By Soh Rui Yong
Soh Rui Yong (yellow) of Singapore takes his place at the start of the race. (Photo 1 © Soh Seow Hong. Used with permission)
On April 20, 2013, I rose from bed at 3.50 a.m. in order get to the airport in time to catch a 6.05 a.m. flight to Hong Kong. I was selected by the Singapore Athletic Association (SAA) to represent Singapore in the prestigious Hong Kong International Diamond Mile to be run on April 21. My training partner, Look Xinqi, was selected to represent Singapore in the women’s category, and we were slated to make the trip together with our coach since our days in Raffles Junior College, Mr Steven Quek.
The Diamond Mile (previously known as the Hong Kong Golden Mile) has traditionally been contested by the best athletes from the Asia-Pacific region, including many of the South-East Asian (SEA) Games medalists. As an athlete who dreams of bringing glory to Singapore at the SEA Games one day, I was naturally looking forward to the chance of testing myself against some of the best in the region.
After the conclusion of the ASEAN University Games in December 2012, where I ran my 10,000m personal best of 32 minutes 26.00 seconds, my coach and I made the decision to go into off-season, and focus on speed training for a while, before I shifted my focus back to the 5,000m and 10,000m distances again.
I joined the Raffles Institution cross country team for hill intervals on the grounds around Singapore Sports School earlier in the year, and did upslope sprints on a grassy slope at the MOE Physical and Sports Education (PESE) Branch, to form a strong foundation on which we could plan the rest of the year’s training on.
This was soon followed by short and intense intervals on the track, as we aimed to improve my speed. This was done in the belief as my body learnt to move at a faster pace, I would find pace of the 5,000m and 10,000m events much more manageable when I eventually went back to the longer distances.
When SAA announced that they would be organising a mile (1,609m) time trial in order to select the best male and female runner to represent Singapore in Hong Kong, my coach and I identified it as a meet we could work towards in our quest to improve my ability at the shorter distances. Competing at the time trial, I finished as the top Singaporean in 4 minutes 27.94 seconds, and to my delight, was selected for the Hong Kong Mile. My joy was doubled when training partner Xinqi won the women’s time trial in 5 minutes 36 seconds, and was selected to go with me on the trip.
I was delighted to see some familiar faces in Hong Kong, including Mohd Jironi Riduan of Malaysia (2009 SEA Games 800m/1,500m double silver medalist and 2010 ASEAN University Games 800m/1,500m double gold medalist) whom I had previously met at the 2012 Negeri Sembilan Open and 2012 ASEAN University Games (AUG) in Laos.
Other familiar faces included Ridwan of Indonesia (2011 SEA Games 1,500m gold medalist), whom I had got acquainted with at the 2012 AUG and Nathan Down of Australia, who happened to be on holiday in Singapore and handily beat me by five seconds in our selection trials when he clocked 4:22, just three weeks prior to the Diamond Mile. We chatted like old friends, exchanging views about training schedules, personal best times and personal lives back home. Everyone seemed up for the race the next day.
Nathan introduced Xinqi and me to his Australian teammates, James Hansen and Melissa Duncan, both incredible runners with personal bests of 3:46 and 4:13s respectively for the 1,500m. I proposed a pre-race jog together when we got back to the hotel, and they warmly agreed to the idea. Xinqi was initially skeptical, concerned that she would be left behind by us, but I convinced her to come along, promising that I would always run one step behind her so she would not be left behind.
As it turned out, the five of us had an enjoyable jog together on the streets of Hong Kong, avoiding slopes wherever possible so as to avoid accumulating any unnecessary fatigue. Nathan and James stopped after 20 minutes of jogging, while Melissa, Xinqi and myself continued for 10 more minutes, before we all proceeded with stretching exercises and a few fast strides, just to loosen up after the flight.
After the jog, the Australians went to the hotel swimming pool, while Xinqi and I returned to our rooms. She wanted to take a nap and I had to study for my upcoming final exams starting on April 29. I washed up, packed my bag for race day, then spent a good 45 minutes studying. Thereafter, Xinqi and I met up for dinner at a nearby food court, where we were joined by the two Chinese women representatives, Zhang Xiao Jun and Wu Li Min. They are professional athletes who are natives of nearby Guangzhou province, and speaking to them allowed us a much deeper insight into the lives of professional athletes who train twice a day, almost every day.
Wishing the two ladies all the best for the race, Xinqi and I proceeded to purchase fruits, bread and water from the nearby supermarket, before turning in for the night early, in order to get enough rest for our big day.
Despite waking up twice, at 1 a.m. and 4 a.m., to use the bathroom, I fell asleep relatively easily and felt sufficiently well rested when I woke up at 7.30 a.m. on race day. A quick shower and a final check of my race backpack later, I joined Xinqi for breakfast at the hotel. The selection variety was immense, though I eventually settled for a relatively safe choice of cereal, oatmeal, toast and fruits. We had to catch the bus to the race venue at 9 a.m. even though the race was only due to be flagged off from 12.10 p.m., and I was thus careful to eat enough so I would not feel too hungry again prior to the race.
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