This 85 year-old engineering consultant will be competing in his 31st physical Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon event come December
He is a 300km club member for Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon. Come this December, 85 year-old engineering consultant Dr C. K. Murthy will be competing in his 31st Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon, and doing it together with his son.
In fact, running together with his four sons - Arun, Abishek, Ashvin and Anil - is an activity that has helped the family bond and been a staple for the longest time, something which Dr Murthy himself enjoyed while growing up as a child, a time where he first fell in love with running.
He is also a firm believer that running helps to impart important life lessons and values and a level of resilience towards challenges and obstacles that cannot be learnt anywhere else.
"I love running because it keeps me healthy, happy, fit and mentally alert," he shared. "I have never shunned from difficult tasks. When you train yourself to do extremely difficult things, difficult things become normal to you and they are no more difficult. What looks difficult to many will look easy for you."
He added: "While people of my age find it difficult to walk and climb stairs, I can climb 100 stories without much difficulty. By keeping fit, I am able to travel worldwide and go running through cities, go hiking and climb mountains. I enjoy moving around with youngsters and behave like one. All this is possible because of my fitness through running."
Beyond active aging and using running as a means to keep healthy and fit, running has also given the Chairman of CKM Consultants an avenue to problem-solve without the distractions and noise of the working environment. It is his go to place to find peace and solitude, an activity he refers to as "moving meditation".
"Often I am asked how I feel when I am running long distances for long hours, whether I find it boring. In fact, they are very productive hours for me," he said with a chuckle.
"While running, I am doing calculations, planning and finding solutions to various problems. Also, many beautiful thoughts come to my mind which keep me happy. Sometimes, I meditate while I am running which I call running meditation."
So how can one stay the course and be able to run for so many years without physical issues and side effects? Dr Murthy shared some useful insights.
"In order to avoid side effects of running like knee pain, a runner should also engage in exercises for flexibility, balance and strength. Importance of staying fit with good and nutritious food cannot be overemphasized," he shared.
Having not set himself any specific targets for this year's SCSM other than to finish happily and effortlessly as he has done before in previous editions, Dr Murthy added that the one thing he looks forward to the most in the first full-scale physical Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon event since 2019 is to feel the buzz of the event - the fellowship with other runners, and to feeland hear the cheers, applause and encouragement from spectators and volunteers.
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