Rui Yong with Malaysia's 800m/1500m SEA Games silver medalist and ASEAN University Games Champion, Mohd Jironi Riduan (left). (Photo 3 © Soh Rui Yong)
Sandwiched by the “big two” of the race, with Sivamani 30m ahead, and Ahmad on my shoulder, I decided that my best bet was to stay relaxed and try to reel in Siva gradually. Ahmad seemed content to follow behind, and didn’t have any intention to set the pace.
Slowly but surely, I chipped away at the big lead that Siva had built up, and caught up with him with four laps of the race gone. The heat was already beginning to get to me, and my legs were not as fresh as I hoped they would be. I spent a moment considering whether I should follow behind Siva and continue to let him lead the race, but decided that I had to push the pace if a respectable time was to be run. Moving to lane 2, I moved past Siva into the lead, and wound up the pace ever so slightly. Siva reacted instantly, shifting gears and going with me, evidently relieved that someone else had stepped in to set the pace. Ahmad had been dropped by now, and it looked to be a two-horse race for the gold medal.
Running in the lead, I stayed relaxed while trying to keep the pace moving. I wanted to win the race, but I also wanted to run a respectable time as well. Before I could settle into a steady rhythm, however, Siva put in a burst of speed and moved into the lead again. Once at the front, he slowed right down again. His intention of going to the front was not to run a faster pace, but to run at a slower, more comfortable speed. Undeterred, I gradually reeled him in again, and passed him as we crossed the 2200m mark, with seven laps to go.
We crossed the 2.4km mark in 7:30, on track for a 15:37 finishing time. However, I could feel my energy being sapped away by the afternoon heat, and from the rigours of trying to win the race from the front. 3000m was passed in 9:26. The pace was slowing by the lap, but we were still on track for a sub-16min finishing time, at the very least.
With five laps to go, I tried to shake Siva off my shoulder, but he was comfortable enough to go with my laps of 79.5s and 78.2s. Then, with three laps to go, he shot into the lead and provided an injection of pace. He had saved lots of precious energy by following behind me, and was now attempting to make a fast break. I had however, been expecting this, and had reserved some energy to cover his move. Stepping up my pace, I attached myself to the back of him. It was now my turn to shadow him and let him do the pace-setting. The hunted was now the hunter.
Siva reeled off a 77.8s lap, then looked back to assess the damage done. I was hurting, but was still there, right behind him. I was expecting another surge to come, and was bracing myself to go with him when he accelerated again.
To my surprise, however, Siva moved to the inside of lane 1 and slowed down dramatically, before looking back again. It was as if he was sending an invitation for me to take the lead again. Reading his intentions, I sensed that he possessed a good finishing sprint, and wanted to save energy so he could use his sprint during the last lap. Having confidence in my own finishing ability, I thought to myself, “No, I’m not going to take the lead now. Let’s jog this lap if you want to, I’ll take you on in the sprint for home.”
With neither of us keen to push on, the penultimate lap was covered in 81.3sec, by far the slowest lap of the race. As the bell rang to signal the last lap, Siva shifted gears and started his finishing kick. I followed close behind, staying as relaxed as I possibly could, and waiting for my chance to strike. With 250m to go, I felt myself getting nearer to Siva, but chose to wait till the last 100m before attacking. We were running on lane 2 for almost the entire last lap, in order to get past the lapped runners.
200m to go. Crunch time. Siva launched his turbo sprint, but I was again able to cover his move. I lived with his killer speed around the final bend of the race, and as we moved into the home straight, I moved into top gear and launched my finishing sprint. This saw me gain a yard on Siva, and almost pull even with him, but he somehow found a way to kick again, holding me off. I was exhausted by this point, but fought on, driving my arms harder and willing my legs to carry me on, but I was unable to gain any ground on Siva. With 30m to go, it was clear that Siva had it won, and I accepted defeat, easing off towards the line.
The last lap had been run in 66.8s, and the final 200m in a blistering 30.2s. It was, by far, the fastest I finishing sprint I had ever mustered in a 5000m race. I had clocked 15:50 for the run, 14s off my personal best of 15:36. For my first race of the season, this was a great start, especially since I was only managing 16:30 at this point of time last year.
The 2012 Negeri Sembilan Open was indeed a wonderful experience for me. Strong competitors, great Malaysian food and four fantastically fun and helpful teammates in the form of Kenneth, Asmah, Valerie and Hannah made it not just an overseas competition, but an enjoyable road trip with friends as well. As an athlete, the experiences of living and competing in a foreign environment, racing against formidable foes, and employing strategies in a tactical race are sure to make me a stronger runner, and serve me well in the years to come.
Rui Yong with fellow athletes from Wings Athletic Club in Malaysia. From left to right: Hannah Lee, Valerie Pereira, Asmah Hanim, Kenneth Khoo, Soh Rui Yong. (Photo 4 © Soh Rui Yong)
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