SINGAPORE - A busy year lies ahead of national marathoner Soh Rui Yong, who will be heading to University College London to read law while preparing for May's SEA Games and September's Asian Games.

But Soh, who is aiming to rewrite his national record of 31 min 15.95 sec in the 10,000m event at the Asiad, is determined to make it work.

The 30-year-old, who is leaving for England next week, had began looking for coaches to work with in London as he targets a sub-31 minute time in Hangzhou.

In London, Soh will be training with running club Highgate Harriers and coach David Chalfen, while still working closely with his coach in Singapore, Steven Quek.

After exchanging emails with Chalfen, who had coached athletes who run the event in 29 to 31 minutes, Soh believes working with him would be beneficial for his development.

"I'm trying to run below 31 minutes this year, so these will be the guys I'm training with and the coach who has the experience coaching guys at the level," said Soh on Saturday (Jan 22), after the first day of the Singapore National Track and Field Championship 2022.

"It'll be good because I'll get to train with guys who are my standard or better. I'm excited to do these track meets in the UK to get myself sharp and ready to race."

On Saturday, Soh had taken part in the 1,500m and 5,000m events in the championships.

While he pulled out of the 5,000m race after experiencing a slight discomfort in his right knee, he is not worried as he prepares for a new chapter in London.

The two-time SEA Games marathon champion, who has also met the qualifying mark for the marathon event at the Asian Games, is looking forward to the new environment.

He also believes that the cooler climate could help his performances on the track, saying: "We've been stuck here a while. I don't think it's good to stay in one place as an athlete, you want to go out and train in a new environment, racing with new competition and keep the stimulus going.

"The cooler climate will definitely allow for higher mileage and harder workouts to be done."

While he acknowledged that juggling law school and training will be a delicate balancing act, he believes that returning to school could also help him improve his focus on the track too.

He said: "One key difference is that I will be in law school so that's time and investment taken away. But school isn't the worst thing - it helps keep your mind off training."