photo credit: Red Bull/Mark Teo Photography

By Nicolette Mok

Some have cake; others pop bottles of fancy bubbly and party the night away. But Paviter Singh celebrated his 30th birthday by putting himself in pain.

Make no mistake though; Paviter is no masochist, but simply a very passionate ultra-marathon runner.

“I was looking for a new challenge to celebrate my birthday and to celebrate continuous change, and happened to come across [a 100-kilometre run] that coincided with my birthday that year. 26 painful hours and 100 kilometres later, I had been initiated into the world of ultra-marathons and haven't looked back,” he expressed.

In fact, Paviter is so passionate about his chosen sport that he’s willing to run an ultra-marathon with a car hot on his heels.

With the support of Red Bull, the relationship manager at creative business school Hyper Island will be taking part in the Taiwan leg of the Wings for Life World Run, an international race with a very interesting format.

Instead of a finishing line, a “Catcher Car” will be released on the competitors 30 minutes following the flag-off at each location. Moving at increasing speed, it will attempt to overtake runners till the final two contestants – one male and one female – remain.

Paviter will be the sole Singaporean representative in this global race, taking place on 3rd May, which also features participants of varying physical abilities taking off simultaneously from 35 different starting points around the world.

Enthusing about the universal aspect of the race, Paviter remarked: “I look forward to toeing the start line with all the runners, including those who are disabled. That would be the highlight for me, as it shows global unity in running.”

“There is a true and raw form of camaraderie in ultra-marathons that I love. I've made some amazing friends through races. Being out in nature and having the opportunity to run in slightly unreachable places has been [great] as well,” he continued.

photo credit: Red Bull/Mark Teo Photography

Beyond these benefits, Paviter also enjoys the social causes that many large-scale marathons and ultra-marathons represent. For instance, this particular Wings for Life World Run will support medical research for spinal cord injuries.

The avid sportsperson also works closely with the Singapore Cancer Society. Paviter revealed: “I decided to become a charity athlete for the Singapore Cancer Society after a family member passed away due to cancer.”

“As a charity athlete, I do engage people to try and donate for the right cause. Every year, I run the Run For Cancer race as well. From time to time, I also give talks on how ultra-marathon running helps me in life on a daily [basis], in a hope to inspire individuals.”

For now, though, Paviter is focusing on training for the upcoming race, in order to be able to revel in the picturesque sights along the Yilan route while doing his part for society.

Explaining that improving on stamina and mileage in a gradual manner is the key to experiencing an easier race, he shares his intense training schedule: “I have increased my training to about 6 days a week in preparation for this race.”

“In an ultra-marathon, each race provides new challenges in terrain and weather. To train for that, the focus is a lot more on hill/stair training, balance and strength. We are exposed to elements, such as extreme heat, snow, hail and freezing cold. There is a lot of climbing in an ultra-marathon. In my last race, we had to climb 1200 metres in just the first 10 kilometres!”

If you are keen to show our national representative some solidarity as he runs his race this May, download the Wings for Life World Run application at https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wings-for-life-world-run/id956816207?mt=8 and experience it virtually yourself!