Spurred by colleagues' experiences to join ST Run

59-year-old from Panasonic started taking part last year, and now runs casually

About 80 staff from Panasonic, the presenting sponsor of the ST Run for the fourth consecutive year, will take part in the run on Sunday.
About 80 staff from Panasonic, the presenting sponsor of the ST Run for the fourth consecutive year, will take part in the run on Sunday. ST PHOTO: CHEW SENG KIM

For two years, Ms Judy Low had heard her colleagues talk enthusiastically about The Straits Times Run when they returned from the event, but she remained doubtful if it would be indeed that exciting.

So last year, she decided to join the ST Run, her first running event, which finally gave her a taste of the experiences people around her had been enthusiastically talking about.

Said the 59-year-old head of accounting at Panasonic Singapore: "Now I can understand why people would join such runs.

"When I reached the end point, I felt so satisfied because I did not realise I could make it. Although 5km might not seem like a lot to people, it is a lot to me.

"For the past few years, my colleagues would always come back sharing about the run and it sounded like a lot of fun.

"I was quite fascinated because I had never taken part in runs before. And it got me curious as to what they were so happy about."

After the eye-opening experience at last year's ST Run, Ms Low now goes for casual runs on weekends.

This year, she has even asked her 63-year-old husband to join her in the 5km fun run.

The mother of two sons, aged 24 and 29, will also be joined by about 80 colleagues from Panasonic at the ST Run in the City on Sunday.

As presenting sponsor for the event for the fourth consecutive year, Panasonic will be giving away prizes to runners who pledge to make the world a better place on its Singapore Facebook page.

Making a pledge will allow runners to take part in a sure-win lucky dip at the post-race carnival at the F1 Pit Building, where they can walk away with prizes such as an electric toothbrush or hairdryer.

Mr Daniel Tan, director of Panasonic Singapore, said: "At Panasonic, a healthy lifestyle and a happier working environment are what we strongly believe in.

"The ST Run is the ideal avenue to encourage our staff to kick-start a healthy lifestyle by exercising regularly. We believe that through running, staff will build mental strength and have fresher minds, thus improving overall efficiency."

Alvin Chia

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on May 17, 2016, with the headline Spurred by colleagues' experiences to join ST Run. Subscribe