Ma Ying-jeou Never Runs out of Steam！

　　You might know Ma Ying-jeou as the President of Taiwan. You might have seen him appearing in various media platforms and you may have even been impressed by his looks and charisma. But do you know that he is also an avid runner and swimmer despite his hectic schedule as the premier of Taiwan？

　　This was how it all started…

　　In 1974， Ma injured his knees in a volleyball game and suffered from meniscal tear. A meniscus tear is an injury that can cause pain in the knee joint. Often referred to as torn cartilage， it is among the most common knee injuries. It can affect anyone irrespective of age， but athletes who play contact sports are at a higher risk of developing such injuries. The recurrence of his injury had left him with no choice but to surgically removethe torn meniscus. Taking heed of the doctor’s advice， Ma started to jog regularly tospeed up the recovery process， and this was how he embarked on a healthy， active lifestyle.Ma’s tenacity and grit is evident not only in hispolitical career， but also in his life on the jogging track.To perfect his running technique， Ma even subscribed to The Runner’s World magazine to better understand the different theories and techniques of running. As anavid jogger， he had plenty of time and opportunities to put those theoretical tips into practice. Naturally， his interest in the sports grew over time. Every time heputs the theories into practice， his running techniques improved， and so did his health and stamina.

　　Family history is another impetus for President Ma to continue with his jogging routine. According to therecords， his grandfather died of stroke at the age of 60，while his father suffers from hypertension. These two diseases could be prevented by maintaining a healthy exercise regime， and jogging is one of the most easyand straight forward exercises. On a different note，Ma might have inherited the running genes from his father. His father had won various medals for different sporting events in school， and almost all are middle andlong distance running competitions.

　　Becoming the jogging expert

　　Jogging has become such an important partof Ma’s life that he makes time for it despite hishectic schedule. He keeps up with his runningregime even during state visits – irrespectiveof the location or weather. There was once hejogged near the Michigan Lake in the USA，when the temperature was -30 degree Celsius！

　　It was something that speaks volume forhisdetermination. It is believed that Ma is the best advisor for the best jogging route to any keen jogger who is new to a city. Since 1975， Ma has accumulated more than 15，000 km of runningmileage， and more than 3，000 jogging hours.

　　Leveraging on his position and influence，Ma advocated “Jog to Slim” campaign in Taipei，and jogging had since gained much popularityin Taiwan. Leading by example， Ma ran 3kmtogether with a group of police officers in oneof the running events. In Taiwan， police officersaged between 50 and 59 are required to complete a 3km running test within 16 minutes，40 seconds， as part of their physical endurance assessment. Ma completed his 3km in 12 minutes，6 seconds， which was in stark contrast to the police officers who were panting to catch up withhim.

　　From jogging to swimming

　　As early as 1979， Taipei city started toadvocate the“Rise and Run！” running campaign to promote healthierlifestyle， but it was Ma who took the initiative andturned jogging into a sports movement. Ma describes jogging as the most economical form of sports – it isfor everyone of any age， and no equipment or special training is required to enjoy the sport. You could runin the fields or on the tracks， and there are no limitsto exploring new routes. It is no surprise that Ma is afrequent participant of various marathons. Once， he took part in a vertical marathon where his perseverance put youngsters to shame in the gruelling endurance race.

　　Ma is also very much into swimming. He plans to participate in a triathlon event in the near future. Ma kinguse of the time before he starts off his day in the office，he swims three times a week， and aims to complete 1km during each swimming session. However， when he first started out， he was not able to swim as well as he does now. Being a man of strict self-discipline and constantly seeking improvements， he devised ways to improvehimself. He kept track on how long he can hold on tohis breath， so as to make improvements during the next session. He even asked people around him to observehis swimming postures to ensure that they are correct.Having witnessed Ma’s tenacity and self-discipline in maintaining his exercise regime， many officers have alsostarted to jog daily as part of their efforts to stay activeand healthy.

　　Ma has a very high level of physical fitness – all thanksto the jogging， swimming and the 200 sit-ups that he insists on doing before bedtime. To Ma， the work out routine gave him some personal time to reflect on life.He has been jogging for more than 25 years， and everytime he jogs， his mind starts to contemplate about various things in life. He used to come up with ideas forhis thesis during his post graduate years， and for now ithas become an arena for him to strategise and plan forthe future of Taiwan.

　　Running， the epitome of Life

　　Ma propagates “3 Golden Rules” when it comes to running：

　　1.Do not quit in the middle of the course

　　2.Do not stop for rest in the middle of the course

　　3.Do not let your performance slip

　　Ma has come to a conclusion that marathon represents the epitome of life. As the popular saying goes， “Life is a marathon， it does not matter how youstarted off， but you can always win it with your ownmeans.” We all agree that it is the process that counts，and as long as you complete the course， the rest is secondary. The most important aspect in running isthe pace – if you begin with a sprint， your energy and stamina would be exhausted sooner than you could imagine. If you begin at a slow and steady pace， you are not deemed a failure， because the real champion willonly emerge in the end.

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