January 2014

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HEALTH&FITNESS
298 January14
Why do I Run?
Just in time for New Year
resolutions, here’s the first of
our monthly columns on running
in Singapore. We’ll share our
favourite routes and talk about
getting started, shoes, gadgets,
nutrition, hashing, children’s
running and much more. VERNE
MAREE kicks off with the question
that baffles the unconverted.
COMMENTARY:
RUNNING
Thir teen years ago, my first
exploratory jog from our Orchard
serviced apartment down to the
river and the quays was a shock to
the system. Fresh from a year in chilly
London and flushed with the modest
success of my first half-marathon, I’d
been running and even racing regularly
over 10K and 15K for more than 12
years. I thought I’d never cope in this
exhausting fug – it was like running
through treacle.
I did acclimatise over time, though. For
me there was no choice: I find the tedium
of a gym treadmill a kind of purgatory.
Once a runner, always a runner – for as
long as the knees hold out, that is.
8 Reasons to Run
No skills are required.
Can’t hit a ball? Can’t throw a ball? Can’t
cast a fishing line? No, nor can I. But if
you can put one foot in front of the other,
you can run.
Equipment is minimal.
Shoes, socks, shorts, vest, running bra.
That’s it.
I can do it anywhere.
No need to drive to a field, a track, a
court or a gym. Just lace up your shoes
and head out of the door.
It’s time-effective.
It quickly elevates your heart rate and
keeps it up. As little as half an hour, three
times a week, is enough cardiovascular
exercise to keep your heart and lungs
healthy.
I can do it alone.
Unlike tennis or squash, you don’t need
a running partner. Unlike netball or
football, you don’t need a team. Unlike
spinning, Pilates, hot yoga or martial
arts, you don’t need a venue or a class.
And if your day’s too jam-packed, get
up an hour earlier and do it in the dark.
It’s a great way to explore new places.
You can also do this by walking – but
you cover twice as much ground in the
same time if you jog.
It keeps me sane.
Running burns up nervous energy,
releases calming endorphins and keeps
me grounded. And – unlike my friends
who have taken up white-collar boxing
– I don’t have to hit anyone in the face
unless I really want to.
#1
#2
#3
#4
#6
#7
#8
COMING UP
JANUARY
5 No Frills Run 7.30am,
5km/10km, Punggol Park
11 Bizad Charity Run 7.30am,
U-Town Green (NUS)
11 Run for Your Lives Singapore
1pm, 5km, The Padang
FEBRUARY
9 MediaCorp Hong Bao Run
7am, 8km, venue TBA
15 Marina Run 4.30pm,
5km/10km/21km, Gardens by
the Bay
16 Terry Fox Run 8am, 5km/10km,
Big Splash at East Coast Park
16 Safari Zoo Run 7am,
2.8km/6km/12km, Singapore
Zoo
16 New Moon Khcycle MetaSprint
Series 2014: Aquathlon venue
TBC,
#5
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It’s safe.
After running in South Africa with the
constant fear of being attacked, the
security of Singapore – even after dark
– is blissful. (But I might give Sungei
Boloh Wetland Reserve a miss, at least
until they shoo away the three-metre
croc found sprawled across the path
last month.)