Soh Rui Yong (yellow) in action during the two-loop race. (Photo 3 © Soh Seow Hong. Used with permission)
Still wearing tracksuits to protect ourselves from the chilling winds, we walked in single file towards the start line. Along the way, I spotted Xinqi in the last 150m of her race, racing four other girls in an exciting battle to the finish. She executed a speedy last 100m to outsprint the pack for ninth place, a good result for her, considering she was ranked only 12th out of the 13 runners in terms of personal best times.
We proceeded to do some strides as our final warm up, before stripping off our tracksuits and being introduced to the crowd. TV cameras broadcasting the race were everywhere. The crowds lining the streets were unbelievable, and as excited as I was to get going, I reminded myself to keep a clear head and stick to my race plan.
“ON your mark!” came the familiar command. “On” was bellowed so loudly by the enthusiastic race starter that Mervin was caught off guard and started running, only to realize the race had yet to begin. This generated some nervous laughter among the rest of the athletes, while the officials were nice enough not to disqualify Mervin, allowing him to retake his position on the starting line.
“ON your mark!” for the second time of asking, and we were flagged off by the race horn. This time, there was a clean start, as I started conservatively and took my position right at the back of the pack, safely negotiating the first two sharp turns. James of Australia had got off to a good start, but the Kenyan Solomon Kipyego Keter soon charged into the lead and set a punishing pace, dragging along the rest of the field. Having often practiced running 64s per 400m in training, I settled into gear and ignored the rest of the field, allowing myself to drift slightly off the back of the pack.
Approximately 500m into the race and up the slight incline along Des Voeux Road, runners were starting to get dropped, and I moved past two Hong Kong athletes into 12th place. They reacted instantly, latching onto the back of me and following my move. Next, I drafted behind the two Macau runners, who soon began to slow. As we descended the downslope on Murray Road, I proceeded to glide past both of them into 10th place, and began to gain on another Hong Kong runner and the Thai representative, Wacharin Waikachi (a 3:58 1,500m runner).
Sensing that they were slowing and losing contact with the lead pack of seven, I increased my effort as we made a right-angled turn onto the home straight, Charter Road, for the penultimate time, and pushed harder, overtaking both of them just before passing the half-mile mark in 8th place, and hearing the bell. My plan was working.
Next to fall off the lead pack was Hsu Yu-Chih of Chinese Taipei, a formidable 10,000m runner with a personal best of 32:11. I overtook him just before our second sharp turn onto Ice House Street, moving into seventh out of 14 runners. There were now only six runners in front of me, consisting of the leader, Solomon of Kenya, with the two Australians, James and Nathan, hot on his heels, and three of the biggest 1,500m names in South-East Asia, Mervin of the Philippines, Ridwan of Indonesia, and Jironi of Malaysia. Though there was a gap between them and me, catching people one by one had bolstered my confidence, and I told myself to go for broke and chase down the lead pack.
“Forget reputation, forget rankings, forget personal bests. In a race, anything can happen!” I told myself, and pushed hard as we went up the Des Voeux Central slope for the second time. Here, James made a bold move to snatch the lead, and the pace increased dramatically, causing me to lose some ground on the lead pack as everybody reacted to the injection in pace.
Reaching the end of the Des Voeux Central slope portion, we made a sharp turn again and descended Murray Road for the second, and last, time. Due to the accumulating fatigue and lactic acid, I turned poorly and lost some momentum, but reacted quickly to launch my finishing kick down the hill with about 250m to go.
Turning sharply onto the home straight on Charter Road, I spotted Mervin dropping off the pace and looking tired. I made up ground on him quickly, but just as I got past him, he reacted with a defiant finishing kick of his own to pull ahead of me again. Finding an extra gear of my own, I fought even harder and stopped the gap from growing, but was unable to pass him again before the finishing line, finishing a stride behind. The Hong Kong trio had rallied strongly in the second lap, and crossed the line just seconds after I did.
My official finish time was 4:33, earning me seventh place in a field of immensely talented middle distance athletes. I felt like I had won despite being far from a spot on the podium, as this was feedback that I was on the right track to achieving my goal at the start of the year – improve my ability at the shorter distances. The Hong Kong International Diamond Mile was a great experience and excellently organised by the officials of HKAAA. I am glad that I have had a chance to experience this unique street mile, and I will look back on the race with fond memories for many years to come.
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