After the 15km, it's the 1,899km

After the 15km, it's the 1,899km

SINGAPORE - Mr Raymond Tan has an alarm clock set for 4.10 every morning but, more often than not, he does not have to rely on it.

Like clockwork, he awakes at 4am seven days a week in pursuit of his addiction to running.

Shoes laced, he bolts out of his Taman Jurong neighbourhood, heads towards Jurong East and Dover Road before making a U-turn in Buona Vista for home - a distance of 20km.

Said the 41-year-old, who will be running in the 15km category at this Sunday's The Straits Times' Run in the Park at Punggol Waterway: "It can be an addiction. I just go and run because my legs can't be still. I need to keep them moving.

"I started running to keep fit. But now people say I'm crazy because they see me going for longer and longer races."

Mr Tan, who works as an operation staff member at Jurong Port, participates in more than 40 events a year, with his longest race being the 100km Sundown Ultramarathon in 2011.

The running fanatic, who has a marathon personal best time of 4hr 16min, said: "I just like to challenge myself with every distance. "If someone has created the event, it must be possible to complete it."

His love for running, which started in Secondary 1, could not be denied even when both his feet were badly blistered during the 100km run two years ago. They were bandaged for a week.

Mr Tan, who completed the distance in 12hr 5min, said: "At about 50km, I could feel the water bags forming on the soles of my feet, but I told myself not to give up."

He soldiered on, even though each step he took hurt.

Mr Tan, who is married with a 14-year-old son, now has his sights set on a bigger challenge - next year's Cross Thailand Run which covers 1,899km, the equivalent of roughly 45 marathons. He hopes to complete it in 22 days.

He said: "I don't know when I will stop running. I just want to test my limits."

ugenec@sph.com.sg


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