Vivian Tang: “I didn’t realise I had raced almost every month!”

Vivian Tang came in third in the women’s open category with a time of 37:31 at the Nike We Run SG 10K earlier this year. (Photo 1 © Joseph Lee/Red Sports)

If I don’t see Vivian Tang’s name in the list of top finishers at a Singapore road race, my first reaction is: “Vivian didn’t run the race.”

And if you’re wondering why you haven’t seen Vivian in recent years at the Singapore Marathon, it’s because she’s been taking part in the Angkor Wat International Half Marathon for the last four years.

“It’s a small race compared to Singapore with about 6,000 or so participants,” said Vivian.

Over the years, I’ve become accustomed to seeing Vivian win races or finish on the podium. In 2008, she set a personal best time of 2 hours 56 minutes 27 seconds as she finished as the fastest Singaporean female marathoner.

I last did an interview with Vivian back in 2007 and when we bumped into each other at a Nike training run earlier this year for the We Run SG 10K race, I said to her: “Time for another interview!”

“No lah! Go and get the younger ones!” was her immediate and modest reply. Vivian is 42 this year while I’m 43, so I told her that folks of our vintage must continue to tell our sporting stories.

Happily, she agreed to do this interview.

Les Tan: How many races have you done in 2012? And what are they?
Vivian Tang: Gosh, I didn’t realized I had raced almost every month! I have done 12 this year.

February — Wings X-country; March — 10k Thai Masters; April — Nike Goddess 5k and 2XU 10k; May — Sundown 10k, June — Waterway Run 10k (First time running along the Punggol Waterway. It was pretty nice and wasn’t too crowded); July — Jurong Lake Run 10k; Aug — CSC Run by the Bay 10k, September — Army Half Marathon; October — Nike We Run SG 10K; November — Great Eastern Run 10k)

Les: Any particular race you look forward to every year? And why?
Vivian: Hmm … I get VIP treatment for Nike races which is nice. This will be my fourth year running AngKor Wat so that’s another race I like. The weather is cool (low 20s) which is ideal for me.

Les: Have you gotten bored with keeping up your training programme? If so, what do you do to keep the interest going?
Vivian: Yes, I have been running for a very long time so I do get bored and lazy sometimes. My coach, Guy Oyden, varies the training a little according to base training, pre-race and race season. Running with friends is also a great way to keep yourself going.

Les: Any injuries that have bothered you after all these years of running?
Vivian: I have been very blessed and have stayed injury free other than twisting my ankle. So I don’t do off road running at all.

Les: Have you adjusted your running style in any way over the years?
Vivian: Don’t think so. I think it’s quite hard to change style after years of running. I believe in running whatever style that suits you. I have seen people running in a very weird style but still very very fast!

Les: Any running dream you are still chasing?
Vivian: No more. I had aimed to run a 2h 54min for a marathon but have since put in under the carpet. Enough of marathons, mentally and physically too tired. I think I’ve done about 20 marathons!

Les: Can you name the benefits of running you’ve experienced over these last few years?
Vivian: Physically, for sure, because I lost about 10kg! Now, I eat pretty much what I want. That’s the reason why I have not stopped running!

A friend once told me — PMA (positive mental attitude). It applies to life and running.

Les: So what are your personal best times for the various distances?
5km (track): 18min 10sec, Singapore, 2004
10km (road): 37min 31sec, Singapore, 2012 (But the course is 300m short so not counted! Haha!)
21km: 1hr 23min 46sec, Melbourne, Australia, 2009
42km: 2hr 56min 27sec, Singapore, 2008