2014 World Half Marathon Championships – race reflection by Soh Rui Yong (Part 3 of 3)

By Soh Rui Yong

Soh Rui Yong is currently an undergraduate at the University of Oregon. (Photo courtesy of Eugenia Lim)

Soh Rui Yong, 22, is a Singaporean undergraduate at the University of Oregon. He represented Singapore at the recent 2014 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships where he set a new personal best time of 68 minutes 18 seconds, which makes him the second fastest Singaporean over the distance. He shares with us a first-hand account of the race.

Continued from Part 2

Copenhagen, Denmark, Saturday, March 29, 2014 — The final 3 miles of a half marathon can sometimes be harder than the first 10 miles combined.

As the fatigue and pain builds up exponentially from sustained exertions, mile after mile, there comes a point in the race when the arms seem heavier and the legs scream in pain. It’s your body’s way of saying, “Stop, I can’t do this no more!”

This is where the real race begins. Where even the best athletes can be swallowed and spat out. Where you make or break your race.

My splits for the race so far went: 5km – 15min 57sec (105th place) 10km – 32min 07sec (104th place) 15km – 48min 31sec (100th place)

Having run a couple of half marathons where slowing dramatically in the closing 6.1 kilometers of the race left me disappointed with my finishing time, I had gradually learnt to pace myself, not get too excited in the first half of the race, and always keeping something in reserve for that devilishly tough final quarter of the race.

Running off the shoulder of Estaban Cuestas, the Uruguayan, I did my best to swallow the pain and hang tough. With every stride, my calves got tighter, and my hamstrings got sorer. Strangely enough, my breathing seemed very relaxed, almost as if my mind, heart and lungs were isolated from the rest of my hurting body. Perhaps, it was a testament to the largest block of aerobic capacity I had built up in my 10-year running career, with long runs going up to 20 miles (32.2 kilometres) in preparation for the World Championships.

“Relax your arms, hang onto him, you’re almost there,” I tried to reassure myself.

My watch beeped. Mile 11 in 5min 14sec. It was a big slowdown from my 5min 00sec 10th mile. I wanted to go past Cuestas and push the pace again, but my race had gone well so far, and the last thing I wanted to do was to push myself over the thin red line, blow up, and crawl through the finish.

So I tucked in behind Cuestas, and waited. Iglesias, the Spainiard running in a white cap (62min 40sec Personal Best, 2hr 10min 44sec Marathon), made a bold move and passed both of us to push the pace again. Iglesias had run times far faster that what I had been able to do, but at this stage of the race, reputations counted for nothing. I covered his move and went with him. Cuestas also responded immediately.

As the three-way battle waged on, my watch beeped again. Mile 12 in 5min 14sec. It seemed that we were all pushing harder, but our pace was the same. Only the effort being spent had increased.

I’m hurting like hell at that point, but the heavy panting of Cuestas and Iglesias told me that they were hurting just as much, if not more. I was interested to see if I could beat them, so I put my head down and surged into the final mile, deciding to make a long run for home.

My turn.

The change in pace instantly dropped the fading Spainiard, but Cuestas matched me stride for stride. Racing each other, we easily chased down a Bulgarian and Tunisian runner in front of us. I knew a massive personal best was in the bag if I could keep the rhythm going.

“Push on, don’t blow up,” I repeatedly reminded myself.

My watch beeped just as Cuestas made a huge move to pass me. Mile 13 in 5:10. I saw the crowd of supporters get thicker and knew the finish was near. I started to drive my arms and push hard, striving for the finish, but my legs had a mind of their own, refusing to go much faster than I already was. The final 100 meters or so seemed to take forever, but I eventually finished my greatest half marathon ever – 68min 18sec, 93rd place among some of the best runners in the world. My previous best of 69min 15sec was shattered.

I shook the hands of Cuestas, Iglesias, and many of my other competitors, and even some of the volunteers, thanking them for their help in staging what was an awesome half marathon in Copenhagen. Proceeding on my cooldown jog, I felt as if a huge load had been lifted off my back. I could finally enjoy taking in the sights of beautiful Copenhagen, without a worry in the world.

I could now have a break, but knew that there was still a lot more work to be done. Soon, I would have to go back to the drawing board, and plan out the rest of my racing calendar for 2014. Soon, I would be back on the trails of Eugene, pounding more than a 100 kilometers a week, working towards my next race. Soon, I would be in the familiar world of pain and suffering again.

But for now, moments like this are what I lived for.

Soh Rui Yong’s Half Marathon Mile splits by Garmin GPS

Mile 1 – 5:01

Mile 2 – 5:04

Mile 3 – 5:09

Mile 4 – 5:08

Mile 5 – 5:11

Mile 6 – 5:03

Mile 7 – 5:09

Mile 8 – 5:12

Mile 9 – 5:07

Mile 10 – 5:00