Written by: Bobby Cai Rong Edited by: Choa Zhao Xiang and Leung Lok Heng Photos by: EusoffWorks and SMC Publicity
Road Relay is a member of the relay race family sport. It is classified as a mid-distance running event that requires a good mix of explosiveness, endurance, and unwavering willpower, notoriously making it the toughest sport in IHG.
In IHG, each relay team consists of 6 runners, each covering a distance of 1.8Km. The race is extremely challenging as it demands tremendous determination and fitness to continuously run at that competitive pace. Expectedly, Its training regime is also much harder on the body, intimidating even the most experienced athletes.
Wei Shien and Violet are up for the task of leading the team for one of most infamously tiring sports in IHG – Road Relay.
Leading the team this year is the Eusoff veteran, Wei Shien. Wei Shien’s mid-distance running experience dates back to his OCS days. During his service, he was been awarded the best PT award and clocked the fastest 2.4KM timing for his batch. After leaving the army, he represented Eusoff in 9 IHG sports, was awarded the Eusoff sportsman of the year twice and the IHG sportsman of the year once. On top of this remarkable accolades, he is currently self-training as a decathlete, learning both pole vault and high jump, and continuing to work on his strength and fitness.
A man of many talents, Wei Shien is poised to lead this year’s team to victory.
Co-leading the road relay team is Violet – one of the very few Freshman Captains in Eusoff this year. Just like Wei Shien, she is a highly competitive athlete with an affinity for endurance sports. Besides helping Wei Shien with training, she is also one of the key players in Eusoff Tennis and is training with the NUS cross country team. When asked about what she loves most about running, Violet talks about how she loves the feeling when she feels like she could fly through the air; although she understandably hates it when it feels like she is going to die with all the lactic acid, her racing heart, and the need to constantly gasp for more air catching up to her. Despite the struggles, Violet says that the feeling after a good run is ‘legit DAAAAAMN GOOD’ and she can never get enough of the sense of satisfaction and endorphin highs. “I know I toughed out the parts that felt damn bad to reach the end and it just feels good”.
Violet in action during another one of RR’s intense trainings.
When asked about the goals for the team, Wei Shien gave an almost instant reply: “Well, the most obvious goal is definitely to win IHG”.
He went on to talk about the fierce competition this year – “The other halls have quite a few good runners too. But we are still motivated to win. After all, it is a relay race, and we are very strong as a team”.
Winning is only part of the captain’s vision, Wei Shien went on to elaborate on the higher level purposes for having RR training: “There is definitely a higher-level goal, which is to teach Eusoffians how to manage their personal fitness. Many runners also compete in other sports, I think RR training really helps them to improve their performance in their own respective sports as well.”
Both the captains are result-oriented, but they also place the members’ interest as one of the top priorities. The trainings were designed to be centered around effectiveness, such that everyone, regardless of fitness level, can maximize their time on the track. Before each training, the captains will ask for every members’ stats to get a rough sense of their fitness level and design the workout accordingly.
Training typically starts with a light warm-up and static stretches. The captains will then prescribe work out plans according to each person’s fitness level and oversee the entire training. Although the duration is around one hour, the workout and repetitions are intense and highly rigorous.
The team holds high regard for the captains. When asked to describe Violet, the spectrum of remarks ranges from ‘cute and pretty’ to ‘dedicated and capable’. Meanwhile, the team describes Wei Shien as ‘a monster with a golden heart’. After all, not many people can lead Jun Yang (NUS canoeing) by 10m in a 200m run.
The Eusoff Road Relayers are definitely an interesting bunch, and a tight knit family. Under the leadership of Wei Shien and Violet, RR will definitely be one of the most inspiring sports to watch this year. Stay tuned to more RR updates during IHG!
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