(Singapore, wownewsasia.com, 28 August 2011) – adidas, a global leader in running, has crowned the winners of its inaugural adidas® King of the Road (KOTR) race here in Singapore! Mok Ying Ren and Anne Date battled vigorously in a race against a total of 9,900 participants to take top spots in the ‘Closed’ category for males and females in a time of 57:56 and 1:04:49 respectively. They were trailed closely behind by runner ups Lim Jian Peng and Lim Baoying coming in closely behind with a time of 58:35 and 1:11:25 in a close fight for the titles. The top two male and female winners will go on to represent Singapore in an expenses paid trip to the Philippines on 23 October 2011 to compete in the finals of adidas® KOTR with the best of the best in Southeast Asia.

This year, the theme 'colours' saw the launch of one of the most colourful races offered to avid runners and this was represented through a variety of different-coloured adidas® event racing tops, symbolic of the vibrancy of the sports scene across Southeast Asia. Each year, a different event theme will be introduced to add vibrancy to the race atmosphere.

The first ever Singapore leg of the adidas® KOTR saw eager participants warming up their running legs as early as six in the morning preparing for that inaugural flag off at seven. The 16.8km race began at the Esplanade Bridge with runners navigating some of Singapore’s most iconic landmarks such as Marina Bay Sands, the Esplanade and the Singapore Flyer before finishing at The Padang.

Winner of the Men’s Closed Category, Mok Ying Ren commented:”The race was very well organised with many small details well thought out, the race was very enjoyable and had a great experience. There are a lot of races in Singapore, and the adidas® KOTR is a good example of a race with quality”.

Anne Date, winner of Women’s Closed Category echoed Mok’s sentiments, “The race was very enjoyable with a nice and scenic route. I’m happy that the weather this morning made the run a lot more pleasant”.

Lee Phui Fong, adidas Country Manager said, “With the excellent timings clocked by both Ying Ren and Anne, it clearly shows that running in Singapore has definitely matured through the years – placing Singaporeans amongst the very top runners in South East Asia. As a global leader in running, adidas® is proud to have provided the platform for locals to shine. With the race finals scheduled to be held in Philippines towards the end of October later this year, adidas® is fully behind our winners as they square against the very best from the other four participating countries.”

The Singapore winners will emerge with the very best of the region for the adidas® KOTR championship taking place in the Philippines in a bid to be crowned the adidas® South East Asia ‘King of the Road 2011’. They include: