National marathoner Soh Rui Yong, 27, had originally planned to take part in the Tokyo Marathon this year.

But due to an administration error in Tokyo, he decided to switch his focus and participate in the Seoul Marathon instead – with the aim of breaking the national record for the Marathon.

That had meant that Soh would have to run a time under 2 hours 24 minutes 22 seconds – a long-standing record that had been set in 1995 by one Murugiah Rameshon.

Soh’s Training Went Well

Soh, though, had been feeling quite confident as his training had been going well, despite having to do two more weeks of hard training.

Said Soh, a Business Development Manager / Sports Ambassador at The Smart Local, “When Tokyo did not work out and I decided to run Seoul instead, I had to make some adjustment to my programme – so instead of tapering for Tokyo, I had to extend it and train hard for two more weeks. That was a bit sian but I had to refocus and think positively and thankfully it all worked out in the end.”

He continued, “My training actually went very well in Singapore and my workouts prior to the Houston Half Marathon were stuff like 15 x 1KM when I was able to maintain pace of 3:13, 3:12, 3:11, 3:10 minutes with 60s rest in between. That is a workout I had never managed to do before and I was doing it alone in the heat of Singapore so I was very encouraged by that.”

Soh’s red-hot form was apparent when he raced the Houston Half Marathon – where he rewrote the national Half Marathon record, running 21.1km in 1 hour 06 minutes 46 seconds.

He had taken part in this race as a build-up run towards his Marathon.

The previous Half Marathon record of 1 hour 07 minutes 08 seconds had been set by Mok Ying Ren at the Arizona Rock ’N’ Roll Half Marathon in 2016.

Said Soh, “When I broke the National Record for the Half Marathon in Houston, I thought to myself that I was in great shape and that I only needed to put in a few more weeks of hard work and I would be ready to take on the Marathon.”

Five Week Stint at Flagstaff, Arizona

To prepare himself for the Marathon, Soh also did a five-week high-altitude training stint at Flagstaff, Arizona, in the United States.

He added, “However I had injured my Achilles in Houston, so I could not push to 160KM – 170KM per week when I was in Flagstaff. My mileage was still stuck at 130KM per week. But the altitude training really did help, though, together with a change of scenery for five weeks. As well, the warm weather when I returned to Singapore – after the Flagstaff stint – also helped my Achilles to heal so by the time I went to Seoul, it was not bothering me anymore.”

Positivity From His Job

As well, Soh feels that his new job at The Smart Local also contributed to his great training block for Seoul. He said, “Working at The Smart Local has been very refreshing and I am enjoying it. The positivity from my work has allowed me to be positive at training as well. So this has been a good Marathon training cycle.”

His Original Strategy

Thus, toeing the start line at Seoul, Soh was quietly optimistic about breaking the National Record.

Said Soh, “I would say that I was confident for sure, and optimistic, but then again, in a Marathon, anything can happen so there is always that little bit of doubt. You might feel great for 33KM or 35KM but then when it hits you, it really hits you.”

Continued the marathoner, “Based on training though, most of the signs were pointing in the right direction. The only thing against me was the lack of mileage but I tried to forget about that.”

At the beginning, Soh’s strategy was to run 3:25 minutes/kilometre for 30KM, which is equivalent to a 2 Hour 24 Minute Marathon pace.

Said Soh “That would have been a good result. Of course I wanted to finish below 2 Hours 24 Minutes but I would not have complained if I did 2 Hours 24 Minutes exactly.”

After 30KM, Soh would turn on the screw and then at 35KM he would unleash everything and run as hard as possible to the finish.

Plan Went Out Of The Window

Said Soh, “It was much easier said than done though. Because right from the start, the plan went out of the window.”

This was because the elite field in Seoul is not as deep as that of World Marathon Majors such as Tokyo, Berlin and Chicago.

Soh continued, “So when the gun went off, there was a group of men who charged off. I did not know what pace they were running at, but it looked to be maybe a 2 Hour 19 Minute pace, which was a little too quick for me.” 

He added, “So I settled off on my own and it was just me for the first kilometre, with another group running a short way behind me.”

Soh didn’t want to have to run the whole race alone, so he decided to slow down and run with the group behind.

