Great Eastern Women’s Run raises nearly S$400,000 for beneficiaries

MORE than 12,000 female runners turned up for the Great Eastern Women’s Run 2024, held on Sunday (Oct 27) at the Singapore Sports Hub.

Through the event, the insurer raised a record S$388,000. The proceeds will go to its beneficiaries Daughters Of Tomorrow and the Singapore Cancer Society.

Minister for Culture, Community and Youth and Second Minister for Law Edwin Tong was the guest of honour and flagged off the 5-km race with Khor Hock Seng, group CEO of Great Eastern.

Tong said: “As Singapore’s only all-women’s race, the Great Eastern Women’s Run is an important platform that brings women together... This is testament to how sports can connect communities, champion an active lifestyle and contribute to an inclusive society.”

This year’s race also had a record number of participants for the 2-km “Mummy + Me” and 100-m “Princess Dash” categories, which were held for girls aged three to 12.

Going pink

Separately, the Breast Cancer Foundation (BCF) held its annual Pink Ribbon Walk on Saturday at the Marina Barrage.

The event drew about 4,000 participants, which was its biggest turnout to date. Participants could choose to go on either a 3-km or 5-km walk.

Adeline Kow, general manager of BCF, said: “The Pink Ribbon Walk has long been a symbol of solidarity in the fight against breast cancer... We hope more women and men will take their breast health more seriously, going for their regular screenings and check-ups in light of promoting early detection of breast cancer.”

Income Insurance CEO Andrew Yeo concurred, adding that with medical advancement and early diagnosis, cancer patients’ survival rates have been improving over the years.

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Cancer is currently the leading cause of death in Singapore. It accounted for 27.1 per cent of all deaths from 2018 to 2022, based on the Singapore Cancer Registry’s 2022 annual report.