Meet Our Runners – Stuart Mcintosh

At MR25, we welcome like-minded runners from all around the world. Meet our Scottish runner, Stuart, who has been a regular at MacRitchie. In Tokyo, Stuart got to know Arnaud and Leng who brought him to MR25 in Singapore. Since then, his passion for running continued.

When did you first pick up running and what inspire you to do so?

Before embarking on this running journey, I did some windsurfing. Upon watching a triathlon on TV, I was pretty inspired by the triathletes whom were on screen. In Japan, they aired the triathlons event live. It was amazing to witness commoners from all walkers of life pursuing the 3 elements in triathlon and I thought to myself that it was something that perhaps I could try out. Since then, I joined the Namban Rengo Running Club in Tokyo. To me, running was the easiest part of a triathlon. As for cycling and swimming, training was much more complex. Subsequently, when I moved to Singapore, these training sessions followed suit.

How long have you been running? What keeps you motivated?

I started running at the age of 34 and have since been running for about 15 years. I enjoy the competition during runs. Not only the competition against other runners but more importantly, the competition against oneself. It is rewarding to feel that you are become stronger and faster after every training session.  Somehow, I feel that the competitive spirit in 5km runs are extremely exciting. This year, I have been focusing on improving my 5km timing at the weekly East Coast Park parkrun. Even though running in colder countries should be easier, I ran my fastest 5km runs last year. In the recent 6 months, I have tweaked my training format drastically and my timing have improved quite significantly. My personal best timing for 5km is 18:29 and I intend to improve on it further. I have never felt that age was an issue when it comes to shaving those seconds of your personal best, training plan was instrumental towards improvement.

Was there an instance when you have faced great difficulty in running journey? How did you overcome this obstacle?

Although I have competed in several marathons (mostly in Japan), thankfully I have only hit the wall once. In that run, I had to walk the last few kilometres of the Tokyo Marathon. A few days later, I found out that I was injured and could not run. I had to go through a few months of physiotherapy and could not run in races for a year. It was the low season of my running journey. Thankfully, I could still swim and cycle during that period. One lesson from that incident: always have an alternative sport to rely on!

Which was your most memorable run?

My most memorable race in Singapore was last year’s Asian Masters. The 5km race was held in the scorching hot sun and I was completely outclassed by runners from India and Sri Lanka. Nevertheless, it was fun being part of the opening ceremony at Kallang Practice track, representing Singapore. Not to mention that it was a rare occasion to be able to run among runners from all around the world.

How is your weekly running schedule like?

I alternate hard workouts with easy workouts. I do 2 interval sessions per week, and parkruns on Saturdays. For the easy workouts, I also do some rowing and strength training in addition to running. On Sundays, I go on long trail runs. Other than running, I swim 2 or 3 times a week with Open SwimStars.

Tell us a fun fact about your running journey that we never knew.

I have completed both the Japan and Korean Full Ironman races. Perhaps more ahead?

Meet Our Runners – Johnny Low


Meet Johnny Low. Johnny has been a prominent member of MR25 and always been ever friendly to runners around him. His spontaneity and madness to engage khakis to join in his crazy running workouts is his distinct trademark. Let’s dive deeper and understand his motivations behind running!

How did you first started running? 

From time to time, I felt a tingling session and a suspected minor cardiac arrest, deep down I knew I had to go for a medical checkup. After sometime, in year 2011, I went for my long overdue checkup and the doctor concluded my cholesterol level was high and suggested that I do some exercises. The main objective of exercising was to lower my cholesterol level within 6 months else, I will have to be a long term medication to keep my cholesterol level within control. The thought of being on long term medication scared me out and I was very determined to exercise regularly to lower my cholesterol level. Hence, that was when I started out running. I vividly remembered that my first 800m run along the fajar canal was awfully tiring and I even had issues completing it. Back then, I lacked sports knowledge and only knew that running would probably aid in lowering my cholesterol level. I ran so hard that I felt a surge of pressure that went through my arteries. Initial stage was tough but I was determined to continue doing loops along Fajar canal since my health was at stake. The fear of undergoing prolong medication was overwhelming and I knew I had to do something about it. 800m soon turned into 10km loops. I managed to shed off my excess weight and felt more confident about my physical and fitness condition. True enough, the cholesterol level dropped significantly after 6 months and medication control was not required.  

Which was your most memorable race? 

It would be Jurong Lake Run in the year 2013. At that point, it was my first running race and I had zero expectations on the race. All I knew was that I had to run as fast as possible towards the finishing point.  I put in my 100% effort into the 10km run and completed it with an approximate timing of 43min. Many of my running friends were amazed on my efforts considering that it was my first race event. Unknowingly, I managed to gain the attention of the experienced veteran runners as well. Though I did not secure a podium position, I was immensely pleased with my maiden race performance. For the subsequent Jurong Lake run in 2014, I managed a 40min timing at an age of 46 years old.

What was your proudest running achievement? 

My proudest running achievement will be Standard Chartered Marathon 2015 and achieving 7th position in Singapore male veteran category. My timing was a sub 4 timing of approximately 3hr 26min. Never would I expect myself to achieve something like that especially when I started running at such a late stage. 

 

What’s your biggest obstacle that you faced during your running journey? 

It would be my Achilles tendon injury that I experienced when I push myself too hard. This injury flares up from time to time and my race performance has been affectly significantly.  Nonetheless, this did not stop me from running and I will continue to do so. Experimenting with different stretching techniques, I continue my training regime to keep my physical fitness level at a consistent level.

What is the one advice that you will give to beginner runners out there?

Start off jogging slowly instead of pushing yourself hard, listen to your body and record your initial running timing. From there on, try to improve your timing at each attempt. Starting off too quickly at the initial stage may demoralise you.

Notice Of The Annual General Meeting of MR25

Dear Members

This is to advise you of the  upcoming annual general meeting of the MR25.  The details of this meeting as follows:-

Date : 18 March 2018
Time : 12 noon to 3pm
Place : Blk 21 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 9, Nuovo.
Multi-Purpose Hall, Singapodre 569786

This year AGM no Management Committee Members Election according to the MR25 Constitution stipulated that all office-bearers shall be elected bi-yearly.

At the meeting, members will have the opportunity to
– find out about club’s operations & finances status
– speak about any items on club’s monthy event.  eg. time trial & progressive run etc.
– ask questions about the operations or any other matters to help us to lift the club’s image & status in local running community to the higher level.

The location map is as shown.