IN PURSUIT OF PERSONAL BEST
“For me, running is a commitment. It’s never easy as it requires beyond the physical preparations.” Jin Kuang said. This man never gave up in believing that he can achieve his goal of breaking sub 3. All those rigorous routines and amount of discipline he placed during training will eventually pay off. And yes, it did. After several personal attempts, Jin Kuang finally achieved on breaking sub 3 at the 2012 Taipei Marathon. “Honestly, I thought I won’t make it because I still need to run 100m until the finishing line and my time is 2:56 already. I was scared that I’ll fall down, yet fortunately, I didn’t, and what I did, was breaking the sub 3.” Jin Kuang laughingly recalls. And it didn’t stop there. He’s just getting started.
There are always two types of runners, the competitive one and the one who just want to beat his own records. Jin Kuang belongs to the latter. “During marathons, sure you will have to compete with other runners for a podium placing but I prefer to beat myself. To beat my personal best and push my limits, the fight is against my own self”. Jin Kuang humbly said. That’s how this fast runner gauges himself if he’s improving or not, by beating his own timing, not by beating others.
This principle actually helped him to achieve his personal best in Tokyo International Marathon 2017 last February with a timing of 2 hours 42 minutes. Regardless of the cold weather, with all the mental and physical preparations he underwent for this marathon, he managed to surpass all those with a confident stride. “It’s very important to aim for one target and train for it. You can’t just run for the sake of running without having a goal”. Jin Kuang added.
“During marathons, I prefer to beat myself. To beat my personal best and push my limits, the fight is against my own self”
RUNNER’S HABIT AND ASPIRATIONS
After every marathon, Jin Kuang has a habit to go out and celebrate. This is how he fuels and motivates himself for his next run. For him, this is the only time when he can treat himself for all the hard work he put in during his months of preparations for a race. Being a disciplined runner, he makes sure that he will not miss his training even if his social life will be compromised. “Actually, running is quite boring and you will lose some of your social life as well. Nonetheless, with running I feel like I have a purpose. I can set a goal and challenge myself. That’s why no matter how boring it can be, I end up seeing myself on the road, running.” This motivated runner says while smiling. Other than that, when negativity tries to creep in he remembers all those happy moments in his life which drove him to run harder and faster.
Having a supportive family on his running ambitions and an understanding girlfriend who’s also a runner, Jin Kuang has the right amount of care which motivates him to run better in every race. Adding to that is his ASICS family, being a sponsored ASICS athlete helps him to improve himself more. With ASICS supporting his back, he doesn’t need to worry about his apparels, gears and most importantly the shoes that he needs to wear during a race. Shoes for runners as the bicycle for cyclists. Both are their most important and precious weapon before entering into the battleground. And ASICS always gave Jin Kuang the finest weapon that can match his true performance.
His next target is to be part of those pool of runners who will represent Malaysia for SEA Games 2017. With his willpower and determination, anything is possible for this 30-year old runner. Jin Kuang’s running journey won’t stop after achieving sub 3 or after he acquired 2 hours and 40 minutes timing even after he represented the country. He’s the type of runner who won’t just stop even after achieving something. Instead, it will fuel him to go for more. And if you search his name on the web again, believe us, the list goes on.
