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NATIONAL DAY SPECIAL 2018: Injecting new life into the women's distance running scene

SINGAPORE — In September last year, Phoebe Kee decided to drop out of Victoria Junior College (VJC) — to pursue her passion in the triathlon.

18-year-old Phoebe Kee is part of a small but growing group of young female runners looking to inject new life into the long distance running scene, which has been headlined by men in recent years.

18-year-old Phoebe Kee is part of a small but growing group of young female runners looking to inject new life into the long distance running scene, which has been headlined by men in recent years.

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As Singapore marks its 53rd birthday this month, it is at a crossroads with a new batch of leaders at the highest level coming to the fore to steer the country forward.

But it is not just in the top political echelons where there is a changing of guard. A new generation is stepping up, across different sections of the Singapore society. In our National Day Special this year, we feature some members of the often-maligned millennial generation who are picking up the mantle in various fields, bringing with them fresh ideas and challenging the status quo.

SINGAPORE — In September last year, Phoebe Kee decided to drop out of Victoria Junior College (VJC) — to pursue her passion in the triathlon.

Nominated to participate in the triathlon at this April's Commonwealth Games, the 18-year-old, who has won multiple local triathlon titles since 2013, decided she wanted to give herself a "fair shot" at the race, and did not want to be weighed down by her studies.

Though eventually Singapore did not send a team, she has no regrets. Today, she juggles 12 training sessions a week with a part-time job; and plans to study in an American university next year.

"I wasn't excelling at either my studies or reaching my maximum potential for my sports," Phoebe said of her decision. "It was a bad time."

Naturally, there were doubters. "There were some adults who tried to talk me out of it … because in Singapore it's quite unconventional to drop out of school for sports," she said.

18-year-old Phoebe Kee decided to drop out of Victoria Junior College in 2017 to pursue her passion in the triathlon. Photo: Chng Shao Kai/TODAY

But her car dealer father Mr Kee Teck Sing— who participates in triathlon events like the Ironman, which consists of a 3.8km swim, a 180km bike ride, and a 42km run — was her main source of inspiration. Being the one who introduced her to the sport and accompanied her for some trainings, he encouraged her to push her doubts aside.

"My dad was just always telling me that when I make decisions that I have to be responsible for them and (not) regret halfway," she said.

Boasting a 5km personal best of 18min 48secs, an average pace of 9min per 2.4km, Phoebe is just one in a small but growing group of young female runners looking to inject new life into the long distance running scene, which has been headlined by men in recent years.

NOT AUTOMATICALLY INFERIOR

Raffles Institution (Junior College) (RI) student and Team Singapore runner Toh Ting Xuan said that the local women's running scene has been so anaemic and less competitive than the men's because of the assumption that just because male runners are physically fitter, women are automatically inferior.

The 18-year-old who has captivated the running scene recently with her meteoric rise asked: "Why should females be treated in a different category as males?"

Toh Ting Xuan, Singapore U20 5km record holder. Photo: Jason Quah/TODAY

Even though she started training for competitive running in her first year at RI, the second-year student broke the Singapore Under 20 5,000m record at the Asian Junior Athletics Championship held in Japan in June this year with a blazing time of 17min 54s. In the process, she beat her own record of 18min 11secs set in April at this year's Singapore Open.

Earlier in March, she also won the National Schools' Cross Country title, before breaking former record holder Nicole Low's National School Games' (NSG) 'A' Division record for 3,000m in April.

"Most of the times I'm training with the guys, so for me I don't see why a distinction should be made," added Ting Xuan.

University students Nicole Low and Vanessa Lee, both 20, added that girls' attitudes towards running are also partly to blame.

"When (girls) come out from primary school a lot of (them) will just say "I hate running' and they think (that attitude) is cool," said Vanessa. The VJC alumnus is the NSG Track and Field Championship 'A' Division record holder in the 2,000m steeplechase in 2016.

Added Nicole: "From young they don't give it a chance … I think what prevents more females (from trying) out long distance running (is) this mentality that long distance is painful, so they don't even try to get through the pain and tell themselves that they actually can be good at this."

(L to R) Long distance runners Vanessa Lee, 20 and Nicole Low, 20. The duo are part of small but growing group of young female runners looking to inject new life into the long distance running scene, which has been headlined by men in recent years. Photo: Najeer Yusof/TODAY

For Nicole, a netball player in secondary school who was scouted by VJC for her running talent, fighting makes all the difference. A former record holder for the NSG 'A' Division 3,000m in 2016, and winner of the National Schools Cross Country in both 2015 and 2016, she knows what she is talking about.

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Admitting that running was "super painful" when she first started, the second-year sports science student at Nanyang Technological University said: "But if you don't push through the initial pain, you won't get anywhere."

But the biggest bugbear plaguing the distance running scene is probably the lack of support, due to Singapore's results first, resources later system when it comes to sports, said Nicole.

"(There is no) active effort to scout for potential runners. Who knows? There might be a lot of potential, it's just that they don't have the structure or the right person in place to help them build their running," Nicole said.

Instead, the benchmark for which athletics disciplines receive support is based on athletes who meet qualifying marks for international competitions such as the South-east Asian (SEA) Games and Commonwealth Games. Distance running, traditionally a sport with poor showing at these games, therefore receives less support, she added.

The brief spells that distance running is cast in the spotlight occur only when results are produced, concurred Vanessa, who was inspired to run when she broke her secondary school's Cross Country record in 2013 while she was still a member of the school band.

"For example, the men's marathon has been doing quite well of late, and so people have been focusing on it," she said, referring to national marathon runner Soh Rui Yong winning back-to-back SEA Games Marathon titles in 2015 and 2017.

RAISING THE BAR

This group of runners, however, are hoping to prove naysayers wrong. Energised by one another's efforts, they are looking to push the bar higher for the women's distance running scene.

All four runners are gunning to qualify for the 2019 SEA Games, while Phoebe has the lofty goal of one day qualifying for the Ironman World Championships held in Kona, Hawaii. If she does, she will follow in the footsteps of 31-year-old Choo Ling Er, a national triathlete — the first in Singapore — who at the 2017 Ironman World Championships finished in the top 10 of her age category.

Just last year, Vanessa — a first-year Engineering Science student at the National University of Singapore — ran a personal best of 11min 45.09secs at the 2017 Singapore Open Track & Field Championships. She also came within a whisker of beating 22-year-old national runner Cheryl Chan's then-national 3,000m steeplechase record of 11min 42.2secs, set in the same race.

Ms Chan has since lowered the national record by nearly 15 seconds earlier this year in February.

To be a good long-distance runner, all four said patience, persistence and passion are key.

Trying to accomplish too much too soon could result in physical injuries and sudden loss of motivation, said Nicole and Vanessa.

"If you really want to continue to do it a few years down the road and not hate it, at the start, you have to take your time," said Vanessa. "Don't push yourself to the point where you hate it."

"Have a lot of patience," said Nicole. "You can't see the results immediately but have faith that the results will show."

And Phoebe's advice was: "Don't underestimate the importance of rest … you just recover faster if you get enough rest. Take a break, do things that you like. After a while, you'll be ready to train."

Toh Ting Xuan, Singapore U20 5km record holder. Photo: Jason Quah/TODAY

Most importantly, one has to love the sport.

"You have to enjoy running," said Ting Xuan. "So that even on tough runs, you'll push on and not give up."

Despite her achievements, Ting Xuan does not place unhealthy pressure on herself. "The goal is more on improving myself more than trying to beat others," she said. "As long as I know I did my best, that I'd improved, then I guess I'm fine."

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