If you look up his name on the web, you can see that he’s always part of most of the marathons here in Malaysia. From small marathons to big ones, ASICS sponsored runner and Sales Advisor Ow Yong Jin Kuang’s name is always part of the podium list. Running Malaysia caught up with Jin Kuang as he shares everything about running. Like how he turned those anxious moments before a race into motivation. And just how hard he fought against time and distance in order to reach the finishing line.
JIN KUANG EARLY STAGES
Jin Kuang is among those group of runners who started young. He used to join one running competition after another. However, as soon as he joined the corporate world right after college, Jin Kuang stopped running. Putting most of his time on his career and social life. His passion for running slowly fades away. Jin Kuang underwent into some kind of limbo.
It was a random afternoon in the park when Jin Kuang saw a group of uncles in their 50s who were enjoying their late-afternoon jog. Through that, it spiked his interest again. He suddenly remembered the passion that was used to be forgotten—running!
In 2008, he joined his first full marathon at Penang Bridge International Marathon with a timing of 3 hours and 12 minutes. Without being fully aware if this is a good timing or not, he still made an effort to improve his timing through a proper training program and later on made a goal to break sub 3. He dedicated almost 4 years of his training just to break it and the closest he got was 3 hours and 1 minute, just a minute away from his actual target.
Some people have this notion that if you’re just a minute away, then you can just achieve that on your next marathon. However, Jin Kuang explains that to be just a minute faster isn’t as easy as we think. It doesn’t matter if you’re just 5 minutes or 1 minute away from achieving your goal timing, the strenuous training and preparations required were still the same to break it.
