Haze in Singapore: Runners train in malls, families head for indoor playgrounds

SINGAPORE – As the worst haze since 2015 enshrouds Singapore, runners have turned to running inside malls, yoga and other indoor exercise routines, and families are heading towards indoor playgrounds.

Loy Suan Sheng Elmer, who usually runs outdoors up to six times a week, did not have any of his regular sessions for more than a week from Oct 9, due to the worsening air quality.

Instead, the insurance manager could run only on a treadmill.

On the morning of Oct 17, he joined X-Run Singapore, an indoor event at Marina Square mall where about 15 fitness enthusiasts ran laps within the premises.

“It beats running on a treadmill,” said Loy, adding that the mall also provides a cooler environment for running.

Joseph Estrella, 49, retail associate at Key Power Sports, organiser of the indoor run, and run lead for X-Run Singapore, said the session was a way for runners to continue their marathon preparations without compromising their well-being.

Participants ran varying distances from 9km to 21km, on the mall’s second and third floors between 7am and 9am.

Estrella said X-Run Singapore intends to make Saturday indoor runs a regular alternative whenever high air quality levels make outdoor training unsuitable. The next mall run is slated for Oct 24.

Singapore has registered unhealthy 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) readings daily since Oct 5 – as at Oct 17, the 13-day period was the longest continuous stretch of poor air quality the country has had to endure since the 2015 haze crisis.

Like X-Run, another running club here that usually trains five times a week had also cancelled its sessions from the start of October amid worsening haze conditions.

Eugene Beh, founder of Singapore Runners Club, said the group monitors the 1-hour PM2.5 readings regularly before deciding whether to proceed with the day’s planned run.

Speaking to The Straits Times on Oct 16, he said the club’s members, which number around 17,400, have been forced to turn to alternatives to get their workouts. Beh, 52, suggests indoor gym workouts and at-home workouts such as yoga and stretching.

The club is also encouraging its members to engage in stair-climbing workouts in an enclosed space.

Many other fitness enthusiasts have been left disappointed after several running events were cancelled due to the haze.

The 2026 edition of the Great Eastern Women’s Run (GEWR), slated to take place on Nov 1, was cancelled on Oct 16 owing to the “worsening air quality” caused by the transboundary haze.

The Singapore Half Marathon 2026 Powered By JomRun was cancelled by organisers. The race, with 5km, 10km, and 21km routes, was originally scheduled to take place on Oct 11.

The Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA) run, slated for Oct 17, was also cancelled the night before.

Another event, The Garmin Run 2026, is set to take place on Oct 25. On its Instagram page, the organisers said they are monitoring the 24-hour PSI and 1-hour PM2.5 readings and will continue monitoring the air quality on race day.

The decision on whether to carry on with the race, which has 6,000 registered participants, will be made at 11pm on Oct 24, the night before the event, a Garmin spokesperson said.

No participants have requested to withdraw from the run, which has a 10km route and a 21km route, she added

“If the half marathon (21km) is truncated to 10km, all resources from medical and aid stations will be deployed to the 10km route,” she said, adding that all aid stations have sufficient hydration to be provided for runners who require assistance and will have masks on standby for runners who may require them.

“All vulnerable individuals are strongly advised not to proceed with the run if the run proceeds as planned,” the spokesperson said.

On Oct 15, ActiveSG’s outdoor and non-air-conditioned sports and recreation facilities across most of Singapore were closed as the haze situation worsened. Many were also closed the next day.

Outdoor recreational activities elsewhere, for adults and children alike, have also taken a beating.

Long Hatta, operations manager at cable ski-park Wake Park in East Coast Park, said they observed about a 50% decrease in customer footfall at the park, noting that this was an estimated figure. The park’s bar, which operates in an open-air, al fresco setting, too has seen roughly half its customer count drop, he added.

Families with young children to keep occupied have had to turn away from swimming pools and outdoor playgrounds.

While such outdoor spaces are regular haunts for kitchen operations manager George and his seven-year-old son, the worsening haze has forced them to rethink their family outings.

The 58-year-old, who declined to share his surname, has been taking his son to an indoor playground near their home in the north instead, as he worries that the poor air quality could affect the boy, who has a sensitive nose.

“I’m glad there’s this indoor playground option because the haze has been so bad for the past few weeks,” said the kitchen operations manager, who has visited Sunshine Childhood Playground in Bishan with his son five to seven times over the past month.

He said his son’s school had also warned parents that it might have to close if the situation persisted.

For Felicia Lim, 38, managing a young child with the air quality worsening means trying to minimise her asthmatic daughter’s time outdoors.

“My daughter can get breathless if she stays out too long in the haze, so we are opting for indoor playgrounds nowadays so she can still enjoy her play time. But she still prefers playing outdoors, so she’s rather sad about it,” the human resources executive said of her eight-year-old.

A man, who identified himself only as Ray, said he would take his children to the kids pool at Tampines Hub regularly before the haze, but stopped as his kids started to itch after a day at the pool. The 40-year-old said this was not something his children usually experience.

On Oct 17, all ActiveSG sport facilities resumed operations as haze conditions eased slightly.

A Sport Singapore spokesperson said the PSI forecast guides planning for the next day’s operations and activities, including when air quality is expected to reach the very unhealthy range, while the latest 1-hour PM2.5 readings help determine whether activities need to be adjusted based on prevailing localised conditions.

Refunds for bookings, gym and swim passes affected by haze-related facility closures are processed automatically and people who wish to voluntarily cancel bookings at facilities that remain open may request a refund, she added.

Beh was reunited on Oct 17 with about 30 members from the club who took part in a 30-minute run in Sembawang. Although the original route spanned between 7km and 10km, the run was cut short by a 1-hour PM2.5 of 80 in the north.

“It is good to be back,” he said.