The Oxfam TowerRun is again challenging participants to take on the climb to Macau Tower’s 61st floor, with registration for its various categories open until October 23.
Celebrating its 13th year since launching in 2014, this edition is themed “You Fund I Run Oxfam TowerRun” and is slated to take place on November 15.
During his speech at yesterday’s press conference, Oxfam Hong Kong Director General Henry Tang Chi Fai highlighted that the event will support the NGO’s “poverty alleviation and development programmes, including projects that promote the educational and psychological development of left-behind children in the Chinese mainland”.
Tackling the 1,298-step climb for the sixth time is Malaysian tower runner and world champion Soh Wai Ching, who is also an Oxfam TowerRun Event Ambassador.
Soh has been engaging in the stair-climbing sport for around nine years, he told the Post in a joint interview yesterday, and believes that it is “the best workout in the world”, incorporating not only the lower, but upper body strength. This is in addition to being a low cost and accessible sport. “I don’t even need shoes”, said Soh, who mainly competes either barefoot or in socks depending on the conditions.
In Macau, he has won the Oxfam event three times, namely when he first took part in 2019, and from 2022 to 2023.
After coming second in last year’s event, which drew over 400 participants*, Soh told reporters that he hopes to come back strong. “I hope this year, I’ll come back to redeem myself”. But more than that, Soh also places great importance on supporting the tower run’s aim, pointing out that the runners don’t only compete, but support the cause behind it.
Left-behind children refers to children in rural areas who live with grandparents or other relatives while their parents work in distant cities to earn money. Soh, himself a parent, pointed out the difficulty in the situation, highlighting Oxfam’s support for families through the initiative from education to funding to help in child care.
Soh also told reporters about his passion for the sport and encourages others to pick it up, noting its accessibility from being found in most places to being done under all weather conditions. He also provided tips for first-timers, particularly emphasising the importance of pacing oneself. “Don’t chase the time. Aim to finish and come back next year to improve”.
The mindset of a world champion
Being the world champion in tower climbing, Soh also told the Post about what helps him finish each race, which is thinking about his loved ones from his parents to his wife and child, hoping to be a role model for the latter. “I want to be the best version [of myself] and show that to my boy, maybe become his first hero. I have to make sure I give my best”.
Soh added that this is a general mindset. “It’s not about ourselves, but it’s about the people we care about”, treating each event like their last as “you never know what’s going to happen tomorrow”.
For more details, registration, and fees, one can visit http://www.oxfam.org.hk/towerrun.
*https://www.macaupostdaily.com/news/26332 .
Guests and representatives including Oxfam Hong Kong Director General Henry Tang Chi Fai (front, fifth from right) and Oxfam TowerRun Event Ambassador Soh Wai Ching (front, second from right) pose for a group photo at Macau Tower after yesterday’s press conference. – Photo: Rui Pastorin
