Running mad: 10kg lighter after 23 runs in a single year

SINGAPORE - Madam Norarniza Wati is a serious runner. So serious that she has already taken part in 23 runs so far this year - or about three a month.

These include the 2XU Compression Run in March and the Sundown Marathon in May.

She has also signed up for another six races in the next three months.

Explaining her passion, the 34-year-old legal secretary says: "Running helps me lose weight, be fit and challenge myself.

"Taking part in these runs also lets me meet like-minded runners and we can motivate one another."

She took part in her first run - a 10km route at the Shape Run in October last year, two months after giving birth to her first child.

To train for it, she started jogging regularly at East Coast Park. Before that, she hardly exercised.

"I wanted to lose the weight I gained when I was pregnant," she says. "So far, it has worked."

In the 11 months since that first race, the 1.63m-tall mother of one has lost 10kg and now weighs 79kg.

She says she still has some way to go to attain her ideal weight of 65kg.

Running always gives her a high, she adds: "After completing a run, I would feel like I had survived it despite the obstacles."

One memorable run was the 10.5km Green Corridor Run in May, where she ran on grass, stones and uneven surfaces.

"After the trail, I felt such a strong sense of accomplishment, like I had overcome the elements."

She says her husband, a supervisor in an oil and gas company, describes her passion for running as an obsession.

"But as long as running makes me happy, I will continue to do it."

So far, the furthest she has run is 21km in 3 hours and 15 minutes at the 2XU Compression Run.

Next Saturday, she will attempt her first full marathon at the Craze Ultra 100 Miles run.

To prepare for the 43km run, she has been jogging four times a week for the last three months, averaging 24km each week.

"Completing a full marathon has always been on my bucket list.

I just hope I can finish it without dying," she jokes.

People who stop halfway to take selfies are her only pet peeve about these runs. "They block everyone behind them and force the rest of us to slow down," she says.

So it comes as no surprise that she has never taken part in a fun race. "I don't think they can even be considered real runs. I mostly see the participants walking."

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