Alvin Tan has ran all six Abbott World Marathon Majors - and he now sets his sights on the Sydney Marathon, a candidate race to become the Seventh Major
Amidst the relentless hustle and bustle of a demanding work week, Singaporeans often find themselves grappling with the challenge of carving out precious time for themselves - be it for relaxation or rejuvenation.
Cue Alvin Tan, a dedicated scientist at Duke-NUS Medical School and a disciplined runner with the Running Department, who has turned to run-commuting as an ingeniously devised solution to this common conundrum.
Despite the demanding nature of his job, Alvin has managed to integrate run training with his hectic daily routine, a feat that has served him well in his previous marathon training blocks.
"I do not recall exactly how this run commute routine started," Alvin reflects. "But there are two factors that drove me to try and have been motivating me to continue run-commuting."
For Alvin, running has always been therapeutic, especially solo runs. He describes his run commutes from his office in the CBD area to his home in Serangoon as his “me-time”, a chance to be alone with his thoughts and his music, unwinding at the end of a workday.
Moreover, run commuting has proven to be a time-saver for Alvin. Instead of dedicating separate time for running and commuting, he efficiently combines the two tasks, effectively killing two birds with one stone.
Integral to both his work and personal routines, run-commuting has become a cornerstone of Alvin's lifestyle. He seamlessly incorporates it into both training cycles and "off-seasons”.
As a disciplined runner who participates in many marathons, Alvin increases the intensity of his run-commuting during training cycles such that the distance covered during his runs home contribute to the demands of marathon training.
As Alvin continues to pursue his passion for running and expand his repertoire of marathon achievements, the prospect of Sydney Marathon potentially joining the ranks of the World Marathon Majors holds particular excitement for him. In fact, Alvin believes that having one of the World Marathon Majors in Australia will bring the series one step closer to being truly global.
“I have been wanting to go back to Australia for a race, either in Sydney or Melbourne. With Sydney being a strong candidate to be the seventh World Marathon Major, I look forward to finally being back in Australia and running my first marathon there in Sydney,” Alvin mentioned.
A Six Star Marathoner
In fact Alvin boasts the remarkable feat of having completed all six Abbott World Marathon Majors – with his sixth one being completed in Tokyo recently – a testament to his dedication and longevity as a runner.
“The one aspect of the World Marathon Majors races that left a lasting impression on me is the scale of these events. When a race has 30 to 50 thousand runners, everything is just bigger and more crowded, from the race expo to portable toilet lines to the start pen to the race route to the finish area,” Alvin said.
Despite this, he still manages to find solace in the smooth and enjoyable journey that each race offers.
Having gone through so many different marathon experiences in a myriad of different countries, Alvin recounts one of majors, the 2014 Boston Marathon to be his most meaningful run.
“I actually ran Boston for charity in 2013, but my race that year was cut short before the finish because of the bombings that cancelled the race. That remains the only race I have started in which I did not cross the finish line,” he recounts.
He smiles poignantly as he recalls the day that shook the running community. "I was aiming for a sub four hour finish which wasn't going well," he recalls, "and the bombs went off along the final stretch about four hours after I flagged off."
"My friends said that it was lucky I was a slow runner!"
Runners who did not cross the finish line after the unfortunate bombings were then given a second opportunity to run — and more importantly — finish the race in 2014. Thus, motivating him to spend the next 12 months training as hard as possible to finally enjoy the finish that he was denied the year prior.
As it turned out, Alvin felt as though he did not run a good race performance-wise, on race day, and finished slower than his projected finish in 2013. During the race however, a piece of news made him realise what he was running for.
“Sometime before the halfway mark, someone in the crowd shouted that Meb Keflezighi had won the race. He was the first American man in 30 years to have won the race and that jolted me out of my inner personal disappointment and into remembering that this race meant way more than my own performance,” Alvin reflected.
“About a mile and two turns from the finish, it had become a whole myriad of emotions. I was in disbelief that I was finally going to complete the race this time but there was also a sadness as I paused at the memorials set up along the finish line for the victims of the bombings. Finally, there was elation as I approached and crossed the finish line.”
As he eagerly awaits the announcement of Sydney's inclusion as the seventh World Marathon Major, Alvin remains steadfast in his commitment to pushing the boundaries of his athletic endeavours and embracing the global reach of the marathon community.
Yet to sign up for the Sydney Marathon presented by ASICS? You can join close to 400 Singaporeans who have already joined this event by signing up here.
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