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Geordie
TODAYonline | Focus | Youth | Charity sport
Running to the aid of Autism Society - News - Shields Gazette
Charity sport
A meeting with an autistic child got this man running to embrace a good cause
by Amanda Lee 04:45 AM Aug 06, 2012
SINGAPORE - His wife's work as a special education teacher at St Andrew's Autism Centre meant that he had some awareness of what autistic children go through. But it was seeing an autistic child while riding on the MRT one day that got Military Expert (ME) 2 Dex Tai thinking about whether he could do more.
The 32-year-old recalled the boy in the train, who was throwing tantrums and screaming his lungs out. "I was thinking, 'Hey, why couldn't the parents do anything about this?' But at that point of time, I was ignorant," said ME2 Tai, an engineer at the Republic of Singapore Navy's Submarine Maintenance and Engineering Centre.
A long-time participant in Ironman races, it dawned on ME2 Tai that he could marry his passion to a good cause, and help spread awareness of autism and raise funds for organisations that help those with autism.
Children with autism need to be taught in small groups with one teacher to four students, while psychiatrists and therapists are needed to help with early intervention, said ME2 Tai.
"(This) requires a lot of money. It's partially supported by the Government, but still the money comes from the parents and well-wishers. So that's when I decided to raise funds, and the money will be used to facilitate the programme for the school."
Last month, ME2 Tai travelled to Austria, Germany and Switzerland to participate in three Ironman races - the races consist of a 3.86km swim, 180.25km of cycling and a 42.2km run - to raise funds for St Andrew's Autism Centre, bearing the costs for the registration for the races, airfare and accommodation himself.
To date, he has collected more than S$10,000 in donations on a portal set up by the centre for the purpose, above the initial target he set in March. The public can donate until the end of this month. "I encourage people to donate still, to believe and to be inspired by this cause," said ME2 Tai.
In 2005, he started taking part in marathons such as the Standard Chartered Marathon before participating in an Ironman race after he came across an article in the Navy magazine about his former commander Colonel Giam Hock Soon completing an Ironman race.
The following year, he signed up for his first Ironman race in Western Australia. Ever since then, ME2 Tai has taken part in nine Ironman races.
To prepare for the three fund-raising races, ME2 Tai started training in December last year, squeezing in training whenever he finds the time.
This included running the 22km distance between his Toa Payoh home and his workplace at Changi Naval Base at 5.30am every Friday. On Sundays, he would wake up at 6am and run to MacRitchie Reservoir, where he then runs two loops of about 11km around the reservoir, taking about two hours.
Twice or thrice a week, he would wake up at 4am to cycle and spends about three to six hours each day training such as cycling around Singapore for about 120km. He would also swim twice a week - after work and once during his lunch hour.
Describing his fund-raising experience, ME2 Tai said the last race - in Switzerland - was the most challenging, with weather conditions that tested his mettle. "I was totally not prepared, it ended up that the weather was fluctuating between 13?C and 18?C, and it was a large contrast from the first race, Ironman Austria, which was almost like Singapore, without humidity," he said.
Having completed three races within a month, ME2 Tai is taking a break to spend more time with his family. "But definitely, that is not my last race," he said with a smile.
Running 'isn't exactly easy' for her, but ...
by Amanda Lee
She could barely pass her 2.4km run for the fitness test in secondary school, but Ms Ho Sang Jun (picture) is now training diligently for her first full 42km marathon to raise funds for charity.
On Aug 26, the 30-year-old will be participating in the Chevron City to Surf for Activ marathon in Perth to raise funds for St Andrew's Autism Centre, a special school for children and youths with autism. "I want to challenge myself to do something more," said the marketing communications officer, who discovered her passion for running about a decade ago.
"I don't want to do (the marathon) for the sake of running, I thought it could be something more meaningful. So that's why I chose to raise funds at the same time," she said.
She also wants to raise awareness of autism, a condition that she feels is not well-understood.
In June, Ms Ho set up a Facebook page - Cashing in on the Long Run - to help raise funds for the centre. She has collected more than S$2,000 and hopes to raise S$5,000 by the end of this month.
Ms Ho admitted that running "is not exactly easy" for her, so training for the marathon has been "quite challenging" and a "struggle" at times. She spends one to three hours, at least twice a week, running along a stretch at Old Upper Thomson Road or at East Coast Park.
She first participated in the Standard Chartered Marathon five years ago, starting with the 10km run in the first two years before tackling the 21km run.
"After you complete (the) half marathon (21km), you feel this sense of achievement," said Ms Ho. "So maybe that's what keeps me going back."
She added: "I think running long races teaches me about discipline, endurance, perseverance." AMANDA LEE
Running to the aid of Autism Society - News - Shields Gazette
A group of employees at Siemens in North Farm Road, Hebburn, will take on the challenge of this year?s Great North Run for a very worthy cause.
Eight Siemens workers and 10 friends will raise money for the National Autistic Society (NAS).
Dale Geach, leading the company?s ?G-Force? squad of 18, hopes the team will be able to raise awareness of the condition, as well as money to help those who are affected by it.
Mr Geach?s six-year-old son Oliver was diagnosed with autism at the age of three, and since then, he and his wife have become members of the NAS, and called upon services provided by the charity to help support their son.
An electrical engineer at Siemens, Mr Geach said: ?This will be the fifth time I have taken part in the run.
?With help from my colleagues at Siemens and our friends, we aim to raise, and hopefully exceed, a joint team target of ?7,500 for the NAS.?
The NAS is the UK?s leading charity for people with autism and their families.
It provides a wide range of services to help people with autism and Asperger syndrome live their lives as independently as possible.
The NAS has helped improve the lives of thousands of people affected by autism.
He added: ?For those who don?t know much about autism, it is a serious, lifelong and disabling condition.
?Without the right support, it can have a profound effect on individuals and families.
?But I feel it doesn?t get the attention it deserves, which means that people affected by autism don?t get the help, support and understanding they need.
?By taking part in this year?s Great North Run and with the support of my colleagues and friends, I hope to be able to raise the profile of the charity and generate money which will go towards improving the lives of people affected by autism.?
If you would like to support Dale and his friends, visit their just giving page at Dale Geach is fundraising for National Autistic Society
