Sunday, June 10, 2007

Good Bye, Penguin 6

I was saddened when I received an SMS from Kevin that Terence Leong had passed away at 12.30pm on 8th June 2007.

Even though, I had not known in person but I felt connected to him by reading his running adventures in his blog. He called himself the Penguin 6. He was not a fast runner but he did it with gusto and passion.

http://www.jroller.com/page/penguin

This blog was one of the first running websites I visited frequently visited since 2004.

When I started my blog, decide to blog anonymously. Never put my face pictures in my write up. Many other runners tried very hard to identify/ spot me. But not Terence. We communicated through the Internet, through each other blogs.

I remember he left a very profound comment on my blog. I managed to search for it. He wrote,

"Actually what I admire most is the way you hide your identity.

In Japan one famous MANGA artist who remain "hidden" for over 20 years one day decided to reveal his identity and give an interview.

Every reporter was there and the first question they asked him was .. WHY HE DID NOT REVEAL HIS IDENTITY ?

The Manga artist simply and humbly replied .. I want people to remember and appreciate my ART and not me."

http://www.haloscan.com/comments/runwitme/112537153435411777/#133731

Original post here

His words had nailed what I felt inside. Until today, I never publish my "face pic" in my blog and prefer to still blog anonymously.

Oh God! My tears are pouring down like rain from my eyes as I type this post. I do not know why I felt so sad. I guess I will be missing his joyful self very much.

The above picture was taken at The National Monument, en-route my Bukit Aman training run this morning. I think the picture is appropriate as a tribute to Terence. He is my hero in the running world.

Goodbye, my friend - Terence Leong aka Penguin 6. RIP.

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