Yeo Zhi Yu experienced intense knee pains while running his very first half marathon. As a result of pushing through the pain to complete the distance, he couldn’t walk for two days.

But this didn’t stop Yeo, 25, a Business student at the National University of Singapore, from continuing to run.

Said Yeo, “I used to experience knee pains in the course of running distances beyond 10km. During the half marathon last year, my knees started to hurt at the 13km mark and I had to alternate between jogging and walking to minimise the pressure I felt on my knees. I bore through the pain and ran hard in the last 2.5km to hit the timing I wanted to achieve. I ended up hobbling in pain for the next two days. On hindsight, it was probably not the best idea in the long run.” 

Added Yeo, “Upon consultation with a doctor, I was advised to take more time to prepare for runs and build endurance by running more frequently. However if my knee pain still persists, he mentioned that my body may not be cut out for long distance running – that idea really broke me but I persevered even more. I stayed motivated thinking about what my own dad would do when faced with challenges. And so far, I’ve now been able to increase the distance I run without feeling knee pain. While the pain has not been completely eradicated, I think I am progressing towards my long term goal of running a full marathon.” 

It is no surprise that Yeo was motivated to not give up because of his dad. In fact, Yeo was inspired by his dad to take up running.

Said Yeo, “I was nine years old when I witnessed my father run his first half marathon. His persistence to train and to complete given his more mature age then was a reflection of his can do attitude and determination to succeed.”

Growing up, Yeo had always admired his parents’ approach to challenges and how they always face these head-on and with a positive attitude. 

Added Yeo. “It became an aspiration and personal goal for me. So several years later, i attempted to participate in a 10km run myself. However because I didn’t know how to train and did not realise the level of commitment this entailed, I was deeply disappointed when the outcome was not as expected. I ended up disliking the experience and actually gave up running altogether for a period of time. And it wasn’t until last year when one of my university friends suggested we participate in a half marathon that reignited my desire to start my running journey.”

After taking his doctor’s advice together with and his dad’s approach of finding new ways to motivate himself, Yeo finally experienced his breakthrough, which was to be able to run pain-free 

Said Yeo, “I had my breakthrough in running only this year, when I managed to complete my first 15km distance pain-free. I believe it was the result of taking my doctor’s advice, coupled with keeping my dad’s approach as a motivation. So even when I have a busy day, I will try to find 10 to 15 minutes just to do short runs, so that my body does not lose the feeling of running.”  

Today, Yeo enjoys that running gives him an avenue to clear his mind and focus on himself. 

He said, “I can set a simple goal to achieve during each run, be it distance, timing or even just as a time for self-reflection. This gives me something to look forward to and accomplish each run. At the same time, it feels good knowing that I am improving and slowly working towards my long-term running goals.” 

The upcoming JP Morgan Corporate Challenge (JPMCC) is part of Yeo’s training for another half marathon which he is preparing for this month. 

He said, “Most of my runs have been tailored for half marathon training. Nevertheless, the groove of running and incorporating speed trainings into my running plan prepares me for the JPMCC run as well. As the JPMCC is also about team participation, I enjoy the time spent training with my team and bonding over the sport.” 

Yeo has two bucket list goals for running. He said, “The first is to complete a full marathon, so that is a major goal I am slowly working towards. Beyond that big goal, it would be to slowly increase my running pace to eventually finish a half marathon in under two hours.” 

What tips can he share with those who want to take up running? 

Said Yeo, “I believe that having a running plan is important in slowly progressing towards running goals.”

Yeo himself used the Nike Run Club app’s 14-week half marathon plan. He said, “I appreciate two main aspects of their training plan. Firstly, they have different types of training planned out nicely so I do not have to devise one myself. All I have to do is to show up and complete the training for that day. Secondly the app provides an estimated time needed for each training. This allows me to rearrange the different runs depending on the time I have for each day.” 

Yeo then took the chance to stress again, the importance of having a proper training plan. He said, “Reflecting on my earlier experiences, and now with a proper training plan, I realised that if you don’t put in effort, you won’t enjoy the experience. The more days I showed up to run, the more I enjoyed running and felt good in the process.” 

Thank you to JPMCC for the interview opportunity with Yeo, photo credits to JPMCC, TeamNUS and Yeo.