flylikesanji #5: learn from the senior

Ng Keng Hoong: The marathon man

Life need not slow down to a snail’s pace for seniors. Ng Keng Hoong started running after his retirement and he hasn’t stopped since.

RETIREE Ng Keng Hoong, 69, has survived a heart attack and undergone angioplasty but he refuses to let any health scares stop him from running marathons. Even hurtful words can’t break his spirit.

Known as Uncle Sonny in his running fraternity, Ng has no plans to hang up his running shoes.

“Running has turned into a passion and I will run marathons as long as my body is able to,” says Ng, who resides in Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Ng picked up running together with his wife back in 2000. Both of them were new retirees then.

When Ng retired, his peers recommended activities such as line-dancing, mahjong and karaoke sessions, card games, and day-trips and excursions.

But Ng says such things aren’t their cup of tea. “We belong to the outdoors and my wife loves sleeping under the stars!”

Ng ran his first marathon, the Penang International Bridge Run, in June 2001, after training for six months.

A year later, he ran his second Penang Marathon. In August the same year, Ng participated in the Seremban Half Marathon before he had a minor heart attack. After the run and photo shoot, Ng was walking back to his car when he had a blackout for a few seconds. When he came around, he felt lethargic, rested a while, and went to see a general practitioner who suggested that he checked into a hospital.

Ng was taken to a hospital in Seremban and kept overnight for observation. The next day, he was transferred to a medical centre in Petaling Jaya.

He recalls: “The cardiologist did an angiogram and found that two of my main arteries were blocked. He recommended angioplasty, and advised me to lay off running for two months.”

Ng took part in his next full marathon in 2005. As a heart patient, Ng sees his cardiologist once every eight months.

When Ng registers for a marathon, he will follow an 18-week training programme. In fact, in March he started training for this year’s Standard Chartered KL Marathon.

“I’m active every day of the week. On Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays, I will be hiking in Gasing Hill. On Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, I will be running between 8km and 15km. I reserve Sundays for long runs of a minimum of 20km,” says Ng.

When he first started running in marathons, Ng used to get aches and pains after each run.

“Now the aches and pains are history. After a long run (of 30km), I feel a bit tired but after a few hours’ sleep, I’ll be fine,” Ng shares.

The seasoned runner who gets all fired up after a marathon is living proof that life need not slow down with age.

extracted from thestar, article on June 12, 2013

dude he's 69! what are you doing sitting at home? do you love your big tummy so much??? and wonder when will it grow bigger?? lol

he's really an experienced runner.. i haven't been able to run a minimum of 20km each Sunday....shiet crazy


i will run till i develop the ability to fly like sanji!! ahhahahaa