GRILLED AND SERVED - TEAM PRINCIPAL EUGENE

Team 2ndskin was formally established in Dec 2012 and it has been a whirlwind year for the team as we close in on our first 12 months as a unit. Along the way, we have interviewed all the team athletes one by one for you to get to know them better. As we draw a close to our first year and head on down towards 2014, let’s have a heart-to-heart chat with Team 2ndskin Principal Eugene and see what he has to say about the team….

Good morning, Eugene. We normally start off our athlete profile with some background. Let’s do the same for you. Tell us your story.

Good morning! I’m not sure exactly where to start, but here goes. I have a loving wife and 2 beautiful daughters who I come home to every day. I hold a 9-6 job in a dynamic and fast-paced industry that keeps me on my toes all the time. Being ambitious and fueled by passion, I run the 2ndskin brand together with my awesome buddy Jason and at the same time, I’m a strategic partner/owner in a retail brick & mortar bike store. If that wasn’t enough to fill my plate, I’m also the Team Principal of Team 2ndskin, a group of committed and passionate athletes who have become like family to me. I also indulge in quite a bit of running and cycling (more out of passion and fitness rather than competition) and I strive to keep myself fit as much as I can.

And we keep hearing excuses from people who say they don’t have time to exercise! How do you juggle your time with all your commitments?

I live on 2 principles - Prioritizing and Multi-tasking. My brain only gets to sleep when I sleep. I plan my day and what I need to accomplish when I go for my early morning runs/rides. Most of the time, I brain-storm business strategies or team directions during my workouts. I do the same on my drive to work, during lunch hour and on my drive home. Its mentally exhausting, but I love what I do, so it keeps me going.

At home, we don’t have any domestic help, so I take my fair share of household chores and squeeze in the family time. There’s honestly not much I can fit into 24 hours a day, so I make do and prioritize. It has worked so far for me.

Fitness is a way of life

You say you enjoy running and cycling. Tell us more about that. Have you been running / cycling all your life?

No I’ve not. It has been a pretty recent indulgence. I won’t go so far as to say that I have been an athletic person from young, I was always a bit on the chubbier side (for a better term!) all my life. I did represent my school in handball and was always active in intra-school sports. Most people don’t know this, but I ran my first half marathon at PBIM in 1995 at the age of 16. My passion in life has always been football and I played some competitive football during my university years. However, in 2003 and 2005 I injured my knee playing football and I underwent surgery twice to my left knee, a major one too (reconstruction of the ACL). After the 2^nd surgery, the orthopedic surgeon advised me to give up multi-directional movement sports (football, squash, tennis, badminton, etc). After rehabilitation, I decided to take up running and cycling for fitness and I have not looked back since.

All Team 2ndskin members are very strong athletes in their individual ways. Do you feel that as the Team Principal, you need to be on par or better than them in their sport, to gain their respect?

I think it’s a misconception that the team leader needs to be better than the team members in terms of skill or capacity. I know I’m not better than any one of them (If I am, then they’d better buck up! LOL). My role is a strategic one. I plan, formalize and strategize what the team should do and achieve. I look at things in a high-level manner and I try my best to give the best to the team and try to make their achievements recognizable. I work with partners and sponsors and create engagement for the team. I know the team respects me for what I do and that is enough for me to carry this through. All said and done, I have to walk the talk too, so I definitely cannot lag too far behind in terms of training and competition, so I put in my fair share of training as well. I also take a lot of advice from the team athletes when it comes to training and nutrition and I must say it has served me very well!

The world is your playground. Have fun!

There’s a good mix of gender and age in the team. Did that come along naturally, or was that planned?

You can say that it was naturally planned. Haha.

My intention from the start when the plan to formalize Team 2ndskin took place was to have a group of people, who could reach out to the community and this group of athletes has to be easily embraced by the public. All of Team 2ndskin athletes have a story to tell; their backgrounds are diverse and their experiences different and their strengths individual. Put them together though, they are the Super Six.

