As a doctor specialising in Haematology-Oncology, Vanessa Chong's love for running has taught her many valuable life lessons
Her running journey only began in 2018. Despite starting at a relatively later age than most of her peers, Vanessa Chong's rapid rise and progression in the sport has undoubtedly made the running community take notice of her God-given talent for the sport.
It all began from taking sunset photos. As someone who loves sunsets, she was at Punggol beach one day when a group of runners ran past. Prior to that, she never knew running groups existed, so she asked if there was a competition that was actually taking place.
It was then that she found out they were from SAFRA Running Club Punggol (SRCPG).
"They taught me what pace was, to get a running watch and introduced me to races. In my first 10km race I surprised myself to come in on the podium and the SRCPG runners spurred me on to keep running. They saw my progression as a runner and celebrated my little wins along the way. I’m so grateful for them," Vanessa shared.
Her running journey since 2018 has seen her go through a roller-coaster ride, and hasn't been without its fair share of challenges in her efforts to go beyond.
She shared: "As a new runner in 2018, every race was a personal best time, because most improvement are made when people first start running. A newbie then, I didn’t know anything about prehab, strength training etc and got my first running injury in October 2018."
"From then on, I’ve come to learn that injuries are part of the sport. It’s not easy to handle then especially mentally when something you love is taken away, albeit temporarily. It has also made me realise that a lot in life is out of my control, and whatever we have are truly blessings."
Bouncing back from her setback, Vanessa said the down time has taught her about life. To let go of control, be thankful of good days and to trust in God's timing during the hard times.
Outside of running, Vanessa treats patients with Leukemia and Lymphoma and continues to draw strength from her patients, who serve as a constant reminder for her to count her blessings more often. To find out more about her life, you can read our first interview with Vanessa on SportPlus.sg here.
While she has only competed in one Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon event back in 2018, it was a memorable and unforgettable experience and somewhat surprising for her as she placed third for the half marathon local category. She felt it wasn’t a super fast time but had done enough as she had just recovered from her first running injury to achieve the feat.
In a typically given week, Vanessa usually runs six days with one rest day where she would just walk, or if her legs felt good, she would just be outside in nature. She runs easy most of the time at a pace where she can talk, with one faster run workout during midweek and a long run above 20km on the weekends.
As someone who stays in the north, it is little doubt that her favourite running route is the northern running route along the stretch of tarmac road from Marina Country Club, Northshore to the Punggol settlement.
"It’s so beautiful to run there with a sea view especially at sunset. It’s also nice to observe families spending time together or people walking their dogs. It’s special to me because it has such a different vibe from the hectic pace of my working life," she pondered.
And what does she do on her runs usually, one might ask?
"I really do enjoy that time listening to music or a good podcast but after a while it did get quite monotonous. So once (Covid) restrictions were lifted I would try to join SRCPG or other friends for group runs. It’s honestly easier to continue running long term in community rather than alone. Time flies while chit chatting!" she said with a laugh.
As the most popular individual sport in Singapore, running has come along in leaps and bounds in popularity even through the Covid years, and Vanessa hopes to see the community thrive for years to come.
"I hope the running community keeps growing because running changes lives. It helps us to stay physically active while giving us a different perspective beyond the four walls of our concrete jungle lives," she said.
"Running in the community also helps widen our social circle with like-minded individuals. Ultimately running is humbling because we learn the limitations of our bodies, and hopefully through that we grow in mercy and kindness to ourselves and those around us."
Vanessa will be taking part in the marathon race distance at the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon. You can still make a date with Singapore’s marquee running event 2-4 December by registering here if you haven’t!
Registration closes on 25 Nov 2022, 2359hrs.
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