Why We Run: Singer-songwriter Daphne Khoo runs for cancer awareness

Singer-songwriter Daphne Khoo talks about her foray into running as part of our Why We Run series on people who runs for a purpose.

Khoo, 29, a former Singapore Idol contestant, and her elder sister Astrid will be participating in the Great Eastern Women’s Run on Nov 13, and the duo will be running the 5km race together to help raise awareness for cancer.

The run will have special significance for the sisters, as both Daphne and Astrid are cancer survivors, while their mother, Denise Ang battled and survived early stage breast cancer 14 years ago.

While the siblings are not avid runners, they will be pounding the streets in support of the Breast Cancer Foundation (BCF) – one of two beneficiaries for this year’s Great Eastern Women’s Run.

Q: Why did you decide to sign up for the Great Eastern Women’s Run?

I’ve seen a lot about the run in the past couple of years. It’s definitely something that I’ve wanted to try out and I know they have a buddy system. I’ve done one fun run in the past and I did it alone and it wasn’t as fun as doing it with someone, doing it for a cause that we both support.

It’ll be something that I get to do with my sister…it will just increase our bond, give us a more of a reason to hang out and train together.

Q: What charity are you’re running for?

The foundation we’re running for is Breast Cancer Foundation (BCF). My sister and I both want to support cancer awareness, it’s something we’ve both gone through, and we supported our mum through breast cancer. My sister worked in cancer research as well, so something that’s close to her heart and my heart as well.

Q: Tell us about your own battle with cancer in 2012.

My battle with cancer started in 2012, I found out around May and it was quite a journey. At the time I was studying at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, and the type of cancer I had was ovarian cancer. It’s a very specific, rare form of ovarian cancer called dysgerminoma and it’s a germ cell cancer.

Chemotherapy wasn’t too terrible, but I will say that before I didn’t really have a fear of needles and now I kind of do because as we did chemo more, the less the nurses could find veins that they could use.

Q: How much have you raised for charity?

We did a campaign with Pokka recently to raise funds for Singapore Cancer Foundation and that raised S$60,803, with people drinking a lot of green tea, five million litres were sold in a span of two months. For the Great Eastern Women’s Run this time, raising cancer awareness and telling people what they can do, to just be there for breast cancer or any kind of cancer patients is what we’re aiming to do more than the money. The money is important but what we can do as human being to human being is more important to me.

Q: How are the both of you training for this?

(Laughs) I talked to my sister about it. 10k would be a challenge for me, but it would be impossible for her because after everything she was also recently diagnosed with asthma so we’ve decided to go for the 5k run/walk, we’re not sure what it’ll be at this point.

It’s going to be a challenge for the both of us, we’re not runners and we don’t like to run. It might be a small challenge to some, but it’s a big challenge for us especially with both our work schedules. It’s always at that point when you’re pushing yourself, if you have someone to push you as well it always helps so that’s how we’re challenging ourselves right now.

We try to go to the gym for starters, it’s easier on the treadmill for us. We both have eczema so it’s better to be training in a cool environment. I try to exercise two to three times a week but it’s not always running. Sometimes it’s yoga, or stretches at home or a really long walk or jog.

Q: Did your background as a gymnast make it easier to train for this run?

If you ask me to do core activities I can push myself to do that, but running is not one of those things. Yoga, pilates, I can try to push myself through but running is a real challenge.

Q: What kind of advice has runners been giving you?

In terms of getting advice, I’ve asked a lot of people because it’s always been a challenge to run for me, or to run at all. I just find running very boring and it’s my least favourite activity to do in terms of trying to get fit. My uncle runs marathons so I’ve asked him about how I can start training and he does this heart beat (monitoring) training. That’s been pretty good for me but on days when I don’t want to monitor and I just go as far as I want to go and walk, then run again and then I walk.

Q: Have you been hit by a runner’s high yet?

I don’t get a runner’s high, every time I run in the middle of it, I’m like ‘why am I doing this?” I’ll run once and then I’ll be so proud of myself that I don’t run for another two weeks. I’m trying to get better at it now, so who knows, maybe after a month of training I will feel the runner’s high!

Q: How do you think you and Astrid are going to get through this 5km run?

The only way Astrid and I are going to get through the 5k is to just keep encouraging each other and accepting whatever the other person wants to do. If she wants to walk I will walk with her, if she wants to run, I’ll run with her because she is the one who has less immunity right now.

My family will definitely be at the finish line waiting…I’m really excited for that moment. I believe in the buddy system and we’ll try and get through it together.