That was the high-level mould. Delving deeper, we definitely needed several seasoned athletes and those who have experience on their side, to guide the younger athletes and upcoming ones. Therefore, it was practical to have a mix of younger team members with lots of potential to tap on, and seasoned team members who have lots of experience to learn from. Our youngest athlete is only 24 this year and our oldest is 36, so with an age gap of only 12 years, we’re not really experiencing the generation gap and the synergy within the team is very very good. I try to play a role as a mentor to the younger team members as well, and they know that they can come to me for guidance as well as advice in all aspects of life, not just sports.

In the last 12 months, do you think Team 2ndskin has progressed in the manner that you had envisioned it to?

Honestly, I think we have come a long way in the last 12 months. We have exceeded my initial expectations for the team, but we’re definitely not resting on our laurels. More and more people are recognizing the team now and that is a good thing. Since the start of the year, we have had increasing numbers of people who have asked the team for advice, tips and generally opinion on running, nutrition and gear and we welcome all queries and approach without any restrictions. We will endeavour to provide as accurate information to the best of our experience and knowledge at all times.

Look at Ee-Van, he is always sharing information, training tips and advice without restriction. People should value him for his efforts. Roy is a 2x stroke survivor who has gone on to finish a 160km ultra. How many ‘clean’ medical history runners can claim to have done 160km? Chan juggles heavy responsibility and commitment as a Navy Officer and keeps himself in tip-top condition year in year out. Annie is a role model for women in running and her achievements speak for itself. Steven is the most humble person I know, who has bags of experience behind him. He has done what others only dream of and has lots to share. Irene lives the life where many of us do not dare. She is putting her passion in sports ahead of her studies and she is committed to her dream to turn professional one day. My vision is to have this team of outstanding individuals inspire people to live a healthy and active lifestyle and that juggling a full time job, family commitments and passion for sports is very achievable.

This year we have accomplished several good initiatives. Project CARES was a success for both beneficiaries, Dignity For Children Foundation and NASAM. We will definitely continue with this for 2014 and hopefully beyond. We had an opportunity for direct engagement with runners at our support station at MWM as well as a fitness talk we conducted that was organized by Garmin Malaysia. Both were also well received and that was very encouraging.

2014 will be very challenging. Internally within the team, 2013 has been a bar that has been set to a level that we will want to surpass. Fingers crossed, we will.

Very encouraging indeed! Am sure it would not have been possible without support. Tell us about Team 2ndskin sponsors and partners. How has the relationship been with them?

I am very grateful to our 3 main sponsors for 2013, Skechers Malaysia, Hammer Nutrition (Global Aerotech) and Garmin Malaysia (AECO Technologies) for believing in us and supporting us 110% all the time. When Team 2ndskin started out in Dec 2012, we were “nobodies”, so to speak. Skechers, Hammer and Garmin are all giants in their respective industry, with a long history of outstanding products, but they took the time to listen to us and they believed in our team vision and plan. Throughout the year, they have been behind us all the way and have never put pressure or unreasonable expectations on the team. Midway through 2013, we hooked up with a local setup, Kraftfit Compression who are also a bunch of passionate sports people and live the same dreams and visions as us. We are also proud to be associated with Kraftfit and hope to help them establish themselves as a brand to be reckoned with in the future.

I am lucky to come into contact with the people behind Skechers, Hammer, Garmin and Kraftfit in Malaysia, both on a working as well as personal level as they are some of the most amazing people you will ever meet. I take this opportunity to thank all Team 2ndskin sponsors for 2013 for the supply of excellent products and support as well as being a pillar of strength for the last 12 months.

Will they still be supporting Team 2ndskin for 2014?

Wouldn’t you like to know! For now, I’m keeping all potential partnerships and sponsorships for the team for 2014 under wraps. None of the team athletes know about next year’s plans yet so don’t even think about trying to pry information from them! I will definitely make an announcement come end Dec when we launch the 2014 plan.

Tough times don’t last. Tough people do.

Guess we will just have to wait for that! So what are your plans for Team 2ndskin for 2014?

