SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/ANN): At least five run clubs and running events cancelled planned activities from Oct 7 to 11, as air quality worsened with the haze.
These include a running club on Oct 7; free runs organised by the Singapore Runners Club and Parkrun Singapore on Oct 10; the ticketed 5km and 10km runs under Technogym Circuit Blazers Race - 2026 that same day, organised by the titular fitness equipment company; and an outdoor exercise event on Oct 11.
The Straits Times has contacted the organisers of Circuit Blazers Race - 2026 to ask about refunds.
On Oct 7, the four-month-old Chill Movement Run Club cancelled its weekly Wednesday evening run because of the haze.
At 7pm that day, the Pollutant Standard Index, which measures air quality, registered unhealthy readings in all five regions (north, west, central, east and south).
Readings between 101 to 200 are considered unhealthy, with healthy people advised to reduce prolonged or strenuous outdoor physical exertion. The elderly, pregnant women and children are advised to minimise prolonged or strenuous outdoor exertion when air quality is in this range, while people with chronic heart and lung conditions are advised to avoid it.
Readings hit a 2026 high on Oct 9 in central Singapore, with a PSI of 186 recorded in that region at 2pm that day, and unhealthy PSI readings at all other regions as well. Air quality remained poor on Oct 10 and 11.
Chill Movement Run Club founder Saul Mirpuri, 30, cancelled a ticketed 5km run and outdoor exercise event that had been scheduled for the morning of Oct 11 at Tanjong Beach Club.
He said he would refund the 280 people who had signed up.
With the event planned for the Formula One weekend, he had expected at least 500 attendees – the same as the inaugural event in 2025 – and for ticket sales to jump just before the event.
A $70 ticket would have given access to either a Pilates class, a beach bootcamp or a calisthenics session, followed by recovery in ice baths, while a $40 ticket would have received entry to a 5km run around Sentosa, followed by an ice bath.
He says that ticket-holders for the Oct 11 event had messaged him last week to complain of cough and watery eyes, and to ask whether the event would still go ahead as planned.
“I was forced to cancel the event because of the haze,” he says. “I didn’t feel comfortable getting people to pay for an event when the conditions weren’t right.”
Despite the air quality, some runners continued posting runs on social media over the weekend. Mirpuri says that regular attendees of his club are asking whether a run is scheduled for Oct 14.
“I’m seeing the levels of haze and thinking about it,” he says. “People are messaging me because they see other run clubs running. But I’m not comfortable with running outdoors in these conditions.” -- The Straits Times/ANN
