SINGAPORE – He may not be in “full marathon shape yet” but Soh Rui Yong still had enough in his tank to claim his fourth national marathon title, and first in four years, at the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon (SCSM) on Dec 3.
His effort of 2hr 40min 34sec saw him earn $10,000 as the fastest local, ahead of Daniel Leow (2:48:08) and Benjamin Khoo (2:50:37).
Soh had claimed a hat-trick of wins from 2017 to 2019, before it was dropped for the 2022 edition. The SCSM was held virtually in 2020 and in a hybrid format in 2021 due to the pandemic.
Soh, who clinched the SEA Games marathon gold in 2015 and 2017, last ran a marathon in Valencia in 2021 when he set the national record of 2:22:59.
At the National Stadium, Soh finished 15th in the men’s race, which was won by Kenyan David Barmasai Tumo in 2:14:15.
Soh, 32, said: “It is a nice feeling (to be national champion) again. It has not happened in four years and I have not run a marathon in two years, so to make a comeback to the marathon in Singapore is very nice.
“I‘m still not back in my full marathon shape yet. But there is some time for that before the next SEA Games.”
When asked if he will race the marathon at the next Games in Thailand in 2025, Soh smiled and said: “If I get selected.”
The national record holder in the 5,000m and 10,000m, half-marathon and marathon, was not selected for the SEA Games in 2019 and 2022 after several clashes with the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC).
He was initially excluded from the 2023 edition in Cambodia but his appeal was approved by a special appeals committee in late March. He did not qualify for the marathon at the Phnom Penh Games but clinched a silver medal in the 10,000m and was fourth in the 5,000m.
In June, it was deja vu as Soh was excluded from the Hangzhou Asian Games line-up as he had failed to “honour commitments which he had provided to the SNOC”.
For now, Soh will head back to England where he reads law at University College London. He will also prepare for his next race, the London Marathon in April.
He said: “My eventual goal is to try and push the Singapore record to below 2hr 20min. I think it’s possible.”
Veteran runner Rachel See was the fastest Singaporean woman in the marathon, finishing in 3:05:51, to claim the national crown she had won in 2014, 2017 and 2018. See, 41, collapsed onto the ground just past the finish line and had to be moved away in a wheelchair.
She later said: “I was just totally exhausted. As the years go by, it (winning) means a lot more to me. My daughters are now into running so I hope they can be proud of their mother. I was not expecting much. I was quite relaxed and wanted to go and do my best.”
See finished more than seven minutes ahead of Jasmine Teo (3:13:35) and Jasmine Goh (3:13:46).
In the half-marathon, Shaun Goh emerged as the men’s winner to bag the $5,000 prize money as national champion in 1:12:49 while Vanessa Lee took the women’s category in 1:28:30.
