- Title: Singaporeans run with durians in charity event
- Date: 23rd July 2017
- Summary: SINGAPORE (JULY 23, 2017) (REUTERS) DURIANS IN LARGE PAILS VARIOUS OF DURIANS BEING DISTRIBUTED TO PARTICIPANTS OF DURIAN RUN SIREN SOUNDING/ RACE STARTING PEOPLE RUNNING WITH DURIANS PEOPLE CARRYING DURIANS CROSSING ROAD VARIOUS OF PEOPLE RUNNING PAST CARRYING DURIANS PEOPLE CARRYING DURIANS RUNNING PAST, SOME DRAGGING DURIANS IN TROLLEY VARIOUS OF PEOPLE CROSSING FINISH LINE MAN CRACKING OPEN DURIAN INSIDE OF DURIAN DURIAN RUN PARTICIPANT EATING DURIAN OPENED DURIAN PEOPLE GATHERED TO EAT DURIAN (SOUNDBITE) (English) DURIAN RUN PARTICIPANT, GENA CHEN, SAYING: "Oh I actually had gloves on and I held it, so when one hand is tired, I changed to the other." REPORTER ASKING: "WAS IT DIFFICULT?" CHEN SAYING: "It is rather difficult... after some time, you'll find that it gets really heavy, but I think it's a fun experience." PEOPLE GATHERED TO EAT DURIAN VARIOUS OF WOMAN EATING DURIAN (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) DURIAN RUN PARTICIPANT TYPHANNIE TAY SAYING: "Holding (the durian) and running wasn't that difficult, because actually using a trolley or a plastic bag is less balanced because the durian may sway." DURIAN RUN ORGANISER WAN JIA WEI GETTING HIS DURIAN OPENED WAN SHOWING DURIAN (SOUNDBITE) (English) DURIAN RUN ORGANISER WAN JIA WEI SAYING: "So we thought that, the focus (of many races) is so much on the competitiveness of the event, so we said, let's do away with that, focus more on the food, the fun and the social part of the event, rather than running in terms of timing, in terms of distance, we were thinking why not just focus on food that you can eat at the end, it's the fruit of your labour right?" LUCKY DRAW TO GIVE AWAY MUCH-COVETED DURIAN SPECIES CALLED "MAO SHAN WANG" MAO SHAN WANG DURIANS IN BASKETS
- Embargoed: 6th August 2017 06:16
- Keywords: durian run race running with durians charity Singapore tropical fruit
- Location: SINGAPORE
- City: SINGAPORE
- Country: Singapore
- Topics: Human Interest / Brights / Odd News,Sport
- Reuters ID: LVA0016QXS40P
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: About 500 Singaporeans took part in a 5km (3.1 mile) charity run on Sunday (July 23), taking durians with them all the way to the finish line.
Some carried the spiky "king of fruits" by hand donning protective gloves, others put them in back packs or dragged them in trolleys. All were eager to eat the fruit of their labour at the end of the run.
Organizers were on hand with sharp knives to crack open the durians and most participants sat on the ground and devoured the fruit on the spot while sipping coconut water to rehydrate themselves.
Durians are a delicacy whose taste and smell especially draw divided opinions. Those who love them describe the smell as sweet -- but the haters liken the smell to rotten onions or raw sewage. The flesh consists of pods encasing large seeds. It tastes both savoury and sweet and is creamy in texture.
In Singapore, the fruit is banned from public transportation as well as some hotels due to its aroma which has a tendency to linger.
There were no winners in the Saturday race, but all the runners' names were entered in a lucky draw for a chance to win a Mao Shan Wang durian -- a species highly sought after by aficionados that is grown in Malaysia.
The event raised money towards a community development welfare fund. Each durian run ticket cost 15SGD (11USD). - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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