'Do what brings you joy': Meet the woman who ran 1,000km from Thailand to Singapore in 12 days

SINGAPORE: A day after her achievement of running 1,000km from Thailand to Singapore over 12 days, Natalie Dau looked remarkably relaxed.

Perhaps it is because she has had seven hours of sleep instead of her usual two. Or that she is finally enjoying the air-conditioning in a hotel room instead of baking in 39 degrees Celsius heat or dodging wild dogs.

Dau's legs are swollen - she plans to see a doctor later in the day - but she looks at ease. After all, the 52-year-old has accomplished what she set out to do. 

Her feat through Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore on foot has earned her the Singapore record for the "Fastest 1,000km Thailand-Singapore Ultramarathon". Her entry to the Guinness World Record for the "Fastest Crossing of Peninsular Malaysia on Foot" is pending official certification.

Plus, she has raised about S$50,000 (US$37,000) for GRLS, a charity which works to elevate women and girls through sport and exercise, as well as help them develop leadership skills.

"A lot of people didn't believe I could do it," Dau told CNA on Thursday (Jun 6). "I'm not offended that they say that ... (The accomplishment) is a crazy thing to wrap your head around."

TWO MARATHONS A DAY

An avid ultramarathoner, Dau had been looking to do something a little "crazier", something more of a "personal journey" rather than signing up for just another race.

To run 1,000km through the three countries, she would have to clock the equivalent of about two marathons a day.

"Talking to my husband about it, he's like: 'It's a great opportunity to bring awareness to something that you're passionate about and raise some money,'" said Dau, a Singapore permanent resident, adding that she shares similar ideals with the charity GRLS.

"My passion is being healthy and fit, my passion is trying to inspire young girls, so I thought that's the perfect fit."

While Dau typically runs between 100km and 150km a week, she did not ramp up her daily mileage in preparation. Instead, she focused on running in the mornings and evenings to get used to longer days, and practised eating during runs to see how her body would react.

Together with her team, Dau also had to deal with the logistics of such a major endeavour.

"Planning for the actual run was a nightmare, it was way harder and way worse than the training," she recalled.

Supported by a team of six who split in two vans, her "on-site manager" Arthur Tong on a bicycle and a Thai police escort, Dau would begin her journey in Hat Yai on May 25.

It was a difficult day and she felt like giving up after hurting her hip, an injury she had had before.

"This was day 1 and there was still 920km to go and I couldn't walk it out (to the end). So that was the scary moment for me," she recounted.

"I got my physio on the phone, we managed to (get) a massage. Getting up the next day to run, I was quite scared but luckily it settled down."

DEALING WITH SEARING HEAT

Dau's journey in Thailand would take her through bustling highways, quieter country roads and even paths through kampungs. But dealing with traffic was a constant issue. 

"Some roads were great, they had a nice road shoulder that you could run on, which was fine. But most of them did not," she explained.

"So you are literally running on a white line with trucks from the palm plantations speeding on by ... There were parts that were super heavy traffic."

Another issue was the heat. Dau estimates that temperatures were 39 degrees Celsius every day. 

"You are in the glaring hot sun the whole day and you can't escape the heat," she said. "It was pouring in Singapore (and I was wishing) they could send some our way."

At some point in Thailand, Dau's shoes melted.

"We would get to 60km (a day) pretty easy, but the last 25 felt like you were running another 60 just because of the heat," she said.

To cope with the weather, she would eventually start her days extra early. This means pushing the start of her daily runs to as early as 12.15am instead of the planned start of 5am.

The idea was to get the first marathon of the day in before the sun came up, explained Dau.

"Sometimes it could be a 50- or 60-minute drive to the hotel from the end-point. Then you have to go back there the next day to start, so you're adding two hours into your day of no sleep," she said.

"We'd get back, try and eat, get into bed by 9 o'clock, and you're setting your alarm for 11.30pm the same night."

Her day would typically start with a peanut butter and jam sandwich at about 3am, followed by a bit of prata breakfast hours later. At 10am, her nourishment could take the form of protein shakes, a can of coffee or even a Mars bar for added energy.

"It was really about while it's cool, get in as many calories as you can. Because as it gets hotter, there's really no way I can stomach a lot of food," she explained.

"It was almost front-loading calories and seeing what I could maintain with for the rest of the day, which was generally liquids."

"SUPER KIND" PEOPLE

While most of what she saw along her journey were palm tree plantations, there were also glimpses of the coastline.

"A couple of times we came onto the coast and it was beautiful. It was nice to hit Mersing, but it was just glimpses and then you're back on the highway," she said.

Although Dau had been warned of safety issues in southern Thailand, she found nothing but hospitable and welcoming smiles.

"The amount of people that said to me: 'Don't do it, it's not safe, you shouldn't be there'. If I had listened to everyone, I wouldn't have done it," she recalled.

"I'm really glad I did do it ... I didn't have any of those experiences, in the end, I had nothing but positive experiences."

Dau recalled an overwhelmingly positive reception throughout her run.

"Ninety-nine per cent of the people were fantastic. There were beeps, waves ... Thailand especially, people would run out of their houses trying to give you water," she said.

"We would be running past people selling fruits on the side (of the road) and they would give us a handful of lychees. People were super kind, they had no idea of what we were doing."

In addition, friends and family would join Dau along various sections of her journey and this was an added source of encouragement.

"CAN'T FEEL THE BOTTOM OF YOUR FEET"

Then there were other not-so-pleasant encounters.

"There was one morning at about 3am and dogs charged (at us). And so I was banging on the van door to get in!" she recalled. 

Dau also struggled with a urinary tract infection for seven days. 

"It was quite scary because I was peeing blood for seven days straight. I didn't tell the crew how bad it was ... I didn't want to worry them and I didn't want them to stop me," she said.

Dau was on medication and was insistent she wouldn't let the condition derail her run.

"That was definitely pain to get through. (But) I wasn't going to let it stop me," she added.

Dealing with blisters also became routine for Dau, who went through four pairs of shoes.

"Every morning I would just get up and tape all my toes," she recalled. "By the end of the day, you can't feel the bottom of your feet."

A triumphant Dau crossed the finish line at Westin Singapore on Wednesday, and she wants to inspire others to achieve their dreams in their own ways.

"It doesn't have to be 1,000km, it could just be doing a 1km walk for a start," she said.

"Think small. You can have a great big dream in the background, but just think day to day. That's how I got through the run.

"Everyone's different. Don't let other people's goals impact what you feel like you need to do to be worthy of anything. Everyone is different and everyone has their own goals ... You do what brings you joy and what challenges you."