I’m definitely looking at a higher level of engagement with the sports community for 2014, especially with beginners and those who have just started running / cycling / fitness as a lifestyle. The plan is to have several community programs organized by Team 2ndskin that will help beginners to the sport embrace the lifestyle and continue the momentum. This is definitely one of the ways the team can give a little back to the community. I have done something similar on a personal level and smaller scale with a group of runners who do 10km and were stepping up to the 21km distance. They have been very receptive and appreciative of advice and guidance I have given to them and I would like to take that to a larger level with the community, via Team 2ndskin.

On a more individual level with the team athletes, I am looking at assisting them to reach their potential and to achieve the goals they have set for themselves in 2014. There will be more one-to-one sessions that I will have to see which areas that I can help them with to the best of my capacity.

It looks like exciting times ahead in store for the team. What about yourself? What are your plans for 2014 outside of Team 2ndskin?

Yes it is! I am very excited for 2014 to kick off for Team 2ndskin and I believe the team will embrace the challenges ahead in a positive manner.

On a personal front, I would definitely like to spend more quality time with my family, take more breaks and smell the roses a little bit more. I also hope that 2ndskin as a brand keeps growing and will reach further shores and gain more prominence. I can definitely tell you that I have a big surprise in store for 2014, but it is too early to say anything right now. Will definitely share the news when the time is right!

Thank you very much for taking time out for this. Before we end this chat, is there anything else you want to share or say?

One last thing…. Jason, EV, Annie, Chan, Roy, Steven and Irene; I am very proud to know all of you and what you continuously do inspire me. Thank you all for being a part of this team. It is definitely my honour to walk down this road with each and every one of you. Let’s make 2014 memorable!

Run for NASAM 2013 : Project CARES

Last Sunday (20th Oct 2013) marked the closure of Run for NASAM campaign with the cheque presentation from the fund raising to the National Stroke Association of Malaysia (NASAM) during the NASAM Walk for Hope Event held at Tasik Titiwangsa.

Team 2ndskin was represented by Roy at the ceremony, who is himself a 2-times stroke survivor and our team leader for this campaign.

With an initial expectation of RM10,000 to be raised from the campaign, the Run for NASAM project was a resounding success with RM15,236.00 raised as the final amount. Team 2ndskin is very proud to be given the opportunity to be a part of this noble event and it was indeed an excellent effort by the other runners who were part of Run for NASAM campaign.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank PeopleGiving organization for being the enablers for the campaign, NASAM for their full support throughout the project, the runners who made this campaign possible and most of all, to all the kind-hearted donors and contributors for the RM15,236.00, whereby without you, this would never have been possible. Give yourself a big pat on the back, it is very deserving!

RM15,236 thanks to all of you!

Project CARES: Run for NASAM 2013 campaign closure

Back in June, Team 2ndSkin announced a joint campaign with a group of runners to run for raising fund for NASAM (National Stroke Association of Malaysia). As the third largest killer in Malaysia now, stroke affected almost everyone life - directly or indirectly. One of the goal for Run for NASAM 2013 is to raise fund to support the activities of NASAM, with 24 runners recruited to run SCKLM for a cause. With 15 million people diagnosed with stroke worldwide every year and in Malaysia, over 50,000 cases, this campaign also target to raise the public awareness on stroke. Although SCKLM was postponed due to the deteriorating quality of air few days before the race, the campaign continued on with great success. 

Through the PeopleGiving portal, a 'giving' platform for everyone to give back to society, the goal was set to raise RM10,000 through this campaign. Limited edition NASAM running bibs were also printed, with all proceed from the sales going to NASAM. The idea is for interested runners to wear the bib during the SCKLM to help echo what we believe in, There is Life After Stroke.

The runners will complete the pledge to the donors by completing the race this September 29, 2013.

Within a short time frame of a month, team 2ndSkin athlete Roy went live on Lite FM to share his experience on stroke. With his background of 2 strokes attack, he captured the audience attention with the real danger of stroke affecting everyone. A few of the runners were also featured in Sin Chew Jit Poh newspaper sharing about the campaign.

By the end of the donation drive on PeopleGiving, we have successfully over achieved our commitment to NASAM by accumulating RM15,236. It has been a great pleasure to do our parts for this campaign and a really big thanks and appreciation to the donors who has helped in this campaign. Your contribution will go a long way to touch the heart and needs of the strokees in Malaysia.

