Over the weekend of 21 – 22 July, ONE was proud to be part of the inaugural Feel Fab Fest (F3) event organized by Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), in conjunction with Sport Singapore. The carnival event targeted at individuals of all ages who share a common goal to be fit and healthy. It also offered health and fitness partners an exciting platform to reach out to this rapidly-growing sports and wellness market.
With an exciting array of events and activities lined up for everyone including the young and young-at-heart, ONE was pleased to be part of F3 and hosting a panel discussion comprising 3 of Singapore’s fastest marathoners, Mok Ying Ren, Ashley Liew and Evan Chee. The 1-hour session offered insights into how fitness and health could be incorporated into one’s (hectic) lifestyle, as well as tips on training which would help active individuals avoid common problems such as injury and over-training.
Camaraderie of the fastest
With a combined experience of over 4 decades of running and training assembled on stage, the engaging discussion, moderated by Jed, was enlivened by light-hearted moments when they reflected on each other’s career highs and lows. Ashley spoke about how Mok had won the 2013 SEA Games Marathon Gold in spite of an incessant cough and inadequate preparation. Mok then touched on how impressed he was by Ashley’s deeply-held values about maximizing one’s gift of potential. Ashley represented Singapore at the 2015 SEA Games Marathon and was the first Singaporean to receive the international fair play accolade “Pierre de Coubertin World Fair Play Trophy” for his act of sportsmanship.
Overcoming personal challenges to fitness
When asked about balancing work and training, Evan brought up the challenges he faced in preparing for overseas races such as the Berlin Marathon while having to work around a packed work schedule that involved frequent traveling. He also encouraged runners to join a group of running buddies, or a training club, to keep the motivation going during trying times.
In relation to sports injury Mok, who’s had to work through his plantar fasciitis and other untimely issues that threatened to derail his race preparation, advocated a patient-and-consistent mentality. From his experience, most runners tend to be overly impatient in regaining pre-injury fitness. In their eagerness and anxiety, the adage ‘more haste, less speed’ is often thrown to the winds. His advice is to take injuries seriously and allow sufficient time for complete recovery before jumping back into action.
Key to fitness
Throughout the lively session punctuated with harmless jabs and interesting anecdotes, a consistent theme that emerged was the need for patience and consistency when it comes to building running fitness. Motivation is what gets one started but habit is what keeps one moving. As Mok puts it, anyone could start running, but “the way to start running is to really start slow in an easy-pace, build your fitness and be patient about it… have a target, such as signing up for a race and strive towards it.”
Join us
Readers and runners who are keen to learn more about running tips can follow our weekly feature #RunwithMok column in the Sunday edition of Straits Times! You can also send in any running-related questions and #AskMok!
ONE will like to acknowledge our heartfelt gratitude to SPH and event sponsors, partners for the invaluable opportunity and experience to be part of Feel Fab Fest 2018! We are also proud to be the official training partner for the Straits Times Run, and hope to see you at the race on 23 September!
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