45 year-old Gavin Tan is on track to run the streets of Sydney this September's in the Sydney Marathon presented by ASICS after prevailing over a back injury
Nestled within the charming neighbourhood of Katong lies Haig Walk – a linear, quaint park lined with greenery and charismatic houses. While the area’s bars and cafes are abuzz with office workers catching up after a day’s worth of emails, the park offers a serene backdrop for couples on walks, dog walkers, and those squeezing in their daily dose of exercise.
Gavin Tan, a social long distance runner with Singapore’s New Balance Run Club (NBRC) knows the park all too well. Tan who frequents said park may be bound for the Sydney Marathon this September but just three years ago suffered his worst injury since he first started racing. Haig Walk, with its tranquil ambiance, became his recovery room.
Tan had suffered a fairly severe back injury to his sciatica nerve when one of his spinal discs naggingly pressed on his nerve. The nerve – which controls the muscles of the back of the knee and lower leg – runs down from the lower back and to the back of each leg.
“It was so bad that I was bedridden for about two days. I really couldn't move! I was out for half a year,” said the 45-year-old.
Attributing the injury to a deadly mix of bad posture, lack of proper stretching before runs and the restricted movements during Covid lockdowns, Tan was forced to take painful recovery walks along Haig Walk.
“Working from home was so desk-bound that I think it was a major contributing factor to the injury. Barely any activities were allowed unless you went for a run alone and NBRC was on pause as well,” he recounted.
“Any back pain I feel now, I am taken back to how painful it was to walk 2km down this stretch three years ago. It took me almost an hour. I was that slow! The moment I took a wider step, the pain was unimaginable so I had to go slow.”
There was however some fondness to the walks he took.
“I saw the neighbourhood. If I headed out this way,” he shared gesturing towards Haig Lane.
“I will discover eateries and some hidden gems. If I turned the other way towards Mugliston Road, I'd see some really nice houses. I live nearby and know the names of the roads but only during my walks did I actually realise what they actually looked like.”
The injury was one that Tan was somewhat familiar with. He first suffered the injury back in 2018, making the one in 2021 an unfortunate recurrence. Despite already going through it once, the first time was no match for the second.
“Since it was recurring, I knew that the only option was to laser off the disc and I didn't want that so all the doctors could do was give very strong painkillers and injections which didn't really work,” Tan shared before painting the picture of a chaotic Hospital Accidents & Emergencies ward.
“I asked to stay overnight as it was really painful but there were no beds. It was during Covid and beds were so scarce. You know the situation was dire when even private hospitals didn't have beds,” he shared.
After opting to go home instead and being discharged, Tan was fortunate enough to be attached to a physiotherapist at a Changi General Hospital sports clinic who he credits as a huge part to the success of his recovery.
The physiotherapist was one he can never forget, describing her as very fierce. While it may be off putting to some, Tan says the trait was what kept him on track.
“There were a series of exercises I had to do and I had to do them because of her strict she was. In subsequent sessions, she’d ask ‘how is it progressing? Tell me the pain level. You can't just tell me it’s very painful, I wouldn't understand. On a scale of 1-10. Tell me the number,’” he recounted.
“She’d even record my answer and ask again the next session. I can't ever remember my answers so if I give her a number higher than the previous session, there would be a problem. Sometimes, she would scold me directly and say ‘if you're not going to do it then I won't see you anymore.’ Honestly though, I appreciated it! She could also be quite chatty so she told me about how some patients never took recovery seriously. She was a really good physiotherapist.”
Fast forward to 2022, Tan’s fitness levels appeared to be on the upswing, signalling promising signs of a comeback. There was no greater feeling for him than the liberation running once again brought him. He was eased back into NBRC training sessions in slower pace groups and also did his own runs on weekends – and it all paid off.
April 2023 saw his long-awaited return to distance racing when he ran the 2XU Compression Run Half Marathon. Against all odds, the 45-year-old achieved his best ever record.
“I did a sub two hour! I ran faster than I ever did. I’d never achieved that before so I improved after my injury,” he laughed.
“The training in 2023 under Guo Pei helped a lot. He’s very serious when he coaches. He’s bubbly, yes, but he’s a very dedicated coach! His coaching method is quite targeted as he assesses individuals.”
Tan then went on to complete the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon at the end of 2023 and is now on track to make his overseas race debut at the Sydney Marathon, an event he especially looks forward to as they push for their World Majors' standing.
“My training program for the Sydney Marathon is to run three times a week. One with NBRC, one with Guo Pei on Thursdays and one alone on weekends. When you run with friends though, you tend to push each other. If they don't stop, you don't stop. That's the joy of running in groups,” the runner smiled.
“I’ve never done an overseas marathon before. It was also inspired by Guo Pei, who’s a run leader promoting the Sydney Marathon so I think it’ll be fun to do an overseas run with him and to show him some support as well. It’s one way of giving back to him.”
Looking ahead to September, Gavin is in high spirits to swap the blistering hot runs in Singapore for a cooler one in the Australian spring, hoping it will aid him in achieving another personal best.
Looking to join an overseas race? The Sydney Marathon, presented by ASICS, is a candidate race to become the seventh Abbott World Marathon Major. Offering one of the world's most scenic courses, participants who join the Sydney Marathon from 2022 to 2024 will gain automatic entry into the event when it becomes a WMM major in 2025.
Sign up for the Sydney Marathon and find out more about Australia's biggest marathon here.