribution to national defence. The run is jointly organised by SAFRA and the Army.
Those who register for the run can also nominate up to three of their immediate family members for special rates. Each will get S$10 off for the 21-kilometre race, S$6 off for the 10-kilometre race, and S$4 off for the five-kilometre race.
The event's organising committee chairman, Brigadier-General Tung Yui Fai, said: "Close ties are one of the key ingredients that anchor our NSmen's commitment towards their National Service duties. It makes up their sense of home and what is worth protecting. That is why we have also extended a special discount to their families this year to recognise the critical role they play and thank them for their continued support."
BG Tung added that he hopes this would encourage more NS men and their families to keep fit and use the event platform to bond.
The organisers will review all feedback, and decide if they will continue with the discount in future.
Ning Wenlong, chairman of the SAFRA Mount Faber Running Club, said: "This discount is very significant in a sense that the government is giving recognition to NSmen like us, plus at the same time, our family members also get to enjoy such a privilege... This definitely helps everybody in general."
Registration for the run opens on Friday, May 17, and ends on August 1.
The 22nd edition of the run will take place at the Esplanade Bridge on September 1.
- CNA/ac
pay $8 for 10 k run, same goodie bag or $8 type?