AT the age of 81, Mr Tan Soo Cheng is the oldest participant in the Swissotel Vertical Marathon.

This is also the eighth time he has taken part in the event which has run for 22 years since 1987.

His best timing was in 1993, when he clocked 13 minutes in his debut run.

This year, he completed the run in 32 minutes and 57 seconds.

The retiree who has no health problems, not even high blood pressure, jogs for an hour every morning.

He recalled the year when he had accidentally signed up for the Men's open category by mistake in 2006.

'My god, I was the last runner!' he said. 'I made sure I'm in the above 50 category this time.'

Mr Tan said the run gets tougher with each passing year. 'But it's not the legs. It's the lungs. You're going up and it can be quite stuffy.'

But that has not stopped him from coming back for more.

'Hopefully, if health permits, I will still carry on,' he said.