Why would there be more Marathon Enthusiasts in Singapore?

After finishing the book _Freakonomics_, I ought to do a book review, ha, something I never do for N number of years. But the book is really good and as soon I finished reading the book, I passed the book to Terry.

It is really a good read, considering my last book Think and Grow Rich took me like 9 months to complete, I finished reading the book in like 2 weeks. Fast. Freakonomics sets me thinking and lets me ask more questions.

Why would there be only more participants for marathons in Singapore over the years?

Men

Singaporean guys go through national service, a conscript army, but the training has never been compromised, almost of the combat fit soldiers are introduced to long distance running in their 2 years of service. Having to do a 10km run in the first year and another 21km run in the second year of service for the ARMY HALF MARATHON held every year.

Like it or not, the soldiers have to bite their teeth and go through the run, be it some may walk, some strive to challenge themselves and go for the record, training real hard for the event. After their national service, the enthusiasts will continue to take part in events and hence more participants each year. The nation is really doing their part by attracting more people into the sports. For the men running, its really a manhood thing, going longer distances.

Women

Advertisers and merchants have been targeting the ladies with say Ladies Card, a credit card that is only targeted at ladies. Hence the slogans, The Men Don't Get it.
Now for the health "buff" ladies, there are the Shape Run and the Great Eastern Women 10k run. So as per the statement, there is a kid in all of us. The ladies will do progressive training and go on to take part in a full marathon one day. Hence, more men and women are taking part in marathons, trying out endurance sports and going for biathlons and triathlons.

What really intrigues me is that, I think I found a new location that the Standard Chartered Marathon is going to. Dubai. And no doubt, they market and termed their marathon as the Richest Marathon on earth. Why? There is a prize money of USD 1 million on the table and another bonus of USD 1 million for the record breaker.