The 17th edition of the Singapore’s marquee running event, the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon (SCSM) took place last weekend, with tens of thousands of athletes from 127 nations, regions and territories, taking in the stunning sights and sounds of the all-new course, which spanned the lush greens and striking skyscrapers of Singapore.
Click here to view the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2018 Photos.
And in the process, five brand new champions were crowned in the various Marathon categories, across the strongest-ever elite field ever, in SCSM history.
Kenyans Sweep Men’s and Women’s Elite Open Categories
Winning the Men’s and Women’s Elite Open categories had been Joshua Kipkorir, 24, and Priscah Cherono, 38, both from Kenya. Their wins were the icing on the cake for Kenya, which had swept up all three podium places for the Elite Men’s and Women’s categories.
Joshua broke away from the pack after the halfway mark and crossed the finish line in 2 hours 12 minutes 20 seconds. This is the second fastest time in the history of SCSM.
Said Joshua on his win, “This is my first attempt at running in Singapore and I liked the course. It was very nice and Singapore is such a beautiful city.”
Finishing a minute behind had been Kenya’s Felix Kirwa, who won the 2016 edition of the SCSM.
As for Priscah, she had broke away at the 40km mark to finish ahead of fellow countrymen Stella Barsosio and Jane Jelagat in a timing of 2 hours 32 minutes 12 seconds. This too, is the second fastest timing in history for the Women’s Elite category at SCSM.
Said Priscah, “Singapore is a good place. I am lucky to be here. Yesterday was so hot, but today the conditions were good. I am so happy I won the race. I came to this race and I prepared myself, so I am dreaming.”
She continued, “I would love to come back in Singapore again soon.”
Inaugural Elite Wheelchair Marathon Category
In the inaugural Elite Wheelchair Marathon category, Kota Hokonuie of Japan and Zou Lihong of China took home the top prizes in the Men’s and Women’s categories.
Kota had finished in a time of 1 hour 13 minutes 36 seconds and is thankful to have had the chance to race in Singapore.
He said, “This is the first time that I have come to Singapore and am doing the wheelchair race. I am glad that it was a flat course and happy that I won the race.”
Continued Kota, “Though I have never taken part in a race that begins so early before, it was okay despite the darkness. The first half went by quite well but after that, the course got more technical and challenging.”
Kota also added that he had a crash at the 16km mark of the Marathon, but he managed to recover from it to finish the race.
Said Kota, “I had done a route recce the day beforehand so I knew where the tight corners were and what to look out for, so I was taken aback when the accident happened. But thankfully, I still managed to recover and win the race.”
On the other hand, for Zou, she had completed her race in a time of 1 hour 46 minutes 48 seconds.
Said Zou, “I am very glad to have been a part of this historic inaugural race and happy to be able to complete the race safely.”
She added, “There were quite a few twists and turns in the course, and one was quite tight. I almost crashed because of that but luckily I managed to turn back in time and finished the race.”
The last 10km proved to be the most challenging segment of the race for her. Said Zou, “The hardest part was the final 10km where you feel the tiredness but you have to just push yourself and put in the extra effort to keep on going.”
Nonetheless, she added that she loved her time in Singapore and would definitely return to race in the Lion City again. She said, “I really enjoyed the course. The city is very beautiful and I really hope to return with my team mates to participate in the race again next year.”
Doctor And Her Patient Win Singapore National Championships
And winning the Men’s Category at the Singapore National Championships at SCMS 2018 was Soh Rui Yong, 27, who had successfully defended his title in the Men’s category, clocking a time of 2 hours 41 minutes 49 seconds in the process.
Said Rui Yong on his win, “It is an honour to be this year’s National Champion, having competed against such a tough field. The race was a complete joy to run from start to finish, the organisation was smooth and the setup bodes well for future editions.”
He continued, “The new two-day format seems to be well-received by the runners and I hope that the local running scene continues to grow from strength to strength and join the competition.”
This win is despite the fact that Rui Yong had initially felt that he was a little undertrained to take on the Marathon.
Said Rui Yong, “Coming into this race, I did not have great preparation. I took time off running for two weeks, and also started a new job. There was a steep learning curve and the hours were from 9am-6pm. I did not want to knock off early for training so I was only running once a day, for no more than 80min-90min each day, with the exception of the long runs.”
Most of Rui Yong’s training is generally done alone. He said, “I meet Coach Steven Quek twice a week but other than that, I do my own workouts depending on the time of season.”
He continued, “I like running alone because it trains you to be mentally tough. It would be good to have a training partner sometimes though, but there are not too many quick marathoners in Singapore who match my pace.”
On the other hand, a new winner, Dr. Lim Baoying, 34, was crowned in the Women’s category, in an unexpected victory. She had finished the race in 3 hours 16 minutes 36 seconds.
Said Baoying, who was so overcome with emotion that she was giggling several times during the press interviews, “Really, this win was impossible. I set out to run a 3 hour 20 minute marathon and last night I would have been happy with that time, but when the race started, I took off and I gave it my all.”
Both of them had fended off some fierce competition from over 20 Team Singapore athletes, including former champion Rachel See and veterans Mohamed Iskander and Giebert Foo.
Said Baoying, “When I saw Rachel at 38km, she was not running any more. I told her I wanted to run with her to the finish but she was having problems and she told me to go on ahead. I didn’t expect to win at all. I was not looking at my pace but it was not very fast. I was running mainly by feel.”
Sleeping late nights regularly after 12am and juggling a Master’s degree programme together with her work and marathon training, her circumstances do not exactly lend itself to a marathon victory. Yet Baoying managed to overcome the odds and she prevailed.
Rui Yong Is Baoying’s Patient
Besides engaging in her love for running, Baoying is a sports doctor by profession, and interestingly, she had treated Rui Yong recently when he had sustained an injury leading to the Berlin Marathon earlier this year, in September. So this means that he is one of her patients.
Said Rui Yong, “After Berlin, I was having a very sore foot and was struggling with posterior tibial tendonitis. It was very sore and painful to run and I had to take a painkiller before I ran in the Berlin race because it was getting in the way of my performances.”
He added, “That was becoming very annoying, so when I came back to Singapore, I felt I needed to knock the injury off once and for all. So I sought out a good sports doctor and I was soon introduced to Baoying. She gave me a very painful treatment; I don’t know what she was doing to me, as I was too busy screaming in pain.”
But the treatment helped though, and Rui Yong is now feeling thankful to her for her help. He said, “My treatment with Baoying has definitely come full circle today.”
Standard Chartered Bank Congratulates The Runners
At the close of events at the SCSM 2018, Patrick Lee, the CEO of Standard Chartered Bank Singapore, took the time to celebrate the weekend’s festivities.
He said, “Congratulations to not only the winners, but all of our runners. Every one of them carries his or her personal story of courage, determination and passion.”
Continued the CEO, “It is a privilege to be part of an event that is of such scale, quality and inclusiveness. For a bank which has been in Singapore for almost 160 years, we are delighted to play a part in strengthening our social fabric.”
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