Andrew Choa

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The courage to continue is what counts.


  • Andrew Choa
  • Athlete’s Circle Retail Manager / Ultrarunner

Andrew is a passionate runner looking for some adventure on and off the road. An energetic being, he never shies away from the camera, and the camera loves him, too!

MY CHILDHOOD WAS pretty normal. My parents were hashers. When I hit the age of 7, my mom would drag me for trail runs. But I never liked running back then so I joined other sports activities such as Tae Kwon Do. I picked up running again during my working life as my job in the advertising agency was super stressful.

I SERIOUSLY STARTED RUNNING about 5 years ago. Up until then, I was a gym addict and I did a lot of cardio.

I STILL REMEMBER MY FIRST run. My friend and I wanted to expose ourselves to a new experience and we picked the Putrajaya Night Run 2010. I still remember it was a 7.7km fun run. I had no practice because I was generally fit but it caught on from there. I wanted to seriously build my pace and aim for 10km runs to half marathons. It was a long term process but I had my goal set out for me.

EARLY PREPARATION IS bittersweet. There’s a lot of training involved from physical to mental, and whenever I finish any race above 10km, I would cry in joy. I would tell myself “I did it!” It is one of the best feelings.

I used to smoke so much, but through Running, i’ve found another way to
“Express” myself.

WHEN I STARTED RUNNING, I was this crazy newbie who wanted to collect all those medals. It was fun! But as time went by, I realized quality is better than quantity.

MY FIRST ULTRA race was TMBT last year and as the name says, it was the most beautiful thing. I was running around the vicinity of Mount Kinabalu. I did the 55km and it was no joke. I trained for about 6 months and my training was based on endurance. This year, I did the TITI 100 (50km). It is considered as one of the hardest races in Malaysia due to the elevation. The challenge was the 10-hour cut off time, but there were different medals for each cut-off time and I made it at 6 hours 59 seconds for the 7-hour cut off time. It was one of my proudest moments!

MY GOAL FOR NEXT YEAR would probably be road marathons as well. I have a few goals set up for me and I want to achieve them in time.

THE BIGGEST CHANGE FROM RUNNING was my lifestyle. I used to smoke so much, but since I’ve started running, I’ve re-evaluated my habits and found that I didn’t really need to smoke, as I’ve found another way to “express” myself.

MY MOTIVATION comes from running with the community. I used to be a lone runner. But now that I train with Athlete’s Circle, running with people who share the same interest is a completely different experience.

ONE GADGET I CAN’T RUN WITHOUT is my Polar Heart Rate Monitor. I need to keep track of my heart rate and it really helps to build my game.

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RUNNING MALAYSIA is the first running magazine in Malaysia that puts forward the best of the interest of all runners across the nation, may they be running for fun, fitness, or races.Dedicated to deliver the latest running news, events, tips, gadget features, nutrition and wellness advice, Running Malaysia is the one-stop source for information of running enthusiasts and athletes from amateur to experienced ones.