One foot in front of the other. Repeat.

I still remember the first time I ran. It was back in March of 2012.

The mood just came out of the blue one day. So I decided to run around a small Field outside of my apartment, roughly the size of a track, and laced up my antique sport shoes (which I last wore God knows when).

Seeing all the crowd on the field that day, I had a sudden bout of shyness.

Omigosh all those people are going to laugh at me!

I mustered all of my courage and started my first, and final lap.

I huffed, puffed, and willed my feet to move faster. But that’s it for the day. A meagre 300m.

As I reached the last corner of the field, my lungs and legs gave up on me. I started walking, consoling myself that at least I managed something for the day. I did not make any eye contact with anyone on the field, for fear of judgment.

I guess many people would stop at this stage and say, “running is not for me”. The thought did cross my mind.

Surprisingly my interest did not wane the next day. I laced my old shoes again, and achieved three slow tortoise-like Laps that day, before my lungs and legs protested again.

The next week, I managed five laps, and two months later I was running 15 laps.

I registered for my first 10k race at the Allianz Penang Bridge International Marathon (APBIM) 2012.

When the day arrived, I was surprised that I finished the run in one hour and seven minutes.

I never stopped running since then. It is a habit, a lifestyle, something which is part of me now.

My motivation to run is simple: running frees my mind from discouraging thought. It has given me confidence that I am able to do something that I thought I could never achieve.

I enjoy the absolute silence that surrounds my mind when I run: peaceful and tranquil; just you, your breathing, your body, your sweat, your pain, and razor-like focus; a very good feeling of being alive and well. The shyness vanished; all I see when I run is the path in front of me, and the mileage goal of the day.

What are your motivations to run?

One foot in front of the other. Repeat.