Soh Rui Yong (red) is followed closely by Jason Lawrence during the opening laps of the 5000m race. Rui Yong went on to clock a seaon’s best time of 15:39.80 to win the event. Jason was 2nd in 15:42.86. (Photo © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Bishan Stadium, Sunday, August 26, 2012 — Soh Rui Yong, 21, won the 5000m in a season’s best time of 15 minutes 39.80 seconds at the 74th Singapore Open Track and Field Championships.
Jason Lawrence, 31, was second in 15:42.86 while Le Van Hoang, 29, of Vietnam was third in 16:26.57.
Rui Yong’s personal best time for the event is 15:36.02 which he set at last year’s Singapore Open when he finished fifth.
Rui Yong led from the start, and it became clear that it would be a one-on-one battle with New Zealander Jason Lawrence.
“Under close pressure from Jason Lawrence and the Vietnamese Hoang Le Van for the first couple of laps, I did my best to remain relaxed and keep the pace quick,” said Rui Yong.
“I knew that if I kept to a steady and honest pace of about 72 seconds per lap (72s per lap = 15min for 5000m), nobody would be able to stay with me.
“Fighting the headwind and forcing the pace for lap after lap, I managed to break away from Jason at the 1800m mark, but at the 2200m mark, I then began to tire and my split times slowed to 74, 76, 78, then 80s,” recalled Rui Yong.
“Jason fought his way back and reeled me in, but I took the chance at every bend to sneak a look behind and see how far apart we were.
“With three laps to go, I was hurting and gritting my teeth, and my bad back was beginning to tighten up slightly. But with my sheer desire to win, as well as the encouragement of my coach, Mr Steven Quek, my former Raffles Institution teacher in charge, Mr Tay Meng Kiat, and all my friends and supporters, I found the energy to fight on.
“I picked up the pace again, running 78s for my next lap, then 75s for the penultimate lap, before closing off the last lap in 72.6s to hold off Lawrence by just three seconds.
“It was a great battle against one of the best distance runners our local scene has seen in the last couple of years and I thoroughly enjoyed it,” said Rui Yong.
Two weeks ago, Rui Yong started his first year of studies at the National University of Singapore (NUS). Sitting down for long hours again proved less than ideal preparation for his race.
“I was having a stiff back the entire week before the race, probably from hours spent in a sitting position the last two weeks since I started my Business Administration course at NUS. I went for a sports massage to try and loosen my back two days before the race but it turned out to be a bad move as I ended up having a sore back and left glute from the massage. I was very sore and I was unable to run properly till I loosened up during my warm up routine,” said Rui Yong.
“I should have just kept faith with my body and raced in whatever condition i was in. If I wanted to get a sports massage, I should have gone a week before and not two days before.
“It definitely affected me mentally and physically before the race. I tried to ignore it during the race, but when the stiffness appeared in the last three laps it was impossible to ignore the pain,” added Rui Yong.
The next race for Rui Yong will be the Army Half Marathon on September 9th.
“Looking forward to running against the best half marathoners from all over Singapore!” said Rui Yong.
5000m Results
1st Soh Rui Yong — 15:39.80
2nd Jason Lawrence — 15:42.86
3rd Le Van Hoang — 16:26.57
4th Colin Tung — 16:37.40
5th Lee Jian Ler — 18:25.50
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