Did you miss last year's ASICS Relay? It's alright because ASICS Relay 2018 is back!

ASICS Relay 2018 is being held in five different countries namely the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore. Each team will have to gather a total of four runners to complete either a half or full marathon together, making this race fun and challenging. Additionally, it's a good way to make new friends or build stronger bonds between friends and family. Like last year, this will be a night race!

Hype it up because this time, local celebrities will be participating too! Kimberly Chia, Singapore’s on-screen sweetheart, will be joined by three of her charismatic male colleagues, Zong Zijie, Gavin Teo and Joshua Chia, from NoonTalk media, an artist management company co-founded by Desmond Koh. As these young stars are conquering the race to stardom at Caldecott Hill, they are now taking on the ASICS Relay Singapore 2018.

RunSociety had the great opportunity to obtain firsthand exclusive insights into their daily fitness routine and diets.

RS: What inspired your team to join the ASICS Relay 2018?

Zong Zijie: It's something new which we have not done before, I’ve never actually done a relay before.

Kimberly Chia: A relay race is a first for all of us and it's something new and fun to do together with friends! At the same time, we get to stay active!

Gavin Teo: Having an active lifestyle is growing very popular these days so all of us really want to cultivate such a positive culture among ourselves because we all work very closely together at times. Joining this race together brings us a step closer to achieving our goals!

Joshua Chia: Firstly, having an active lifestyle is something I believe we must upkeep. Since we work closely together and it's a group run, I wish to have some bonding together and enjoy the run regardless of the position we get!

RS: Do the members train independently or as a group? How do you they find time to train together?

Zong Zijie: Due to our very hectic schedule, we actually don’t have the opportunity to train together, so it's individual training.

Kimberly Chia: I’ve been training independently but we've been keeping track of each other's progress and encouraging each other!

Gavin Teo: We train independently because we have very different daily schedules. Besides, we stay in different parts of Singapore.

Joshua Chia: I train independently.

RS: Can the team share their training preparation for this relay?

Zong Zijie: I’m not too sure about the rest, but I’m sure everyone has been running regularly in order to achieve the best timing as a team.

Kimberly Chia: I've been running every other day and including more cardio exercises to improve my stamina.

Gavin Teo: We all have our own ways to train. On my part, I do a 5k run every two days to keep myself conditioned for the relay run.

Joshua Chia: Everybody has their own set of preparation but on my part, I would run almost every night before going to sleep.

RS: Have they encountered any difficulties while training? If so, how do they handle them?

Zong Zijie: dealing with stitches and cramps have always bothered me when running, I’ve been researching and trying different methods, be it diet before the run or breathing technique.

Kimberly Chia: Trying to improve my timing and match up to the members of my team is definitely challenging! I'll do the best I can and keep running till Race Day!

Gavin Teo: I haven’t really exercised ever since I completed NS 3 months ago so it was very challenging to be able to run a longer distance. I do slow jogs for a few running sessions then gradually increase my pace and also the distance. Now I’m back on track!

Joshua Chia: I believe they do encounter various difficulties. Regardless of the difficulties, we will work hard and improve on it.

RS: Do any/all of you follow a strict diet in order to stay in shape for this relay?

Zong Zijie: I highly doubt any of us is on a strict diet, but we sure all try to keep our diet as healthy as we can.

Kimberly Chia: I don't have a strict diet but I've been cutting down on sugared drinks and fast food!

Gavin Teo: I’ve always been a fast food junkie myself so I find it exceptionally challenging to follow a strict diet. I merely cut down a little on junk food for the race.

Joshua Chia: Being too skinny, I need to bulk more. Therefore, I don’t have any strict diet.

RS: Who in the team do they think is the most capable runner? Why?

Zong Zijie: It's a tough choice, my guess will be either Gavin who was a firefighter in NS or Xie Le who's the youngest.

Kimberly Chia: Zijie because he’s the most active of us all and his workouts are very consistent regardless if he’s training for a race or not.

Gavin Teo: Definitely Zijie! He has always been a fitness enthusiast so he exercises all the time.

Joshua Chia: I personally think Zijie would be the most capable runner due to his constant working out and sporty lifestyle.

RS: Can the team share their running order and why is it arranged in such a manner?

The Team: We went according to our ASICS Relay commercial (Zijie - Kimberly - Gavin - Xie Le)

Zong Zijie: Hopefully we'll run as fast as we seemed in the video.

Kimberly Chia: I'm sure Zijie would be able to start the race strong and if I'm lacking in timing, Gavin and Xie Le will be able to make up for it!

Gavin Teo: We don’t intend to be strategic. We just want to have fun throughout the whole process!

Joshua Chia: We could not make up our mind and so we decided to follow the Asics TVC arrangement.

Will you be participating this year's ASICS Relay 2018? Do you have what it takes? How will you fair in this Relay?