Train in Singapore, run in Mongolia: The 58-year-old CEO who does ultra-marathons
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Train in Singapore, run in Mongolia: The 58-year-old CEO who does ultra-marathons
From Antarctica to Kazakhstan, Singapore-based Alain Esseiva has travelled to these exotic corners of the planet but to run exceedingly long distances.
Alain Esseiva getting ready for the side by side stage of a race in Republic of kazakhstan. (Photograph: Alain Esseiva)
11 Nov 2022 06:30AM (Updated: 04 Jul 2022 11:52PM)
It could have been a scene straight out of a moving picture. As Alain Esseiva was crossing a surging, fast-flowing river during an ultra-marathon in Mongolia, he lost his footing, slipped and vicious.
"I was about to be swept away when someone grabbed me and hauled me out," said the Singapore-based Esseiva, CEO of Swiss wealth and fiduciary services provider Alpadis Group. "I looked up and realised my rescuer was a Mongolian rider on a local Przewalski's horse, the terminal surviving species of wild horse."
The initial terror of the moment rapidly gave fashion to awe at beingness in such shut proximity to this rare, endangered species. And then, information technology was back to running the race, said the 58-year-quondam who has been taking part in ultra-marathons of distances between 100km and 250km for over a decade.
"In that location are so many aspects of ultra-marathons that I love, including the ability to come across so many new and beautiful places, including some of the near rugged and remote places on globe," he said, noting he has gained a newfound appreciation for the dazzler of the planet we live in. "Running has made me much more aware of the beauty of the globe and its fragility and I have become much more passionate about the environment."
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Having grown upward in Switzerland, he had always loved the outdoors and was an experienced hiker who had scaled many mountains. Only it was only in 2009 when a friend convinced him to join an ultra-marathon in Vietnam that he decided to give this a shot.
The residue, as they say, is history. He enthused, "From that race on, I was hooked!"
The endurance sport – he typically runs i ultra-marathon a yr – has brought him to some of the world'south nearly remote destinations including Antarctica, Kazakhstan and Chile's Atacama Desert, where he has seen sights so jaw-dropping they have been forever etched in his memories.
He recalled, "I accept a special affection for Atacama. The Chilean people are incredibly kind and the vistas are stunning with the colours changing all twenty-four hour period long. The volcanoes all effectually, running through the famous Moon Valley and experiencing the sunsets made this race a truly stunning one."
Of course, at that place is more to running ultra-marathons other than booking a flying ticket and getting to the starting bespeak.
"Information technology is actually important to train hard. While I run a company here in Singapore and take very decorated days, I am committed to waking up early and running through the streets of Singapore multiple times a calendar week. Information technology is also very of import to use the correct equipment and running gear, eat well and stay hydrated," he said.
But even the fittest may notwithstanding "hit the wall" when covering gruelling long distances over sequent days. "Running an ultra-marathon is all near pain management. Every runner suffers, non merely you, then yous demand to exist mentally prepared," he observed.
With time, he has learnt to persevere and overcome mental hurdles by keeping his end goal in heed. "In every race that I have run, there have been periods when I really struggled. I thought my body simply couldn't go on and really had to dig deep to keep going. However, I have become better at managing these feelings and anyway, when y'all are in the centre of a desert with no one around yous for miles, you lot have no choice but to keep going," he quipped.
"Some of the same feelings equally an entrepreneur – self-doubt, insignificance, fear – I also feel before and during an ultramarathon, so I have learnt to deal with them a lot better. Deadlines and residuum sheets become a footling less significant after you have run for five days non-stop across a desert," said Esseiva, who spearheaded the Alpadis Grouping's expansion from Switzerland into Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.
"Running has taught me to await at the bigger picture and be more confident. I am calmer, more relaxed and happy to empower my team members and provide guidance and support rather than try to micromanage."
To help play a part in saving the environs, he has also implemented eco-friendly company policies such as reducing the amount of paper they use and cutting back on unnecessary travel, particularly during the pre-pandemic days.
Like just about everybody else these days, he has stopped travelling for leisure for the fourth dimension existence. His big race for the year, the 170km long loftier-altitude Mustang Trail Race, through the Tibetan, trans-Himalayan region of Nepal was also cancelled due to COVID-nineteen.
But until the next time he gets to test the limits of his endurance, he has the memories of his past experiences to reflect on.
"A especially memorable race was The Concluding Desert in Antarctica where the whole trip was an gamble," he recalled. Before he could even start the race, he had to travel to Patagonia in Argentina for preparation earlier taking a two-and-a-one-half day gunkhole trip to the southernmost continent on earth. The wild animals sightings, including blue and humpback whales as well every bit Adelie penguins and leopard seals, were out of this globe.
"The race itself was dramatic. Nosotros ran in an environment that is uniquely hostile to man life and surrounded by snowfall, water ice, granite, and water for hours on end. Our visitor were penguins who were amazing and very curious, often coming upwardly to audit united states of america," he said.
"And when you are running such big distances and surrounded by vast mountains and deserts you realise how small you are, and this really helps put things into perspective."
"Deadlines and residue sheets get a fiddling less pregnant after you accept run for five days non-stop across a desert." – Alain Esseiva
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Source: https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/people/the-58-year-old-ceo-who-runs-ultra-marathons-247076
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