Team 2ndskin would like to thank our collaboration partners - Garmin, Hammer Nutrition and Skechers for supporting this Run for NASAM campaign and provides valuable feedback and support to Team 2ndskin. 

Thank you all for supporting Project CARES and Run for NASAM.

Project CARES : Team 2ndSkin Is Running For NASAM

The team once again has committed itself to "give back" to the society by being involved directly with another fund raising. This time, it is for NASAM or National Stroke Association of Malaysia. The team, together with 16 other strong individual will participate in the upcoming Standard Chartered Kuala Lumpur Marathon in both the 21km (7 Awesome Fundrunners) and 42km (15 Awesome Fundrunners). The aim is to raise awareness and the Fundrunners will be running with a placard "There Is Life After Stroke". The runners together with NASAM are hoping to raise RM10,000.00 to further enhance and support the existing facilities to help with the rehabilation and support of stroke victim and their needs. 

We hold this cause very dearly to us as the designated Team Captain for this run, Roy Yeow, was a two-time stroke victim. He is a picture of inspiration as he has shown with determination and not giving up has driven him to not only succeed in fighting stroke, but to inspire others. Tri Stupe's father was a stroke victim and he (with his wife) too, will be running for this cause.

Click on this link to support via PeopleGiving.org. Team 2ndSkin has worked with PeopleGiving.org previously in the "Dignity For Children Foundation". All donations (small or big) is tax deductible. 

There Is Life After Stroke!

2ndSkin On BFM89.9

In case you missed the live telecast of the Radio interview with Freda Liu of BFM89.9, here is the link to the Podcast.
http://www.bfm.my/open-for-business-2ndskin-eugene-teoh-jason-hue.html
Listen to them speak about 2ndSkin and more!

Project Dignity CARES – Campaign Closure

Team 2ndskin’s Project Dignity CARES campaign which was run from 27^th February to 3^rd April 2013, has finally seen closure with the passing of the fund-raising cheque to Dignity for Children Foundation. A total of RM4,188.00 was raised via the generous contributions of society who want to make a difference to these underserved childrens’ lives.

Dignity for Children Foundation

Any of them maybe our future leader(s) of tomorrow

 Enthusiastic and dynamic children

Roy getting lessons on badminton play from Po Po

Dignity for Children Foundation provides education to children from desolate homes, refugee children and the hardcore poor kids. Currently the foundation serves as a school to approximately 800 children, from Taska age all the way up to Secondary 5. These kids a provided not only with proper education, but a wholesome meal, good moral and cultural teachings and instilled with values like teamwork and cooperation via the foundation’s programs. The volunteer teachers, caretakers and care givers are dedicated and give their all whole-heartedly to the students and children.

Having a conversation with a couple of the students who were in Primary 5 and 6 when we were there, we were pleasantly surprised by their enthusiasm, their ability to get their thoughts across and their confidence in speaking to strangers (like us). They were not the shy and reserved children you would have painted a picture of, when you speak of underserved children.

Possibly, if given the right opportunities, these children who come from poor broken homes may one day find themselves to be the future leaders of our community and society. What we can see is, education and proper attention given to children during their formative years will help shape their lives and very likely help get another child / teenager off the streets.

Team 2ndskin is proud to be able to do our part for the children.

PeopleGiving Organization

We would also like to take this opportunity to thank PeopleGiving Organization for being the enablers for this campaign. They are a group of dynamic young volunteers who have selflessly sacrificed their time to setup the PeopleGiving Organization and portal to enable individuals and corporate alike to use their online platform for fund-raising activities. PeopleGiving are fully dependent on sponsorship to stay afloat as they do not take any commission or fee from the use of their platform as well as the funds raised. Special thanks to GekWe and Jason from PeopleGiving who were also present with us when we handed the cheque over to Miss Beant from Dignity.

Presenting the cheque to Ms Beant of Dignity

Group shot

Appreciation certificates given by Dignity and PeopleGiving for the campaign effort

Last but not least, Team 2ndskin sponsors deserve a mention for fully supporting us throughout the Project Dignity CARES campaign. Here’s to Garmin Malaysia, Skechers Performance Malaysia and Hammer Nutrition Malaysia!!

