Are you headed to Vietnam? You’ll want to make sure you get in your daily jog. While not exactly known as a runner’s paradise, there are plenty of trails to be followed and mountains to be scaled once you escape the busyness of places like Ho Chi Minh City. Here are just nine spots where you can flee or even utilise the crowds for a great run.

Not too far from our Singapore shores, sits an island full of natural wonders. Known for unique annual red crab migration, and rare and unusual bird sightings, it boats glorious deserted beaches where the only footprints in the sand are those made by nesting turtles. This submarine mountain summit, located 2600km north-west of Perth, Western Australia, is none other than the exotic Christmas Island.

Japan hosts several well-known and well-loved races all year round but this is one truly colourful and profoundly humanitarian initiative. Aiming to help people develop a deeper understanding of charitable activities, the Osaka Marathon encourages race participants, and even supporters on the sidelines and volunteers, to participate in various charity programs.

Even fully engaged athletes don’t always see the connection between mind and body, but Marion Neubronner does. This wise, insightful and intelligent woman spends her waking hours helping people change and heal in her capacity as a writer, psychologist, coach and counsellor. She changes people’s lives, but the overachiever – with too many undergraduate and graduate degrees to list here – considers it all in a day’s work.

Are you thirsty? Really thirsty? You probably are if a healthy run, a training circuit, marathon or leisurely jog are on today’s calendar page. Staying hydrated competes with having the right shoes in terms of necessities for runners. Allow your thirst to go unattended and you could expose your body to debilitating dehydration that can impact your general health now and in the future. To make sure you stay hydrated, we’ve compiled a list of healthy drinks to benefit your general health and keep you hydrated when you run. Pick one as your go-to beverage. If you already have a favourite, try a new one. Try them all. Cheers!

Malaya faced dreadful signs of impending war in 1940 at the same time award-winning American cartoonists William Hanna and Joseph Barbera created Tom the cat and Jerry the mouse. These two cartoon rivals just couldn’t get along, no matter how many opportunities came along that encouraged détente! Instead, they turned their attention to making as much mischief as possible, each besting the other in a non-stop rivalry.