Train in Singapore, run in Mongolia: The 58-year-old CEO who does ultra-marathons
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Railroad train in Singapore, run in Mongolia: The 58-year-erstwhile CEO who does ultra-marathons
From Antarctica to Kazakhstan, Singapore-based Alain Esseiva has travelled to these exotic corners of the planet only to run exceedingly long distances.
Alain Esseiva getting fix for the next phase of a race in Republic of kazakhstan. (Photo: Alain Esseiva)
xi November 2022 06:30AM (Updated: 04 Jul 2022 11:52PM)
Information technology could take been a scene straight out of a movie. As Alain Esseiva was crossing a surging, fast-flowing river during an ultra-marathon in Mongolia, he lost his basis, slipped and fell.
"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 Grouping. "I looked upwards and realised my rescuer was a Mongolian rider on a local Przewalski's horse, the last surviving species of wild horse."
The initial terror of the moment quickly gave way to awe at being in such shut proximity to this rare, endangered species. And then, it was dorsum to running the race, said the 58-year-sometime who has been taking function in ultra-marathons of distances betwixt 100km and 250km for over a decade.
"There are so many aspects of ultra-marathons that I love, including the ability to run across and then many new and beautiful places, including some of the most rugged and remote places on earth," he said, noting he has gained a newfound appreciation for the beauty of the planet nosotros live in. "Running has fabricated me much more than aware of the beauty of the world and its fragility and I accept get much more passionate about the environment."
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Having grown up in Switzerland, he had always loved the outdoors and was an experienced hiker who had scaled many mountains. Simply 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 remainder, every bit they say, is history. He enthused, "From that race on, I was hooked!"
The endurance sport – he typically runs one ultra-marathon a year – has brought him to some of the earth'southward well-nigh remote destinations including Antarctica, Kazakhstan and Chile's Atacama Desert, where he has seen sights and so jaw-dropping they take been forever etched in his memories.
He recalled, "I have a special affection for Atacama. The Chilean people are incredibly kind and the vistas are stunning with the colours irresolute all mean solar day long. The volcanoes all around, running through the famous Moon Valley and experiencing the sunsets made this race a truly stunning one."
Of course, there is more to running ultra-marathons other than booking a flight ticket and getting to the starting signal.
"It is really of import to railroad train hard. While I run a company here in Singapore and accept very busy days, I am committed to waking upwards early and running through the streets of Singapore multiple times a calendar week. Information technology is as well very important to utilise the right equipment and running gear, eat well and stay hydrated," he said.
But even the fittest may yet "hit the wall" when covering gruelling long distances over consecutive days. "Running an ultra-marathon is all about pain direction. Every runner suffers, non merely yous, so you need to be mentally prepared," he observed.
With time, he has learnt to persevere and overcome mental hurdles by keeping his finish goal in mind. "In every race that I accept run, in that location have been periods when I really struggled. I idea my trunk just couldn't keep and really had to dig deep to keep going. However, I have become improve at managing these feelings and anyhow, when you are in the eye of a desert with no one around yous for miles, you accept no option but to keep going," he quipped.
"Some of the aforementioned feelings as an entrepreneur – self-incertitude, insignificance, fright – I also feel earlier and during an ultramarathon, so I take learnt to bargain with them a lot better. Deadlines and balance sheets become a little less significant after you take run for five days not-stop across a desert," said Esseiva, who spearheaded the Alpadis Group'south expansion from Switzerland into Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.
"Running has taught me to await at the bigger movie and be more confident. I am calmer, more relaxed and happy to empower my squad members and provide guidance and support rather than endeavour to micromanage."
To help play a role in saving the environment, 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 being. His large 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-19.
But until the next time he gets to exam the limits of his endurance, he has the memories of his past experiences to reflect on.
"A particularly memorable race was The Concluding Desert in Antarctica where the whole trip was an adventure," he recalled. Before he could even offset the race, he had to travel to Patagonia in Argentine republic for training before taking a two-and-a-half twenty-four hours gunkhole trip to the southernmost continent on earth. The wild animals sightings, including blue and humpback whales as well equally Adelie penguins and leopard seals, were out of this earth.
"The race itself was dramatic. We ran in an environs that is uniquely hostile to human life and surrounded by snow, ice, granite, and water for hours on end. Our visitor were penguins who were astonishing and very curious, often coming up to audit usa," he said.
"And when you lot are running such large distances and surrounded by vast mountains and deserts you realise how small you are, and this really helps put things into perspective."
"Deadlines and balance sheets go a little less meaning after you take run for five days not-stop beyond 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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