Tri Stupe : Sabah Adventure Challenge Race Reports

As some of you might know, one of our team mate, Ee-Van, otherwise known as Tri Stupe recently took part in Sabah Adventure Challenge in the 75km Solo Ultra category. Little did he know the race covered close to 85km more due to elevation/vertical distance (Garmin tracked this!) and route diversion. He relied 100% on Hammer Nutrition (and mind you, he believes in real food) and came out happy to see how proper race nutrition and planning helped him not only race, but recovered as well. The Skechers GoTrail not only protected his feet over the distance, but offered superb traction in the wet jungle and good cushioning (despite being minimalist) on the dusty gravel road that seems to last forever.
He has written his report in 3-parts, one for each day and here is his story.
By the way - he was with his wife throughout the whole race. What better way to "give back" as he  always say "She has supported me through all my races, now is my turn to do so". Sweet!
We would like to thanks the sponsors - Skechers, Garmin and Hammer Nutrition for the support they have given to him. Also to all of you readers that has contributed to the Team 2ndSkin Project DIGNITY CARES. This one is for Dignity for Children Foundation.  
-----
Sabah Adventure Challenge Race Report : Longest Day 1

The phone alarm went off at 4.45am sharp and it was shut off almost immediately. Laying down in bed covered by the comforter and warmed by the room's heater, i inhaled cold air.
Despite wearing a light jacket over a t-shirt to sleep, i still felt cold. I woke wifey up and I was not sure how she will be feeling that day. It will be her longest day racing.

Camelbak Octane 18X packed and ready

That was an eerie silence as I mix the Hammer Nutrition Perpetuem powder to be taken as breakfast. One pack/serving provides 270kcal in 20oz water. Cafe Latte was the choice of the day.
Continue Reading Day 1
-----
Sabah Adventure Challenge 2013 Race Report : Hottest Day 2

The biggest task ever for anyone attempting SAC is to wake up the next morning after a tough Day 1 and continue to do the race again. While it is not a norm that Day 1 will always be tougher, participants need to remember that in adventure race, anything can happen - and getting lost is top of the list.

Immediately after Day 1 over, we have to prep for Day 2. This was at 11pm. Clearly shown me and Bandit refilling and refuelling for the next day. Photo thanks to Kam.

Day 2 for us started right after the Day 1 race was over. Re-planning and obviously missing the race briefing doesn't help. Our main aim was to get back to Mesilau, take dinner, stay warm and plan for Day 2. Kam finished Day 1 early and will be our eyes and ears during the briefing. 

Continue Reading Day 2

-----

Sabah Adventure Challenge 2013 : Scenic Day 3

I can't believe i wrote a 3-parts race report like what I did for Bali Marathon 2012. I hope you readers enjoyed the sharing. It has been tough and tight for me, time wise to produce more write ups as I am in the midst of a career move. It was a mixed feeling on Day3. One small part of us were glad the race will finally be over and the larger part were upset that we have no more race tomorrow when we wake up! Yes. Race withdrawal syndrome even before the race actually ends. The past two days has been great and the last day looked promising with 15km more to go. While the other two days has been pretty "off the mark" in terms of mileage, no one actually complained. A testament that those that was participating were there for the pain!

Skechers GoTrail clocked it's 90th Mile before today (Day 3).

It was a mixed feeling Sunday for us. Easter Sunday. It was strange for wifey not to be home with her family (she and the kids are Catholic) for this festivities. I told her if we see a church (very likely), we will drop by for the mass. Promise.
Continue Reading Day 3 

Project CARES - Team 2ndskin Support Station at Malaysia Women Marathon

As part of our activities lined up under Team 2ndskin’s Project CARES, we put together a little support station at the inaugural Malaysia Women Marathon held at Shah Alam on the 7^th of April 2013. The intention of this support station was to offer complimentary electrolyte drinks (Hammer FIZZ), water, cut watermelons, basic first aid and support, ice-cold water sprays for cooling off and generally just moral support for the runners. As runners ourselves, we understand how the little things help to motivate the runners who are putting their physical and mental conditions to the test, especially out on the race course of a full marathon. It gives us great satisfaction to be able to give a little back to the running community and at the same time foster camaraderie amongst all runners.

