Cos durians are the best finisher rewards!
Today we sit down with Ah Siao, one of the Go50 runners and the crazy man behind the Official Durian Run Sg! Sit back and enjoy this unique interview.
JustRunLah: Hey congratulations on the Go50 run! Doing 50km everyday for 50days is quite mental.
Ah Siao: I was just a shadow lurking behind. Barely hanging on to the main runners. Lim Nghee Huat and Yong Yuen Cheng are the doyens of Singapore’s ultra running scene. It was an honor for me!
JRL: So now you are a star huh! That video you did for the Durian Run was hilarious.
AS: … indeed 5000 views and 150 shares later, I am gunning for Golden Horse next. We are just glad Ah Seng Durians is with us in this run. We just want a smile on the runners. Offline and online !
JRL: Tell us more about the Durian Run.
AS: My team is always wondering why do people want finisher medals so much as we are not the usual medal collectors. There is a stash I have from all the runs I did. Why not do something different? A durian seems perfect because thats what most Singaporeans enjoy.
JRL: Durians as an alternative to finisher medals… Seems ridiculous!
AS : Precisely! And fun too. Not to mention durians are perfect recovery foods. You would find a whole load of scientific literature backing me up. (editor’s note: Click here to read about durian’s benefits to runners).
JRL : It is quite unique a concept.
AS: It must be! Why would you want to do something everyone does? So we made it vague on what kind of stuff the runners would get after the run. We hope to attract a crowd that values the experience. “Oh sounds fun, lets go!” – this is the kind of response we want from the runners. The increasing consumerism of runs is definitely alarming. There is always a place for some quirky fun.
JRL: So it’s just run and eat durians?
AS: Oh not really. You form a team of 4 or if you are short, we form a team for you. Strangers at the start, friends at the journey’s end. 4.8km per person and 1.2km at any time before relaying. So you can imagine how epic it would be.
JRL: Ah seems fun.
AS: It’s hard to put it in words but a relay like what we did when in school was full of squeals and thrills. Speed doesnt matter because you have so much fun that at the end you just grin from ear to ear.
JRL: Are they passing durians?
AS : Hahaha no. My team does not have the gumption to face lawsuits coming our way if anyone trips and fall on durians. They will be passing a baton.
JRL: I guess people still need to know where their money goes. What kind of durians?
AS: Yeah. Totally. People asked. Bulk of it goes to the durians. Quality ones. Mixture of D24 and Mao Shan Wang. We are partnering with Ah Seng Durians from Ghim Moh. If you know Ah Seng, he is an honest man. His exact words “I will not disappoint” That puts my heart at ease. A smile on every runners face, that’s our mission and definition of success for this event. Profits are kinda secondary and even mythical for this edition.
JRL: Will it be a durian buffet?
AS: Haha if we have a buffet, then it will be chaos. More aptly put, there would be enough durians to satisfy everyone. Oh there are other stuff. Dinner. Ice cream. Sports bottles. Prizes for the top teams. Beautiful certificates. Little touches that come from the heart of the team
JRL: If you could summarise this event in a sentence, what would you say?
AS: Can I have more than one sentence? A reasonably priced run. Done from the heart. Brought to you by runners for runners whose sole mission is your smile. An epic relay format catering to all runners, fast slow, round, skinny, tall short. United by a love for running AND durians! And most importantly done at an awesome venue. Sembawang Park is really a lovely place more people should explore for their runs.
More info / register:
– facebook.com/DurianRunSG
– eventnook.com/event/durianrunsg
