Around this time last year, Mdm Teo Yok Wan, 65, was having high blood pressure, in addition to some other medical problems. But instead of wallowing in self-despair, Mdm Teo rose to the challenge and decided to get her own life back on track…. by taking up running, based on the advice of her daughter, Zann Soh, 40.
Happy participants of #RunToLiveGreat 2015 – launched today
And fast forward one year later… the now energetic and lively Mdm Teo is even about to tackle her first-ever Full Marathon, come 6 December.
#RunToLiveGreat programme designed to inspire non-runners towards healthier living
This is all thanks to the #RunToLiveGreat programme, part of the Great Eastern Women’s Run – and designed to inspire non-runners to take the first baby steps towards healthier and better living. This year, 80 pairs of women were selected from thousands of applicants, for the 2015 edition of the programme – launched today.
Mr Colin Chan, Chief Marketing Officer addressing participants.
Credit: GEWR.
Participants in the Programme will take part in a variety of fun workouts to gear themselves up for the Great Eastern Women’s Run on 1 November this year. These include training runs, as well as Piloxing (a combination of Pilates and Boxing) and Kpop X dancing sessions – and will culminate with the Great Eastern Women’s Run as the “final exam” for participants.
Mdm Teo and her daughter had been nominated as the Most Inspiring Participants of the inaugural 2014 edition of #RunToLiveGreat – so they hope to inspire this year’s participants who are taking part in the programme – to embark on their own journey towards healthier living.
Programme has benefitted Soh and her mother in several ways
Explained Soh on how the programme has benefitted her and her mother over the past year, “This #RunToLiveGreat programme really helped myself and my mum – it made her realise that she could take a step to improving her own health, which she did. When my mum was selected as the most inspirational person, this gave her even more motivation to keep up with her running.”
This is what participants of the #RunToLiveGreat programme receive for free.
Soh added, “And now, my mum loves running so much that she’s even taking on her first 42km race at the StanChart Marathon Singapore this year. The #RunToLiveGreat programme, has really helped my mum to believe in herself – she may not be a very fast or good runner, but I think she should have no problems making it to the finish line within the time limit.”
Inspire this year’s participants to kickstart their own fitness and health journeys
Soh hopes that this year’s #RunToLiveGreat participants can be inspired to kickstart their own fitness journeys through the programme, as her mother had done. She said, “So I hope that this year’s participants can get out there and do their best – and that this will continue to encourage more elderly people to come in and get active. Sometimes, I even bring my mum to run together with some running groups. Despite her age, she seems to be one of the most lively people around – and many other runners find her a great inspiration to them to run with – and this helps them aspire to continue running when they are of her age.”
And for Soh herself, she will continue to give back to the running community – by becoming a pacer at the Great Eastern Women’s Run this year. Said Soh, “I want to encourage more people to hit their targets and achieve goals that they never thought would otherwise be possible for them to reach.”
Participants trying on their adidas shoes.
Credit: GEWR.
Rising to the challenge and inspire her mum to keep fit
Fellow mother-daughter pair Grace Lai, 55 and her daughter, Candice Chaw, 26, are also rising to the challenge by running together. Chaw, a Bid Manager, who took part in the 5km Category at the Great Eastern Women’s Run last year, wants to encourage her mother to keep fit too. She said, “I want to run together with my mother – to inspire her to keep fit and lead a healthier lifestyle.”
Added her mother, a Production Manager, “I just hope that I can complete the 5km run on race day – but the training activities under the #RunToLiveGreat programme should definitely help.”
Hopes to use #RunToLiveGreat to get back to their pre-baby weight
Fellow #RunToLiveGreat participants Swati Virvadekar, 31 and her colleague Kamna Wadhwa, 30, hope to use the programme to get their weight back on track. Explained Swati, “We both delivered our babies around the same time last year and we want to get back to our original pre-baby shape and weight. We’re not runners, but we want to start running, and use this programme to kickstart a regular exercise regime.”
Participants trying out their adidas workout tee.
Credit: GEWR.
So they will be taking on the 10km challenge at the Great Eastern Women’s Run – even though both of them have never run 10km before. Added Kamna, “This is our first running race, but we will have four months to train ourselves up for it – though it sounds daunting for us at this stage, we believe that it is possible.”
Programme was well-received and many pairs of buddies came forward to join
Added Colin Chan, Chief Marketing Officer of Great Eastern, “The #RunToLiveGreat programme has been very well-received and many pairs of buddies came forward. We are very inspired by this – as the Programme is aligned to what we want to do. Even though Great Eastern is an insurance company, we believe that it is more important for you to take care of your health and be active – so that you will be healthier and live longer.”
From left to right: Panel discussion comprising of Cheryl Miles 91.3FM Radio Presenter, Ranjini Mei Hua, a regular pacer in the running scene and last year’s #RunToLiveGreat participants Zann Soh and her 65 year old mother, Mdm Teo Yok Wan.
Chan continued, “This #RunToLiveGreat Programme will help to kickstart those healthy living habits – so we are very encouraged, and we have high hopes that the Programme can successfully change the lives of its participants.”
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