We were born in November 2011 in Singapore. We started Purple Lights as a social running event where we meet weekly to run at beautiful routes and conclude it with a nice meal. Our commitment is to approach running as an expression of fun. Personal fitness becomes a natural progression but is never the main focus.
The name Purple Lights was adapted from an old military song where all the guys in Singapore have to serve mandatory National Service. The song was normally sung during route marches to keep our spirits and morale high and we thought it would be fitting as the conversations we have during the runs keeps our spirits lifted and the run more enjoyable.
Since our founding days, we’ve been fortunate to have forge friendships with crews around the world through the BTG movement over years and help co-founded and co-organised the annual #BTGBALI with the help of our good friends in Indonesia and Bali.
The difference is that you ran today.
As the group grew in size over the years, a routine was formed where we would run every week on Wednesday evenings at Marina bay and its spills over to other days of our lives where we would run on our own and meet up on Sunday morning for a run outside the city. Through the conversations at the run and meal times, we noticed that the runners who join us come from very diverse professional backgrounds made out of creatives in different aspects to musicians, doctors and even a fragrance chemist just to name a few. But we all have one thing in common, we love to run and we love to eat.
A common question or thought about our runs are “Won’t I put back all the calories eating after the runs?” Well, our philosophy and answer to you would be that we have to eat anyway.
Purple Lights is a group which ranges from first-time runners to accomplish veteran marathoners. We do not define ourselves by our individual speed, time or distance. We enjoy our runs and more importantly, we enjoy the conversation and camaraderie we have with one another every time we meet.