Aileen Ho’s energy and enthusiasm light up the telephone connection between her home in Singapore and the Gold Coast.
She’s excited about her impending return to the city where, from 2005-06, she completed a Master of Business (Sport Management) at Griffith University.
And while she is visiting the Gold Coast for just a few days, in typical Aileen style she will, quite literally, hit the ground running.
Back in 2006 Aileen ran the Gold Coast Airport Marathon. It was just her second attempt at the gruelling 42 kilometres after making her marathon debut in Singapore in 2004.
Since then, Aileen has completed a further 114 marathons for 116 in all. The upcoming Gold Coast event on Sunday, 3 July, will be 117.
What’s more, Aileen is bringing along a couple of Singaporean mates who have entered the 10km event to be held the previous day. Predictably, Aileen will be running with them.
“I’ve run marathons all over the world in the past 10 years, from Prague, Copenhagen and New York to events at home in Singapore, Korea and Japan,” says Aileen.
“The Indonesian event has been the toughest so far; there were so many hills. But I love the Gold Coast course because it’s flat, the weather and scenery are wonderful and this time I’m really hoping to beat my personal best of four hours and six minutes.”
Aside from running, Aileen has made great strides in her professional career, including senior roles for the Singapore Sailing Federation, the 8th ASEAN Para Games Organising Committee, and Health Promotion Board.
She is also the founder and Business Development Manager of LiquidXcape — developer and international distributor of the TackOnz running bib holder — and is an adjunct lecturer for several government and private institutions.
As an author, Aileen recently releasedAround the World in My Running Shoes, which shares 25 of her most memorable travel and running experiences on the way to her hundredth marathon in Taiwan in 2015.
For more information on the book, go toliquidxcape.
“I hope the book entertains readers, but I also want to encourage people to think more about becoming fit and healthy,” she says.
And would she consider returning to Australia on a more permanent basis?
“I loved studying at Griffith. It’s a great university in a great location and I’ve been thinking about doing another Masters, this time in Tourism. So you never know.”