By Elvin Liang
Mok Ying Ren finishing as the fastest Singaporean at the Army Half Marathon in 1:10:13. (Photo 1 courtesy of SAFRA)
The Padang, Sunday, September 1, 2013 – Mok Ying Ren, 25, was the fastest Singaporean at the Army Half Marathon (AHM), crossing the finishing line in a time of 1 hour 10 minutes 13 seconds. Mok managed to shave 6 minutes 43 seconds off his 2012 AHM timing. Last year, he finished third behind then winner Soh Rui Yong and runner-up Ashley Liew, both of whom did not take part this year.
Ivan Low was second in 1:12:25 while Ang Chee Yong was third in 1:14:21. The top five local runners came in under 1:15. 20,197 runners took part in the half marathon that was flagged off at 5.15am.
Mok’s winning time is an improvement of 2min 12s over last year’s winning time of 1:12:25 set by Rui Yong. Since there was no change in the Army Half Marathon route, this has led to some speculation among the elite runners that the 2013 route was about 800m short of 21km.
“The route wasn’t accurate this year and neither was it last year so it was difficult to make a good comparison. But I definitely always enjoy the experience as the Army Half Marathon is definitely one of Singapore’s best organized races,” said Mok.
“The first 10km, I was running with the top Kenyan ladies who were going at a steady pace of 3:30/km. it was fun to run in the pack with Ivan (Low) from the Guards division and Kien Mau, one of Malaysia’s top marathoners,” recalled Mok. “The next 6km, I pulled away from the Kenyans as I felt their pace slowing. I was running alone for the second half of the race and motivation did not come easily. I was glad to finish the race with a solid effort.”
“It was a solid run effort for me and it indicates that my current fitness is on track towards my training for the SEA Games. I am looking forward to running in the SEA games in December in Myanmar this year!” said Mok who has qualified to represent Singapore in the marathon at the SEA Games.
Mok, a medical doctor, clocks a 30-minute daily run before he starts the day as a house officer at Ang Mo Kio Polyclinic. He then ends the day with an hour run in the evening. Mok, who won SEA Games triathlon gold in 2007, switched his focus to running because the sport is relatively inexpensive, easy and time efficient.
But more importantly, Mok believes that he can contribute to society through running. “I have a community project together with some of my running buddies at www.runtowalk.sg,” said Mok. The community aims to promote running as a healthy way of living and Mok conducts running clinics for the community.
21KM AHM Men’s
SAF Active Servicemen and SAF NSmen (ORNS, MR & Ex-NSmen) only
1st Mok Ying Ren – 1:10:13 (1 hour 10 minutes 13 seconds)
2nd Ivan Low – 1:12:25
3rd Ang Chee Yong – 1:14:21
4th Su Yen Bing – 1:14:25
5th Benjamin Quek – 1:14:25
6th Fang Jian Yong – 1:15:27
7th Colin Tung – 1:15:38
8th Alex Ong – 1:15:51
9th Ho Ghim Koon – 1:16:35
10th Raviin s/o Muthukumar – 1:17:10
21KM AHM Men’s Master
SAF Active Servicemen and SAF NSmen (ORNS, MR & Ex-NSmen), age 40 years old and above only
1st Tan Swee Tiong – 1:17:31
2nd Teo Shau Meng – 1:25:09
3rd Goh Lean Seng – 1:25:29
21KM AHM Family Men
Up to 3 nominated immediate family members of participating SAF Active Servicemen/ Servicewoman and SAF NSmen (ORNS, MR & Ex-NSmen)
1st Mohammad Nazri bin Rahman – 1:24:18
2nd Yew Wee Chua – 1:31:28
3rd Joe Kwan – 1:33:47
21KM AHM Men’s Open
All male participants who are not eligible for the above categories
1st Silah Kipkemboi Limo – 1:01:26
2nd Bernard Muthoni – 1:01:51
3rd James Munyi Maregu – 1:02:16
21KM AHM Women’s
SAF Active Servicewomen only
1st Jing Dai – 1:53:56
2nd Jessica Teng – 2:00:11
3rd Wynne Tan – 2:07:08
21KM AHM Women’s Master
SAF Active Servicewomen, 35 years old and above only
1st Yuan Ping Chong – 1:54:49
2nd Hui Bing Thio – 2:18:59
3rd Siok San Lee – 2:23:33
21KM AHM Family Women
Up to 3 nominated immediate family members of participating SAF Active Servicemen/Servicewoman and SAF NSmen (ORNS, MR & Ex-NSmen)
1st Jie Shi Neo – 1:29:53
2nd Baoying Lim – 1:29:54
3rd Stella Lee – 1:31:47
21KM AHM Women’s Open
All female participants who are not eligible for the above categories
1st Jackline Nzivo – 1:12:10
2nd Fridah Chepkite – 1:12:44
3rd Esther Karmi – 1:13:17
SAFRA 10KM Race Men’s
SAF Active Servicemen and SAF NSmen (ORNS, MR & Ex-NSmen) only
1st Hua Qun Soh – 31:39 (31m 39s)
2nd Henry Lee – 32:53
3rd Philip Ramachandran – 32:55
SAFRA 10KM Race Men’s Master
SAF Active Servicemen and SAF NSmen (ORNS, MR & Ex-NSmen), aged 40 years old and above only
1st Hong Leng Kek – 35:06
2nd Seow Wee Ku – 36:10
3rd Thomas Neo – 37:22
SAFRA 10KM Race Family Men
Up to 3 nominated immediate family members of SAF Active Servicemen/ Servicewoman and SAF NSmen
1st Jacky Ong – 34:03
2nd Zong Wei Tng – 44:06
3rd Sean Kwek – 45:16
SAFRA 10KM Race Men’s Open
All male participants who are not eligible for the above categories
1st Kipchirchir Vincent – 28:47
2nd Koech Walter Kiptanui – 28:48
3rd Samson Kiplagat Tenai – 29:56
SAFRA 10KM Race Women’s
SAF Active Servicewomen only
1st Pui Cheng Oh – 55:28
2nd Kim Hong Tan – 56:20
3rd Beng Choo Ong – 57:07
SAFRA 10KM Race Women’s Master
SAF Active Servicewomen aged 35 years old and above only
1st Siew Mee Chow – 56:21
2nd Leng Leng Chua – 58:02
3rd Kim Choo Cheng – 1:28:48
SAFRA 10KM Race Family Women
Up to 3 nominated immediate family members of SAF Active Servicemen/ Servicewoman and SAF NSmen
1st Hong Leng Kek – 35:06
2nd Seow Wee Ku – 36:10
3rd Thomas Neo – 37:22
SAFRA 10KM Race Women’s Open
All female participants who are not eligible for the above categories
1st Susan Jemutai Chepkwony – 35:32
2nd Caroline Kigen – 36:32
3rd Vanja Cnops – 37:01
Number of Runners
21km Army Half Marathon – 20,197
SAFRA 10km Race – 16,287
SAFRA 5km Fun Run – 6,936
Dads For Life 800m Father & Child Challenge – 2,628 (1,314 pairs)
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