By JOYCE HOOI

WITH wooden clubs and samurai swords no longer trendy in polite society, the weapon of choice for today's Type-A corporate leaders has become the heart rate monitor.

A growing number of senior executives are morphing into a hybrid of warrior-athletes, determined to conquer the field the same way they have conquered the boardroom.

Corporate figures such as Lai Choon Hung, CapitaLand deputy chief corporate officer, and Standard Chartered Bank chief executive Lim Cheng Teck have been making marathon registration lists that read like a Who's Who of executives.

Mr Lai will be stretching his hamstrings at this Sunday's Safra Singapore Bay Run & Army Half Marathon, while Mr Lim will be pitting muscle against tarmac at the Standard Chartered marathon in December.

Mr Lim, having already staked out the peak of Mount Corporate, will be moving up the ranks on the running circuit this year, joining the half marathon category for the first time in December.

He had taken part in the 10 kilometre category over the past few years and training by running three times a week for up to eight kilometres each time.

'I started running three years ago, because with the bank's sponsorship of the marathon, I wanted to be able to lead from the front,' he said.

In true high-flying CEO fashion, he already has a 12-month plan. 'Next year, I will be running the full marathon,' Mr Lim told BT.

Triathlons, too, have long been the mainstay of goal-driven executives. 'There is a big match between executives' personalities and endurance events. Running a successful triathlon is very much like running a successful business. You need to have talent, work very hard and work towards your goals,' said Alister Rusell, head coach of TriBob, a local triathlete-coaching firm.

Earlier this month, a shadow was cast over the triathlon circuit following the death of Calvin Lee Wee Sing, chief executive officer of Deutsche Telekom Asia, who was taking part in the OSIM Singapore International Triathlon.

The relationship between executives hungry for an adrenaline rush and the performance of their companies has not gone unnoticed.

Ted Kennedy, president of US-based CEO Challenges, makes a point of investing in firms run by CEOs who participate in endurance events.

One stock-pick of his was Philadelphia Insurance Companies, run by James J Maguire Jr, an Ironman participant. Over a span of four years, the stock had quadrupled in value.

The relationship might be a bit of stating the obvious for Benedict Soh, executive chairman of Kingsmen Creatives. 'If you are healthy, you'll be more successful as a person, CEO or not,' Mr Soh said. At 60, he continues to run twice a week, up to five km at a time in the Bishan Park area. His firm recently posted a 48.1 per cent surge in revenue for Q2.

Across the board and boardroom, a common factor for senior executives is the solitary nature of the endeavour - the adage 'it's lonely at the top' holds true even when they are in the great outdoors.

'I normally run on my own as it is hard for me to promise people a date to run if I have sudden meetings to attend,' said Patrick Cheo, CEO of Adam Khoo Learning Technologies.

Which is just as well, since the executive, even when engaged in the most primal of activities, is charting his business gameplan as he pounds the tarmac.

'Running is a very good time for reflection. I use it to strategise for meetings,' said Standard Chartered's Mr Lim.

StarHub's CEO Terry Clontz, who runs daily, has also found an analogy between his runs and the art of business war. 'It is easier to deal with problems and crisis at work when you break them down into bite-sized pieces. Likewise, a 10 km run is not a gargantuan task if you take one km at a time,' he said.

With a specific goal in the crosshairs, CEOs such as Mr Clontz have an iron will prevalent in both suited leaders and Spandex-clad sportsmen. 'I want to always be able to run 10 km in minutes not greater than my age. I am 58 years old, and so far I am safely within that target,' he told BT.

With StarHub's net profit recently soaring 21 per cent in Q2, these heart rate monitor wielding executives might soon prove that what is good for the old ticker is also good for the ticker tape.

This article was first published in The Business Times.