We are glad that the support station was well received by the runners and that everyone generally had a great time at our pit-stop. Kudos to the team for getting up in the wee hours to be at the 27^th km mark early so that we could prepare and setup for even the fastest runner to come through. The following photo-log will tell a little bit more about the story.

Setting Up

Setting Up The Sponsors' Banners

All Done and Ready!

Making Hammer Nutrition Endurolyte FIZZ - Ice COLD, no less

Team Skechers

Team Garmin

Picnic time! Huge crowd at Team 2ndSkin Booth

Having Fun!

Low Crowd = Reloading time. Where is the ice?

Very F1 Pit-stop like!

The Ultra-runners antic!

Hammer FIZZ, Watermelon and cold water spray for everyone running past our station

We have Fans!!! (we hope they are...haha!)

The Team (L-R) : Ee-Van, Annie, Yip, Chan, Eugene, Roy and Jason

Special thanks to be accorded to Team 2ndskin’s sponsors for 2013:

Hammer Nutrition for supplying the Hammer FIZZ electrolytes that were a hit with the runners! Special mention also to Liz Roberts from Hammer who completed her first Marathon at this event!

Skechers Performance Malaysia and also Garmin Malaysia for always being there to support us in all our activities.

Kudos also to Karen Loh and her team of organizers who made this inaugural Malaysia Women Marathon a success. We believe all the runners had an amazing time (judging from the response and feedback from the crowd) and the participation will definitely grow with the coming years.

Team 2ndskin will also continue to support the MWM in the coming years, in whatever way possible.

Roy : The Twilight Ultra Challenge TUC 2013

Last weekend, our athlete Roy and Eugene went to Singapore for the Twilight Ultra Challenge (TUC) to see how far they can cover in the stipulated 16 hours. Armed with hope and determination, powered with tenacity and will power, this is Roy's story.

-----

Twilight Ultra Challenge - Roy Yeow

Twilight Ultra Challenge (TUC) is now into the 3rd edition and the only things that has changed is that it just got better and better. The race format was pretty simple, run till you drop within the 16 hours limit given through a 10KM loop with water stations every 2.5KM (well there are runners that run 5KM and decided to call it a day). As the race starts at 7PM, we will run through the night while the rest of Singapore is either sleeping or partying somewhere till 11AM the next morning. My strategy is basically to stay awake through the night and let the distance build up by itself.

For this race, team 2ndSkin through Project CARES was raising fund for DIGNITY for Children Foundation. Together with Eugene and Ee-Van that is racing in SAC (read his SAC Intro report), we are to put our physical and mental capacities to test while trying to raise RM3000 through People Giving website. And we are proud that we manage to raise 140% of our target,RM4188 at the end of the campaign.

As the race starts during dinner time, we have opt to eat our dinner around 4PM and I took a Hammer Bar before the race to fill my tummy. The race provides Hammer Fizz, while makes my nutrition plan easy and pure Hammer Nutrition products only:

- Hammer Fizz and water as hydration at the u-turn point

- Hammer Perpetuem Solids - 3 solids every hour from 20KM onwards

- Hammer Endurolytes as backup in case there is a need

- Hammer Recoverite after the race

Powered by Hammer Nutrition and equipped with Garmin Fenix watch and Skechers GoBionic shoe, I lined up with the rest of the ultra-runners at East Coast Park (known for its hard surface that hurt your feet) at 7PM. Obviously, with Tey Eng Tiong around and a bunch of regular runners, taking photos are the warm up sessions for this race.

Some Malaysian runners before the race

From KM1 to KM40, I actually did not feel comfortable and decided to go slow and listen to my body. It seems the lack of sleep due to "surround sound system" (see Frank's blog) may have caused this and I do not want to risk it so early in the race, thus the very conservative pace. I joined up with Frank at 37.5KM mark and started run/walk with him until KM50 where we stopped and had our long supper break (biscuit, bread, noodle, coffee.... told you this is a well organized race right?). We completed the first 50KM around 6hrs 45 minutes and took a long break before resuming as we battled the feeling of sleepiness and the urge to nap.

