The views along the scenic route were not the only thing that left an impression on Ms Yolanda Constantine during the last two editions of The Straits Times Run. The sight of runners participating with their elderly parents in tow also left an indelible mark on the civil servant.
The 40-year-old knew then that the ST Run was a suitable event for her parents to participate in. This year, her father Eddie, 70, and mother Melanny, 66, will be flying in from their home in Palembang, Indonesia, to join her for the May 22 run. It will be the first time they will be participating as a family in a running event.
The deputy director in the civil service said: "I saw a lot of families bringing their parents along last year and it was fun. And I thought my parents could take part too."
The idea so excited her parents that they wanted to enter the 10km event, but Ms Constantine persuaded them to start with 5km first.
She said: "Nowadays, because they are not working, they are more passive in the house. Hopefully this event can motivate them to at least come out and exercise."
Student Kuah Xiu Juan, 18, and her parents will also be joining the OCBC Mighty Savers 5km Family Run. Ironically, the Dunman High School Year 6 student started running this year so she could spend less time exercising. In order to be exempted from her school's compulsory mass physical education sessions on Thursday afternoons, she needed to pass her National Physical Fitness Award test.
Determined to get it out of the way, she started running regularly, and eventually passed the test on her first try last week, achieving a gold award to boot. Xiu Juan said: "I wanted to make sure I don't have to go for the mass PE again and I can go home to sleep at the end of classes, when you already feel so tired."
Although she has got the PE lesson out of the way, running has become routine for her. Even during these school holidays, she has been up at 7.30am every day to run.
"After running," she said, "I feel awake, and I can remember more things when I study. Sitting around will just make me feel fat."
The latest winners of the ST Run giveaway, Ms Constantine and Xiu Juan won a Mobot glider and Mobot Kinetic eBike (worth $1,499 each) respectively.
Registration for the ST Run at www.straitstimesrun.com is still open. Sign up before next Thursday for a chance to win a Compressport Running Set (top and bottom) worth $348.
