Not Superman, but he can run without shoes

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, no, it’s Supertan: Tan Wah Sing enjoying some touristy fun in Amsterdam when he was there for the Amsterdam Marathon. Photos: Tan Wah Sing

No one takes part in 100 marathon runs barefooted without earning some kind of legend. Of all the “titles” he has been conferred – and they can go from Wah Koh (brother Wah) to Wah Shuk (Uncle Wah) – Tan Wah Sing likes “sifu” best, “... because my feet are usually in the air as I run ...,” not unlike a kung fu master.

The 60-year-old notched his landmark centennial at the Standard Chartered KL Marathon on Aug 7 last year, a feat his feet may never have envisioned when he embarked on this unconventional approach in his maiden shoeless marathon at the turn of the millennium, the 2001 International Penang Bridge Marathon. And he hasn’t looked back since.