Imagine running with hundreds of thousands of people around the globe in a massive race at the same time. Impossible?

This is exactly what Nike had in mind, when it organised Nike+ Human Race 10K .

Held in 24 cities, including Singapore, Istanbul, London, Madrid, Melbourne, Shanghai, Taipei, Warsaw and Vancouver, this race aims to connect runners around the world on Aug 31. Singapore is the only Southeast Asian (SEA) nation to host the race.

The route is also never used before in any race. Showing off the Esplanade, Singapore Flyer and the Marina Bay, runners cut through the Republic’s Central Business District, before returning to the Padang.

Like the other cities, runners will be greeted with a concert when they reach the finishing line. UrbanWire is certain that the youths will be ecstatic to know that American rock band Boys Like Girls will be performing at the concert, together with popular local acts, such as Great Spy Experiment , EIC Band , Ko Flow and MC Vandal.

Runners will also be pleased to know that they will also be running for a good cause – the Nike+ Human Race 10K pledges a percentage of the registration fees towards global charities, such as the World Wide Fund for Nature, Lance Armstrong Foundation and the United Nations High Commissioners for Refugees.

At a Nike+ Human Race 10K press conference held yesterday, MediaCorp artiste Ix Shen told UrbanWire, “I think it’s very exciting how technology bring youths together. I hope such events will encourage youths to take up sports because our country is very inactive in sports.”

His colleague Nick Shen also added, “I think it’s awesome how Singapore is representing Southeast Asia. This race is also about the human connection – about how people are brought together by 1 event across the world.”

Both of them said that they might not be able to run due to filming schedules.

On the other hand, MediaCorp artiste Joanne Peh will be running that day. Wearing her Nike+ t-shirt with her bib number (2504) printed on it, she said to UrbanWire, “I agreed to run this race because I want to inspire youths to take up running more regularly.”

“I have never ran 10km before, so if I can complete this, I’m sure the youths can do it too,” she continues.

“I just finished a volleyball drama so I didn’t really have time to train. I just did a 6km race so I hope to keep up this 3 times a week.”

It is certain that, with that statement, Peh embodies the Nike spirit: Just Do It.

The Nike+ Human Race will start at 4.30pm on Aug 31 2008.
Visit Nikeplus.com for more information, or to register your participation.