The male winner of the recently concluded J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge 2017, Fraser Thompson, 39, is a high-flying business consultant with a family as well as a four month old son, who also finds the time to pursue his passion for running.
Fraser Thompson won the Men’s race at the 5.6km J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge recently. [Photo credit to J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge.]
Runs home from work daily
A Consultant at AlphaBeta (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Fraser works long hours and he also does plenty of travelling for his work. But he still fits in the time for exercise – by running home from work every day.
Said Fraser, “I train daily. The mileage varies whether I am traveling or not, but it is anywhere from 70km to 100km per week.”
Fraser (in white) with his colleagues.
He added, “The starting thing is that you have to really enjoy running. Some people run on a track and others run in the park. You need to find the place that will make you want to run. The second is to find ways to put that into your schedule. For me, I run home from work, so that even if work is busy, I still get some running done.”
Fraser admits that his workplace is not that far from his home though, which makes his runs more manageable. He said, “Work is not far. I work at Boat Quay and live at River Valley, so that is only about 4km. But I go around the Marina area to get more mileage in.”
No easy solution to juggling running together with life
For runners at the J.P. Morgan corporate challenge, they have to juggle work, family and running.
He added “It is hard to juggle everything and there is no easy solution. But I think that if I get some exercise, I can concentrate better at work and it helps me to get my project done. I always make it a point to get some fitness in my daily schedule, regardless of how busy I am.”
Time management is thus very important to Fraser. He said “Yeah I have to manage my time. If you have a family and you want to do a sport, then you have to manage your time. I try to arrange my appointments in my diary carefully and avoid distractions as much as I can, so that I can work efficiently.”
But he does not think that he has made any sacrifices though, in his pursuit of combining running with his work and family time. Said Fraser, “There is a difference, for example, if you want to be an Olympian then you have to really make a lot of sacrifices. But at my level, you can get away with juggling things. So far, so good.”
Running, to Fraser, is a form of relaxation.
Running is a form of relaxation
Fraser cannot see himself completely giving up running though, no matter how busy he gets. To him, running provides a form of relaxation. He said, “I love running because it gives me a break, and a chance to relax.”
He added, “For all those people out there who want to take up running, find what element of running you love and maximise that. I run every day and I take part in races occasionally, such as the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon and the Straits Times Run.”
Fraser also stresses that when taking part in such races, the biggest challenge is to hold back and not begin too fast. He said “Everyone always feels good at the start, so when you go out, you run fast, then you realise you have overcooked it. So my advice is to hold a bit in reserve and go slower than you should so that you can come home stronger.”
Many runners tend to start out too fast when they run, says Fraser.
He added “Enthusiasm is the killer. The aim is that at the halfway point, you should be feeling good, so if you are not feeling comfortable at the halfway mark, then something is wrong with your pacing.”
Race Review: J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge 2017
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