Some run to keep fit, while others run to relax. These are some of the reasons why many of us choose to run. Hopefully you’re already running, for your own reasons. Else, let me share with you my story and maybe by the end of it you will find yours. So who am I?

I’m Dalton Lim. Just an ordinary 27-year-old male working in the air force.. at least that is how I see myself. As a kid I grew up in a single-parent family all the way till my dad remarried when I was about seven. It wasn’t something I wanted with my childlike mind back then, but as time passed I grew to accept it and everything turned out fine.

Growing up as a kid, I’ve always been that hyperactive kid that runs around a lot. You can say I’m a naturally a very sporty kid. Sadly, while I was in primary school I was rejected from the track and field team as they said I was “too small”.

Later, in secondary school, I had to contemplate whether to join the choir or the track and field team. It was a hard choice as singing was something I loved as well. Ultimately, I chose to join the track team and it was a choice I never regretted.

At this point of time, the main reason for running was because I was relatively a fast runner. The feeling of freedom while I was running was something I enjoyed. Coupled with the fact that I enjoyed the adrenaline while competing and of course, the feeling of winning races. While on the track team, I was also lucky to have been given the opportunity to develop my leadership skills by leading the team as captain.

However, when I was in polytechnic, the running momentum died off and I got kinda lazy. There wasn’t any requirement to have a CCA, hence I didn’t have any reason to run and it resulted in the biggest drop in my fitness.

Towards the end of my poly days though, I was smacked in the face by reality with the fact that I would be enlisting soon and I had failed to get a silver for the NAPFA. As a result, I had to enlist for an extended BMT which was four months instead of the usual two months.

That made me pick up running again as I wanted to sign on as an Air Force officer and fitness is a basic requirement. This process of running to maintain fitness (so I could pass my IPPT too) continued all the way throughout my studies.

I never ran out of passion or personal interest to run… until I decided to try my first full marathon, a bucket list item. Two weeks after I registered, I tried my first 20km and I immediately started to feel regret. Nonetheless I continued to train for about two months till race day and I completed it in a decent timing of 4 hours and 59 minutes.

This was when my passion for running was reignited. The drive for personal improvement challenged myself to constantly train to improve. This led to me finding more like-minded people to train with and that was how I came to know of ROCKrunners. And at the same time, I started participating in more races.

My love for running has since grown a lot and I’ve learnt a lot about life. Not only has it helped define who I am now, it will continue to help me learn more about myself. Throughout this journey, my reasons for running has changed but thankfully there was always a reason to keep running. I hope after hearing my story you’ll be encouraged to find your reasons and start (or keep) running! It is an honour for me to be featured as ROCKstar of the month for September and sharing my story with you.