Lucky draw before the race, was discussing race strategy with Yim and Frank as we know we are not lucky to win anything.

This long rest actually helps and Frank and I continued on to 60KM before I decided to move into the next gear alone. With project CARES in mind and having hit 80KM with almost 5 hours to spare, the goal to hit the century mark is real then and knowing there is enough time to make it, the plan is just to enjoy the Sunday crowds that has started to flood the park for their activities - cycling, skating, camping, running, family outings, picnics…... It makes the running less boring and doable, considering we have been running over 10 hours. At this point of time, every single KM marker is celebrated in my mind with a big yahoo!!!

Travelling slowly but surely progressing with every slow steps, I cross the 100KM mark with a timing of 14:51 and decided immediately it is time to rest, even though there is enough time for another 5KM (or if I start

to sprint, maybe another 10KM in :P). The goal has been achieved for the project CARES and nothing matters more than to get a well deserved rest after almost 15 hours of action. Dip my leg into the cold ice water and being served Hammer Recoverite while Frank help to bring me food, and not forgetting haagen-dazs ice creams, yeah!!! I said it many times, this is a very well and friendly race!

Completing 90KM and relieve only 1 more loop to go. The GoBionic did well to carry me through the race even though my feet started to feel the impact after 70KM. The concrete race course indeed is a killer to many, some runners opt to run on the road adjacent to the route. A few runners ended with slippers as they walk the last few laps to finish off their races. As for me, the race however took a lot out of the shoe sole and it looks like a replacement is required soon for the next race. After 100KM in this race and at least 300KM of training and other races, this shoe has indeed serve me well. It is one shoe that works well if you are a fan of 0mm drop.

In general, Garmin Fenix gave me a reading of about 10.2KM per loop (over distance of 200 meters every lap, which ended with a whooping 2KM extra of run, not including of those detour to toilet, pit stops etc). Unfortunately, as I did not fully charged the watch, it stopped as I was looking at completing my last KM of the 100KM. The watch however is intelligent enough to save the workout (called track in Fenix) before it stops recording. It also has a range of information that is useful if you are a fan of data and information. The temperature as measured by Fenix range from 27 to 32 C throughout the race which is humid and warm while the elevation on the watch prove that East Coast Park is really a flat course with elevation ranging from 1m to 28m above sea level.

Wearing 2ndskin team t-shirt, Garmin Fenix, Skechers GoBionic passing through the checkpoint in the wee hours

Project Dignity CARES : Exceeding Expectation

We have just concluded our Project DIGNITY CARES Campaign, whereby Team 2ndskin participated in a gruelling weekend of endurance racing in a bid to raise funds and create awareness for Dignity for Children Foundation. Our initial target to raise RM3,000.00 was not only achieved, but surpassed as at the end of the campaign, we managed to raise a total of RM4,188.00 !!! All of the funds collected will be channeled to Dignity for Children Foundation and Team 2ndskin and People Giving Organization do not take any amount from the proceeds.

Thank you to all of you that has sponsored!

The Team would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you who have contributed, not only in terms of funds, but also moral support and sharing of awareness and of our campaign. Special thanks to People Giving Organization for creating this online portal and making campaigns easy to manage.

Our gratitude also to our band of sponsors, Skechers Malaysia (Adeline), Garmin Malaysia (Ivan) and Hammer Nutrition (Liz) for providing us with the necessary means and support during the entire campaign and throughout the calendar year 2013.

The Team believes in giving back to society and this campaign is just one of the many ways we can help in doing so. There will be many other activities we will line up for the rest of the year, so stay tuned for more update from Team 2ndskin's Project CARES!

All you contributors and sponsors help make the difference for the kids requiring education. We at Team 2ndSkin THANK YOU ALL again!