Said Soh “Their first kilometre was a bit slow but after that they were running at 2 Hour 23 Minute pace. I looked behind me and there was no other group except them, so if I did not go with this group, I would be running 2 Hour 24 Minute pace alone. I thought to myself, I am not going to do that.”

He continued, “So I decided to go with the 2 Hour 23 Minute group, start a bit faster, adapt the race plan, and go with a pack that was running at a pace that was okay for me. I tried to stay as relaxed as possible and follow this pack.”

This was despite Soh admitting that he had not felt fantastic during the first few kilometres of the Marathon.

He said, “I think after the first 2KM – 3KM, I felt short of breath. I was thinking to myself, how come, because we are not even going that fast. But I have experienced this in training before, where I go through a rough patch as my body is not yet warmed up. So it is not new to me – as such, I told myself not to panic and the feeling would pass. True enough, I felt better and better as the kilometres went by.”

Reaching Halfway Mark In Good Form

In the early stages of the race, Soh had enjoyed running with the group, which had consisted of about five to six African women, one Ethiopian male pacemaker and a few Japanese or Korean guys.

He said, “We reached the halfway mark at 1 Hour 11 Minutes 35 Seconds which was on target.”

Following that, the next ten kilometres of the race passed by uneventfully, with Soh continuing to follow the pack and maintaining the pace at the same time.

Feet Pain

Continued Soh, “Then we got to 30KM. Some parts of my legs felt painful such as the arch and bottom of my feet, but I was still pretty relaxed by this stage. When you are running on the road for that long, some parts of your body are bound to hurt.”

However at the same time, the third metatarsal on Soh’s left foot was beginning to get a bit painful for his liking.

Said Soh, “I have had a metatarsal stress reaction before, so at that point, I was thinking to myself, shit, this had better not break during the race, man.”

As well, Soh’s right calf was also beginning to get sore, but he admits that this is a common problem for him. Said Soh, “It happens in races often when my right calf gets sore, so maybe I have imbalance in my running posture.”

He added, “But this late into the race, I felt good aerobically – I could talk and I could breathe. I was pretty relaxed. If there was anything that would be my undoing, it would have been my feet or calf.”

Soh Makes A Move At 35KM

From 30KM to 35KM, Soh felt that the pack he was running with was beginning to slow down.

He said, “I think the pacemaker was taking a lot of the headwind for the group so he was a bit tired. Though I could feel them slowing, I did not want to make a move too early.”

Continued Soh “But at 35KM, I felt that we were slowing down too much and that I might miss the 2 Hour 24 Minute mark if I continued to go with them. So that is when I went from the back to the front of the pack and started pushing. There was nobody from the pack who came with me right away. I had moved aggressively and I was running by myself for the next few kilometres.”

Soh’s next few kilometres were done at a pace of 3:22 Minutes/KM, followed by 3:21 and 3:25 Minutes/KM.

Said Soh, “It was like the last 7.2KM consisted of just me chasing the next guy on the road. Then we got to 39KM and 40KM and I knew at this point that I did not have to do anything special.”

Record Is In The Bag

It had been at this 39KM point that Soh knew that he had the record in the bag.

He said, “As long as I kept running strong and did not hit the wall or make any more super aggressive moves, I knew that I would make it.”

The leading female runner eventually caught up with Soh in the final couple of kilometres.

He said, “Her last 2KM to 3KM was very fast and that was why she caught me. I was not really going all-out by this point because I wanted to play it safe and get to the finish line.”

He added, “But when I saw the camera ahead, I started to sprint because I was like, wah better not lose to a girl on camera. Having that competition next to me allowed me to go quite fast. I think my last 300 Metres was timed at 51 seconds and the last 200 Metres was at 34 Seconds. It was definitely a fast finish to a Marathon and was not a slow effort either because this was my personal best timing.”

Happy With His Timing

Soh’s official Seoul Marathon timing – and the new National Men’s Marathon mark – was 2 Hours 23 Minutes 42 Seconds.

Said Soh, “I was quite happy for sure when I saw the finish timing because that was my first Marathon under 2 Hours 24 Minutes and it was my target.”

He added, “Now this means that I have run 2:26 Hours in California, 2:25 Hours in Berlin and 2:24 Hours in Chicago. I hope that the next Marathon will be 2:22 Hours but as for which one, I myself have not decided yet.”

