Victor Low
| Principal Member of Techical Staff, Networks Division |
It started off with accompanying a friend on his training for a half-marathon. This experience was all it took to get Victor Low Young Soon, Principal Member of Technical Staff, Networks Division, hooked on endurance sports racing. Since then, he's never looked back.
Victor tells us about what’s it like in the world of endurance athletes, where competitors are expected to compete in gruelling races under the most exacting conditions, and what keeps him going back for more.
Feeling out of shape and tired of the sedentary lifestyle that he had when he turned 30 was what spurred Victor to run the MacRitchie trail near his home. Victor admits that it took him several attempts before he was able to complete the 10km trail.
A subsequent attempt, when he accompanied a friend who wanted company for his training sessions, proved to be more fruitful. Victor credits his friend for the successful completion of his very first half-marathon. “That was my first race and there was no stopping from then on.”
Heartened by his accomplishment, Victor started to sit up and take notice of the endurance racing scene in Singapore. After investing in an expensive bike, he started riding and began training up for long distance swimming. Soon after, he started competing in triathlons, and he’s been hooked ever since.
What keeps him going back for more? Victor explains that each race is a chance to understand himself and his limits, and races keep him “very much alive”. “Some call us endorphin junkies and most feel that we are crazy to subject our bodies to hours of suffering. It’s usually a blank when I'm asked why I do it; we don’t ask fellow racers this question, there’s some mutual understanding between us.”
He adds: “Each race is different. Like travelling to places, you bring away with you new insights and experiences.”
On his initial foray into endurance sports racing, Victor recalls: “I was new to road biking and feared swimming in the open sea, so it was a mental torture before the race started. But once the gun went off, there was no time for other thoughts – except to just stay afloat and reach the beach.”
He continues: “I thought running a marathon was tough, but the combination of swimming, biking, running was even tougher and trickier. I managed to complete the race, but the timing was bad. When I was nearing the finishing line, a lady that appeared out of shape was close behind me. I slowed down and let her pass me out of respect. That was when I started to notice people of different body shapes and sizes, even very senior folks racing in endurance events. Hats off to them!”
His proudest moment in sport has yet to come, but the man has set his sights on a podium finish. “For now, each crossing of the finishing line in an endurance event is a proud moment, especially so when my kids are there for me. My wife is very proud to have me for bragging rights in her workplace - Nokia Siemens Networks - as I compete with her colleagues in races very often.”
On his sporting aspirations, the 37-year old hopes to be able to qualify for the Boston Marathon by the age of 40, and eventually the Ironman World Championships.
Victor doesn’t have a particular role model from whom he learns about training and racing, but the father of two hopes to be one for his kids.
“Actually, any senior participant is a role model to me, especially Sister Madonna Buder, a 79-year-old Roman Catholic nun from Spokane, Washington, who became the oldest woman to compete in the Ironman World Championships. It took her close to the cut-off time of 17 hours to complete the race, and she only started endurance running at the age of 49. There’re many late starters like her.”
Victor shares his training philosophy: “I’m quite old-fashioned and believe in clocking long hours of training to achieve the goal.”
He further explains: “But I’m training smarter now after lots of reading up. Also, as the race distance increases, I can’t afford that much time to train. As there have been several cases of sudden deaths among healthy athletes, I’ve learnt to take it easy as there is always another race.”
This endurance sports aficionado has a busy race schedule mapped out for 2009, with plans to nail down at least 15 races this year. 2009 marked a good beginning for Victor, as he and his race partner, Jarmo Aitta from Finland, came in 7th in the Men’s Open Category at the SAFRA AVventura 09: Rough Ramble, touted as one of the toughest adventure races in Singapore. The race sees participants (take a deep breath...) run, bike, kayak, scale a towering 25-metre rope ladder, sport climb, ascend a rope, abseil down rugged slopes with their bikes slung over their shoulders, and clear a jungle trail and water crossing!
Some of the more major races planned ahead include the Sundown Marathon in May; the North Face 100 Singapore 2009 in October; and either the Singapore Marathon or Ironman Western Australia in December. He hopes to conclude the year with the MR25 Ultra Marathon in the final week of December. Victor adds jokingly: “There was also talk from an online forum about a 10km/20km marathon and endurance swim. I hope I can resist that!”
Victor offers some tips for budding endurance sport enthusiasts out there: “If you are starting out, go for shorter races. Take your time to enjoy the race and don’t rush through it. Improve on your weaknesses for the next race, and establish a goal to at least take part in several races a year to sustain your training. If you are a seasoned athlete in one sport, engaging in other disciplines may improve your performance and lower the risk of injury.”
He ends with these words of final encouragement: “Age is not a limiting factor in endurance events, and it is the mind that can get you further.”