Lim Thow Wee - 10th in Singapore Standard Chartered Marathon 2008

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Dr Benny Goh - Personal best time 2hr 50min

Lim Thow Wee  - Aiming for a short-term goal of sub 3hrs 00min. Long term, a  sub 2hrs 40min, judging from his strength in speed endurance tolerance.

Picture 1 - A photograph taken at the request of Thow Wee after attaining 10th position in the Singapore Standard Chartered Marathon 2008.

In the ING New York Marathon 2010, Lim Thow Wee assisted me in doing the online blog report during marathon race. Thanks to him. He did not sleep until the marathon race was over. Anyway, he wanted to see the race rather than just reporting. Such was his conviction!

It is good to see Lim Thow Wee running in this year's marathon. He joined our running group 3 months before the Singapore Standard Chartered Marathon 2008, having a personal best time of 3hrs 49min in the past. In 2008, he did 3 hrs 10min 40sec. In Year 2009, he was ready to do sub 3 hours but an injury, muscle tear at the quad area, forced him to slow down during the race, despite his high level of fitness. He still did a personal best of 3hrs 09min 20sec. Now he is back with more vigour and energy to do sub 3hrs for the upcoming Singapore Standard Chartered Marathon. He has shown resilience in training, very recently.

As such, let us find out about this enthusiastic runner who wants to do well in the coming marathon and is preparing his training very well.

An Interview with Lim Thow Wee.

Can you tell on your passion?

Picture 2 - Thow Wee just like to run a lot.

My passion is definitely running. I was very active since young. In primary school, I used to play a lot of “police and thief” and in secondary school, I began to play soccer a lot. It was during my army days when I was chosen to represent my unit in the army half marathon that I began running more and fell in love with road running. Thus, all the different activities since young, helped me in preparing my fitness and proper muscular development before I can take up running.

Can you tell us about your career?
I am currently working as a Quality Analyst in a commodity trading firm. My job is IT-related and my office is at Shenton way.

How many days per week do you train?

I trained about 6 days a week depending on whether it is peak or off-peak season. Of course, there’ll be lazy weeks when I do just 3-4 days a week. I will usually keep Sunday an off day as I will need to attend church and spend time with family.

Can you tell us on how you balance career with running?

I will place running as part of my lifestyle like eating or sleeping. Running to me is not an extra-curricular activity, it is my only activity. I will allocate 1-2 hours 6 days a week for running. For example, weekday evenings and weekend mornings are reserved for running. Thus, a set of running gear is always available in the drawer in my office. Sometimes, work and family commitments might be heavier thus; I will run at 5 am as you have the rest of the day for other things, inspired by Dr Benedict Tan and Dr Benny Goh.

Where do you usually train?

I usually train at Bedok Reservoir, Macritchie Reservoir, East Coast Park and the new Marina Bay Waterfront. I am looking forward to the new Marina Bay Park which will link us from the CBD all the way to East Coast Park in 2011.

What is you personal best time for the marathon?
My personal best time is 3hrs 09min 20sec from Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2009, I thought I could go below 3 hours then but suffered a muscle tear 2 weeks before the race.

What kind of time are you aiming for in this marathon?
I am targeting for a sub-3 hours marathon.


Picture 3 - Eliz, Thow Wee's wife, is a supporting partner in his chosen sports pursuit.

How is your wife's support in running?

My wife has been very supportive of my run. She makes the effort to cheer me during races and encourages me by speaking positively daily when I am tired. Most importantly, she believes in my running passion by giving me time to train and logistics like giving up the car during my training days.

Do you have any long term goals for the marathon?
Yes, I want to complete the “Grand Slam of marathon”: Berlin, London, Chicago, New York and Boston in the future. In addition, I want to do a sub 2 hours 40 mins marathon in the future, be it local or overseas. I believe it is possible because I ‘ve seen it happening for my running heros who have done the above like my running mates  Daniel Ling, Dr Ben Tan, Dr Benny Goh, Ashley Liew and Coach Rameshon.

What do you think about Gebrselassie's announcement on re-consideration of coming back to running?

I am really looking forward to Haile re-considering his retirement. He single-handedly showed the running world about becoming a champion with a heart. I believe he is one of the pioneers as a running philanthropist. We will have no problem having new world record holders in near future but we need them to learn to give back to the society. He is also the one who taught us the power of humility and of course, being cheerful in all times.

Look at the world-class footballers these days earning about S$1 million every month, kudos for their God-given talent, but how many actually give back to the society like what Haile does.