SINGAPORE – He weighed close to 150kg four years ago.

An unhealthy lifestyle had seen Darren Ho’s weight balloon from 77kg to 142kg over two years and it would have gone up even more if not for the sudden passing of his uncle, who died from multiple organ failure.

That jolted him into the realisation that he could not continue to eat and drink with abandon, and precipitated the start of a weight-loss journey that saw him drop 64kg over the next two years.

Ho was back in shape again but he did not stop there – in just over two weeks’ time, the 35-year-old will participate in his third full triathlon at the IronStar 226 race in Sochi, Russia on Sept 23.

It is a sport that Ho picked up only last April and a far cry from his previous lifestyle, but he has now adopted triathlon training as more of a lifestyle than just a sport to prepare for.

“When I started on this journey four years ago, I never thought much of it other than wanting to become healthier and not leading a premature life with bad habits,” he told TODAY.

“The journey has been truly long and most times, difficult… I never once thought that I would one day be training full time as an athlete at my age.”

Ho will become the first ever Singaporean to take part in the IronStar 226, which is part of the triathlon franchise of the same name that aims to bring the sport closer to athletes in Russia and its neighbouring countries.

It was held for the first time last year and like the more well-known IronMan, the 226 is a full-length triathlon that consists of a 3.8km swim, 180km bike ride and 42.195km run.

RUSSIAN COLD

The IronStar was not on Ho’s initial calendar of races this year, but he could not turn it down after the organisers offered a spot on the recommendation of his coach Tatjana Ivanov.

“I was extremely happy to accept,” he recalled. “Being able to race in Sochi where the (Winter) Olympics was held is a dream come true for me.

“To be able to cross continents as the country’s only representative in this race is truly an honour and hopefully, it will give all of us a platform to showcase how far Singapore sport has come and this will inspire many more athletes to participate internationally.”

In Russia, the cold weather will be a major challenge and Ho hopes that the experience of his first ever full triathlon last December at the IronMan race in Busselton, Australia – an “indescribable feeling”, he added – last year will come in handy.

“One of the parts I can never prepare enough for is swimming in cold water due to our climate (in Singapore) and this is something that takes some getting used to, especially since the swim in Russia will be quite cold and will require wetsuits,” he noted.

“Having done a full distance race in Busselton last year which had similar climate, hopefully I can take some experiences from there and apply it in Russia.”

In a bid to acclimatise to the conditions, Ho will depart for Russia a week before the race.

Preparations have been going well enough for Ho, who juggles multiple daily training sessions with wearing three different hats of being a nutrition and fitness trainer, a start-up consultant and an entrepreneur.

“I would always say preparation for a race can always be better but I feel that I’ve gotten stronger this year, bearing in mind that I began this sport only last April,” he said.

“I’ve been working on my swim, which has been the weakest part of the three components involved and because I only learned how to swim last year.”

STAYING FOCUSED

While the physical aspects, such as having a proper training plan and taking care of his nutrition are important, Ho noted that staying sharp mentally is also a crucial part of preparations.

“Since I decided to train full time, I have to be able to maintain my focus not just for one or two sessions but to have enough in the tank for purposeful training all the time,” he explained.

“It’s easy to drone and get sessions done without hitting your targets, but something altogether when we have to put our minds and bodies to accomplish the task… for all the sessions in the week, not just for one or two.”

This is complicated by the fact that Ho was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Tourette’s Syndrome and high-functioning autism when he was 30, which has led to him advocating for a more inclusive Singapore.

“In my advocacy work, I aim to educate others about these conditions to improve people’s understanding and hopefully this will give my peers who are blessed with these conditions renewed hope and a sense of vigour,” said Ho, who added that he obtained a full written diagnosis last month.

A painful experience in Taiwan in May this year helped to reinforce Ho’s desire to devote himself to the sport. At the IronMan 70.3 race in Taitung, he was involved in a bad bike crash that saw him skid across the road and crack four of his ribs early on.

He was advised by the medics to end his participation but he chose to carry despite knowing that he would not be able to post a good result.

“The pain in the completion taught me never to take these challenges for granted and it was then that I knew the sport of triathlons would always have a special place in my heart and this drove me to pursue it full time,” he said.

Ho is fresh off a return from his second full triathlon in Switzerland, which left him with around one month to recover for IronStar, but is confident he will be ready for back to back races with the help of his coach Ivanov’s meticulous methods.

INSPIRING OTHERS

He hopes to complete the race in under 13 hours but more importantly, Ho wants to see more Singaporeans participating in such races in future.

“While it would be easy to say that I’m honoured and proud to be Singaporean and the only competitor there, this race to me should be the beginning of many new and exciting milestones not just for me but for other triathletes and athletes as well,” he noted.

“After all, we are only stronger together as athletes from the same country. And definitely, hopefully I will perform well during the race and will carry our flag with pride.”

Armed with a personal motto of “Onwards”, which he signs off with on all his social media posts and blog entries, Ho’s message to others is simple: No challenge in life is too difficult.

“I don’t want to wake up one day and wished I tried to train full time or professionally but rather wake up one day knowing that I did the best I could to become the best version of myself,” he said.

“When I decided to embark on full-time training after managing my weight issues, my goal was never for people to tell me how good I am, but for me to tell everyone else how good they potentially can be if they believe hard enough in something that represents them.

“The idea is to always be the best version of yourself and to keep moving forward... Smile when the going gets tough, face our adversity with a sense of fight never seen before and stay humble in our success.”