Singapore’s iconic home-grown night race Sundown Marathon will be celebrating its 10th year anniversary this year and has marked another milestone, with founder Adrian Mok launching his first ever book named Runnerdotes: A Collection of Anecdotes from Inspirational Runners.
Adrian Mok: Adrian Mok, Author and Sundown Marathon founder, addressing the audience during the official launch of Runnerdotes: A Collection of Anecdotes from Inspirational Runners at Ang Mo Kio Library. (Photo Credit: OSIM Sundown Marathon)
Dedicated to all who speak the similar language “of passion, resilience and discipline in their pursuit of running,” the book documents short stories of inspirational local runners who were involved in the creation of the Sundown Marathon or had participated and succeeded in the night race; in hopes to inspire others to persevere, overcome their challenges and achieve their dreams. These include the likes of defending SEA Games marathon champion Soh Rui Yong, former SEA Games triathlon winner Mok Ying Ren, Olympian Neo Jie Shi and many others who uncover some of their own personal journeys and share the insights each has gleaned from their individual running experiences.
Mok Ying Ren: National marathoner Mok Ying Ren addressing the audience during the official launch of Runnerdotes: A Collection of Anecdotes from Inspirational Runners at Ang Mo Kio Library. (Photo Credit: OSIM Sundown Marathon)
Not a mere book of running tips, Runnerdotes also shows readers how the lessons learnt from the grit of the track can be applied to any goal in life.
“Running has made me a more confident person and taught me about overcoming adversity. Running a marathon can be quite challenging and I know if I can overcome this challenge, I can overcome any challenge that come along in work or in life,” says Neo Jie Shi, Singapore’s representative in Rio 2016’s women’s Olympic marathon final.
Ashley Liew: National marathoner Ashley Liew addressing the audience during the official launch of Runnerdotes: A Collection of Anecdotes from Inspirational Runners at Ang Mo Kio Library. (Photo Credit: OSIM Sundown Marathon)
Author and Sundown Marathon founder, Adrian Mok, agrees, “Try heading out for a run in the rain, for a hard workout, for laps on the track in the wee hours or early morning, and try doing it alone. The power we draw on comes from the drive to better ourselves, to beat the Cannot and the Will Not.” Explaining how it applied to other aspects of his life, Adrian said, “In my darkest moments in running, I have learnt to draw strength and to conceive positivity. These were lessons I applied to the Sundown Marathon business.”
The book retails for S$23 (paperback) at all major bookstores, and all OSIM Sundown Marathon 2017 participants can purchase the book online (http://www.sundownmarathon.com/singapore) at a discounted price of S$20. The book will also be available for sale at OSIM Sundown Marathon 2017’s Night Festival for S$23, the nation’s largest night sports carnival, which will be held at the F1 Pit Building from 21st March to 24th March from 5:30pm to 10:30pm, and 25th to 26th March from 2:00pm to 7:00am.
A donation of $1 from the sale of each copy will be given to Sundown with Love, part of Sundown Marathon’s Charity outreach.
For more information on Sundown with Love 2017, visit http://www.sundownmarathon.com/sundown-with-love-2017/.
To know more about Runnerdotes, visit http://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/10494.
Group Photo 1: Max Phua (extreme left), Managing Director of World Scientific Publishing, National Marathoners Ashley Liew (second from left) and Mok Ying Ren (third from left), Minister of State for Manpower, Teo Ser Luck (second from right) and Adrian Mok, Author and Sundown Marahthon founder, at the official launch of Runnerdotes: A Collection of Anecdotes from Inspirational Runners at Ang Mo Kio Library. (Photo Credit: OSIM Sundown Marathon)
