Blogs
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What Running Has Taught Me that Nothing Else Has
We often hear about the lessons and values that running can bring to everyone: The importance of discipline and consistency, the development of self-esteem and confidence, the rewards of overcoming challenges, the joys of joining a driven and like-minded community, etc. But these are all things you can also find from pursuing other sports, activities,…
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Being Alone
Running is often framed as a community sport. Group runs at dawn, race-day crowds, shared suffering and shared pride, Strava communities, etc. But most of my runs are quiet. Early mornings. Familiar routes. Long stretches of time spent alone with nothing but footsteps and breath. Sometimes music. Sometimes nothing at all. At first, that silence…
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WALKING MEDITATION
(the gorgeous view from Nui Tuong Village, Vietnam!) Last Saturday, like most other Saturdays lately, I was stuck at home with a mountain of homework and extracurricular work. I was fairly productive, or at least up until the two-hour mark. Halfway through a difficult Maths assignment, I arduously finished a 20-minute Khan Academy video on…
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Running Made Me Fell In Love With the Planet
This week marked the start of my school’s two-week Easter holiday, and I returned home to Hanoi, Vietnam. The first thing I did after arriving? Tie my shoelaces and go for a quick late-night run. I was excited — not just to stretch my legs, but to see how my neighborhood had changed in the…
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The Runners’ Dictionary
Type of smile you have after finally getting a negative split km!! At first glance, running seems simple enough. After all, it is just putting one foot in front of the other, right? And you may keep having that thought — I know I did before I began running — until you get the chance…
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Running in Singapore vs Vietnam
Bishan – Ang Mo Kio park, one of my most frequent running places! Running is one of the easiest ways to explore a place! No gym membership, no fancy gear (unless you reward yourself with overpriced shoes), and no rules. It’s just you, the road, and whatever chaos the city throws at you. As a…
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What Hiking Ham Lon Mountain Taught Me
We started before sunrise, when the sky was still only beginning to brighten. The air was cool and calm, the kind that makes you breathe more deeply without thinking about it. Hàm Lợn Mountain stood quietly ahead of us, unassuming at first glance, yet clearly not something to be taken lightly. The trail rose quickly.…
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My First Marathon
The frigid wind and rain assaulted my body. Water streamed down my face, stinging my eyes until the world was just a messed-up watercolor painting. I could barely make out the desolate road ahead, dimly illuminated by the early morning sky, stretching on for seemingly kilometers. My legs were like jelly and my entire body…
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Running Without Sight
The first glimmer of sunshine was barely over the horizon, weakly illuminating Hang Day Stadium and not yet strong enough to shoo away the morning fog. It hadn’t rained the night before—thankfully—but the air held the damp, bone-clinging cold of a Hanoi winter. Outside the stadium walls, the faint roars of early morning motorcycles drifted…