His Immediate Post-Race Recovery 

Immediately following the high of the Marathon, the pain in Soh’s right calf and left Achilles returned.

He said, “I hope that this does not become a recurring issue but I am working on it. I found a wall and put my leg up against it and stayed there for 20 Minutes.”

Continued Soh, “As well, I also did some light jogging to cool down; actually I would call it more of hobbling though. Then when our bus came, I stood up and boarded it to go back to my hotel. There, I had lunch, took an ice bath and by night time, I could go out and party hard – so I think that I had recovered well.”

His first treat meal after the Marathon had been Korean Kimchi with pork, and beer to wash it all down.

What Went Right And Possible Improvements 

Now that he has had time to reflect on his Seoul Marathon performance, what does Soh think about his performance? What does he feel went right and where does he think he can still improve?

Said Soh, “What went right, was definitely the execution. It was the best race I have ever executed. My first half was 1 Hour 11 Minutes 35 Seconds and my second half was 1 Hour 12 Minutes 07 Seconds. It’s a 32 Second positive split; out of all the marathons I have done, this is where the two halves were the most similar.”

However, he felt that he was not running anywhere near the mileage that he should have been running, for an elite Marathon runner.

Said Soh, “130KM per week is non-existent when you talk about guys trying to run my Marathon times. For example, my friend and rival from Indonesia, Agus Prayogo, runs like 200KM – 240KM per week. So 130KM is almost half of his mileage. That is something that I definitely have to work on because if you do not put in the work, you cannot get the result.”

He continued, “But unfortunately, I had been held back by all these small injuries and these take you out and limit your running. So my biomechanics are definitely not perfect and that is my limitation.”

Has he thought of changing his biomechanics and getting his running form and gait looked into?

When I had queried him on the topic during our interview, Soh admitted that it is a thought that has never occurred to him.

He said, “Generally I keep it simple. I train hard and rest and eat and sleep. But maybe I will consider that. I don’t really have a lot of time, though, trying to work full-time and run as well.”

Work And Running Can Be Juggled

Nonetheless, just coming off a successful Marathon performance in Seoul, Soh urges all of the runners out there to not lose heart if they find that they are struggling to manage their job with their running hobby.

Said Soh, “I did Seoul after spending five weeks in Flagstaff, but I was also working whilst there. The majority of this training block, though, was spent in Singapore, juggling a job with running.”

He continued, “So for anyone who feels like they are struggling to manage these two commitments, do not lose heart. It is possible to do it – just be as consistent as possible and do the training that is required to take you to the next level. As well you need to make sure that you get the rest that you need, as best as you can. I hope that my Seoul Marathon performance can motivate other people who are in the same situation and need to juggle work with running training.”

Soh’s Upcoming Running Goals

Now, though, following the high of his Seoul Marathon performance, Soh is planning to take a break from Marathon training before deciding win his next race.

He said, “I did a lot of Marathon training and extended it by two weeks, too, so I am definitely having a rest. When I come back, though, I want to do shorter distances like 5,000m training – to get in touch with my speed again. Last November and December, after coming off from the Berlin Marathon, I did that, and it really helped my Half Marathon and eventually Marathon performances.”

Added the runner, “It’s also good to change the training for the body, and makes it psychologically fun as well, to shake things up – so that training does not get stale.”

2020 Tokyo Olympics Is In Sight

But when he returns back to Marathon training, Soh definitely has qualifying for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in his sights as his next target.

He said, “I am definitely going to try and qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.”

Soh then went on to explain that there are four ways for a runner to make it to the Olympics.

The first way is to meet the Olympics qualifying time of 2 Hours 11 Minutes in a Marathon.

And the second is to get into the top ten at the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) World Marathon Championships 2019 in Doha.

Said Soh “The first two are probably the hardest for someone of my standard to achieve. For starters, running a time of 2 Hours 11 Minutes is ridiculous.”

The other two ways, which Soh feels are more achievable for him, are to be placed in the top five at an IAAF Gold Label Marathon Race or the top ten in a World Marathon Major.

As well, runners can also make it to the Olympics by virtue of their IAAF World Ranking, too.

Added Soh, “Generally though, I usually do not think too far beyond one Marathon. I will have to think about it and see which is the best way to go about making the grade for the Olympics.”