The North Face 100® Singapore 2009

News Release / 28.10.2009

(October 27, 2009, Singapore), The North Face 100 Singapore, the last race of the series in 2009, took place on the 24th October with 1090 athletes at the starting line. A large number of international athletes from 42 different countries were represented on the grid.

The North Face 100 showcased Singapore's 1st 100km ultra-marathon. 28 pre-selected elite runners ran the race. All the athletes had participated in other similar ultra-marathons to qualify for the race : The Hong Kong Trail walker, The North Face Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc, The North Face 100 Beijing, Death Valley, the Gobi March are amongst some of the legendary races in their race portfolio, but they still found The North Face 100 Singapore a challenge.

Only 21 completed the race, with the last runner coming in after more than 17 hours of non-stop running. The North Face athlete, Yun Yan Qiao (China), won the 100km Solo category in 9hrs 28mins.

Yan Qiao was runner-up at The North Face 100 Beijing last year. In 2nd place is Yeo Kim Hong (Singapore) in 11hrs 35mins and in 3rd place, Martin Gottlob (Germany) in 12hrs and 27hrs. 13hrs into the race. Xing Ruling from China, also a winner from The North Face 100 Beijing, came in as first female and in overall 5th place in 13hrs 20mins.

Singapore Team - F1 Runner with defending champion Lexxus Tan and his partner Cheong Peng Tat won the 100km Duo Open category with a combined time of 9hrs 48mins. The 100km Duo Women's category was won by American team - Trail Trouble with Amy Small and Kathryn Harrison who completed with a combined time of 12hrs and 53mins.

"Truely the toughest race in Singapore!" commented many participants. 99% of the race was on trails with uneven surfaces and there were technically challenging ascents and descents. The tough terrain coupled with the punishing hot and humid weather makes The North Face 100 Singapore one of the toughest races in the region.

Quite a number of runners dropped out of the race just after the mid-point at Hill 265 in Mandai. This tough clay hill was too much for many, after having already tackled Bukit Timah Hill and the rolling hills in Mandai. There was an 81% completion rate in the 100km Duo and 94% completion rate in the 50km Duo category.