Project CARES : Dignity For Children Foundation

Education is the basic and fundamental right of every child in this world, regardless of nationality, race, gender or status. We at Team 2ndskin believe that every child should be granted equal opportunity and rights to at least basic education so that they will be able to survive in this world and have a better and brighter future. This is also the basis to why we have chosen Dignity for Children Foundation (DIGNITY) as the beneficiary of our pilot campaign under Project CARES. DIGNITY provides education to the underprivileged and urban poor children in an effort to break the poverty cycle that will keep rotating if not intervention is made. A more in depth understanding of DIGNITY and their vision and mission can be found at their official page - http://dignityforchildren.org/home/visionmission What is Team 2ndskin doing for Project DIGNITY CARES? LimEe-Van and Roy Yeow, 2 athletes who race under the Team 2ndskin umbrella together with team principal Eugene Teoh will put their physical and mental capacities to the test at the tail-end of March 2013 in a bid to raise funds for Dignity for Children Foundation. Ee-Van will fly to Sabah to participate in the Sabah Adventure Challenge 2013, a 3-day endurance race (from 29th – 31st March) across the Kinabalu Crocker Range. He will cover 75km on foot over 3 days and will need to be self-sustaining and to navigate his way through the adventure challenge. The level of challenge will be extreme as he will have to face Mother Nature in her own backyard, rough terrains, unpredictable weather and the fear of the unknown in the remote rainforests of Sabah. Ee-Van is expected to race for up to 8 hours a day while carrying his own supplies and equipment required to work his way through checkpoints. On the same weekend, Roy and Eugene will head down south to our neighbor country Singapore to participate in the Twilight 16 Hours Ultra Challenge. This event is a 16 hour run from 7pm 30th March right up to 11am 31st March. Both their mental and physical conditions will be put to the test as they battle tiredness, fatigue and sleepiness to complete this grueling event. While most of Malaysians and Singaporeans will be sleeping, these 2 guys will be pounding the tarmac in a bid to create awareness and hopefully benefit DIGNITY.  How can you help? Team 2ndskin has linked up with People Giving Foundation (http://www.peoplegiving.org/about-us) to create this campaign Project DIGNITY CARES which will benefit Dignity for Children Foundation. This campaign will be hosted on People Giving’s online portal at http://www.peoplegiving.org/campaign-page?campId=32 Note that all funds and donations raised will be channelled to DIGNITY and that People Giving and Team 2ndskin do not take any fee from this campaign. You can make this a success by going to our Project DIGNITY CARES campaign page http://www.peoplegiving.org/campaign-page?campId=32 and help by donating (any amount will do) to our campaign and benefitting the underprivileged children with hopes for some level of education. On top of that, please help us to share our campaign on your own Facebook page, Twitter, blog or email correspondents so as to create awareness of Project DIGNITY CARES to a wider audience. Your goodwill and kind gestures will truly be appreciated by these children; help bridge the disparity in education opportunities and give hope and a glimmer of light to the future generation. (L-R) Ee-Van, Eugene and Roy What Team 2ndskin Athletes Say How do you juggle your workload, family commitments and find the time to train for such an event? Lim Ee-Van: Life-Work Balance. Keep work at working hours and spend the rest on life. We sleep 8hours (ideally, but we hardly do), work 8hours, and spend the balance 8 on other priorities such as family and passion we have (i.e. sports). On average, we need only 90mins max to train/day and a proper plan is essential. Discipline ensures that the plan goes through. Determination to see it executed to plan. 90mins is just 6.25% of our day, we likely spend more time eating than exercising ;) Most people find that running for 30 mins is already very tiring. What inspires you to run non-stop for 16 hours? Roy Yeow: Human physiology is made for endurance running. The thought of our ancestors chasing down their meals through hours and hours of running has given me the inspiration to simulate the gruelling task. Have a question? Talk to us at – info@2ndskin.asia Feel free to ask us anything about the campaign and we will endeavour to answer all your questions with as much information as we can. Last but not least, thank you for taking the time to read through our campaign and help us to share the awareness. Team 2ndskin is powered by 2ndskin Clothing, SkechersPerformance Malaysia, Garmin Malaysia and Hammer Nutrition Malaysia. For more information about Team 2ndskin's Project CARES, please go to http://www.team2ndskin.blogspot.com/p/project-cares.html