Jasmine Goh is a single mother of two beautiful daughters, Cherish and Faith, who only started running in 2011. Back then, her goal was to lose weight. But she was hooked to marathons and ultras not long after that.
To date, she has won Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2016, Great Eastern Women’s Run 2016 Singapore, Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon 2017, TransLantau 100km 2018 and many other races. She also represented Singapore in the SEA Games 2017.
25 Fast and Awesome Facts About Jasmine Goh
- Jasmine’s Personal Best in Half Marathon is 1:24:10 (Gold Coast Marathon 2017) and Full Marathon is 2:54:52 (Hong Kong Marathon 2017).
- Jasmine’s favourite running place in Singapore is Bukit Timah Nature Reserve because it has everything for everyone: a good mixture of road, trail and stairs of varying difficulties that suit runners of all ages as well as a great place for family and friends to explore together.
- Jasmine’s training routine varies depending on the races she’s preparing for. It could vary from daily workouts to just three days training. At the moment, she is taking a break. It is important for her to rest and reset the mind and body for the next season.
- Her daily food intake consists of lots of soup, fresh vegetables and fruits.
- As Jasmine practices daily intermittent fasting, she usually doesn’t eat any food at all before 12 p.m. Hence, on the race day, she does not eat anything before, during and after the race. But she consumes gel packets during a race (if the distance is longer than 10km) as well as isotonic drinks provided by the event organisers.
- Jasmine loves vegetables in the mala She must eat it at least once a week or more!
- Anything made of chocolate is Jasmine’s guilty pleasure food.
- Growing up, Jasmine wanted to help those in need by being a doctor or a healer.
- Jasmine’s favourite race is the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon.
- Before a race, Jasmine practises visualisation to go over her race strategy mentally on top of the usual warm-up routine.
- Jasmine’s number one strategy for road races is to start slower and pace herself well.
- Because the water points for trail races are further apart, Jasmine’s main strategy is to ensure that she stays well-hydrated throughout the race.
- Outside of work and running, Jasmine loves to read books, especially self-development and spiritual books.
- Jasmine’s message for the running community: Keep on running because even a bad run is better than no run at all.
- Jasmine’s favourite quote is: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.” — Marianne Williamson.
- Running has changed Jasmine in the way that it has given her a new body, a new mindset and a new outlook on life. She truly believes, “As long as I dare to dream, and take action towards my goals, nothing is impossible!”
- Jasmine loves running because it is the easiest activity for anyone to begin! Thus, there are no excuses not to run.
- Jasmine’s proudest moment in running is when she represented Singapore for the SEA Games 2017. “To run for my country is such an honour!” said Jasmine.
- Jasmine recently won TransLantau 100km 2018 in Hong Kong with only 2 months of training. Due to the time constraint, she knew she had to train smart. She engaged the help of a seasoned ultra-runner, Alex Koh, to come up with a training programme for this technical race, as well as Ziklag Fitness instructors, Mak and Aldrin, to assist with her strengthening and conditioning programme. To help other ultra-runners to prepare for TransLantau, Jasmine shares the details of her training journey and race experience on her FB page. She started doing ultramarathons back in 2011 but took some time off to train for SEA Games. Today, Jasmine is excited to be a part of Singapore’s growing community of ultra-runners.
- Jasmine’s bucket list includes running ultra-races in European countries.
- Despite having won several races, Jasmine likes challenging herself and pushing herself through the discomforts of a hard run.
- Jasmine strongly believes that all kids are naturally active and should be encouraged to explore as many sports as possible. Her daughters were initially apprehensive about running 2km at the Great Eastern Women’s Run 2017 because they had never run that far before. However, they overcame the fear and completed the race. Now, Cherish and Faith have completed the 5.5km Zoo Run recently and will be running the Mizuno Women’s Run 5km on 15th April 2018. Jasmine is extremely proud of them.
- Although it is not easy to balance work, family and run, Jasmine feels that it is not impossible. Communicating her goals to all stakeholders, including her family, coach and employer plays a very important factor in her success. She said, “When you manage everyone’s expectation (including your own), you can manage all areas better.”
- Jasmine has a fear of heights. In the beginning, she had a hard time doing ultra-trail races that involve heights. “I am, however, getting better at overcoming this fear =)” said Jasmine.
- Jasmine is an independent Financial Consultant with Avallis Financial. She loves her job as it provides her with the freedom and flexibility to pursue her interests. Her employer and clients have been very supportive and understanding. In fact, last year, her employer gave her time off to train for SEA Games. Her colleagues, who are competent ultra-runners, were the ones who encouraged her to start running, back in 2011!
Featured image credit: Jasmine Goh/Trails and Aperture.
