Defending champion Soh seals marathon ticket for SEA Games
Soh Rui Yong (second from left) with other participants at the Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon. On his right (in Nike cap) is Shalane Flanagan, the American runner who won a bronze medal in 10,000m at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Photo: Soh Rui Yong
SINGAPORE - SEA Games defending champion Soh Rui Yong has cemented his spot in the men's marathon at the 2017 Games in Kuala Lumpur after clocking 1hr 7min 53sec at the Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon on Sunday (Feb 5).
The 25-year-old had met the qualifying mark for the full marathon after clocking 2:24.55 at last October's Chicago Marathon, but was required by Singapore Athletics to meet a time of 1:12.30 or 32min 57sec in a half marathon or 10k race during a stipulated period as part of its performance test.
While Soh is the first runner to secure his marathon spot at the Games, he will have to wait to see if his other teammates - including 2013 SEA Games champion Mok Ying Ren and Ashley Liew - make the mark. Only the two fastest runners in the event will be selected by Singapore Athletics for the SEA Games.
With the cold and rainy conditions in Marugame throwing up a challenge for runners on the course on Sunday morning, Soh dug in to post a time of 1:07.53 and earn his ticket to Kuala Lumpur. The distance runner was happy to make the mark despite incurring plantar fasciitis in his right foot just months after a return from an injury-plagued 2016 season caused by the same tissue inflammation problem in his other foot.
"Over the last four months, I've been running back home in Singapore on hard surfaces, doing about 120km a week so that doesn't help (my injury)," he said.
"Right now, it's still manageable, but it is affecting my knee a bit, and that's why I was quite surprised with my result at the Marugame Marathon. It was very cold and windy today and brought back memories of Cardiff (World Half Marathon Championships) when I injured my foot. I had to careful at the turns, and when going up and down hill today."
Soh, who works in Sport Singapore's coaching development department as an executive, is planning to take no-pay leave for a three-month training stint in Flagstaff, Arizona, to prepare for the SEA Games. While he will not be competing in any half marathon or marathon races from now till August, he will race in track events in a bid to qualify for the men's 5,000m or 10,000m at the biennial Games.
"Right now, my SEA Games campaign is not great, and preparations are not ideal, but hopefully after three months in the United States, things will fall into place," said the national 10,000m record holder.
"My competitors (at the SEA Games) have gotten faster. Two years ago, I had to race above myself to win, and my personal view is that I will need to do it again this time."
