TWENTY-FOUR hours before the curtain went up at the Beijing Olympics last Friday, one long-distance run got under way here in Singapore.

A 35-year-old secondary school teacher set off on a punishing 12-hour marathon to mark the opening of the Games and to show his support for local Olympians.

During the gruelling run, made harder by rain, Mr Koh Suan Lam rested for just 40 minutes - about half of that time for a quick nap to recharge his batteries.

By the time Mr Koh ended his run at dawn on Friday, he had covered 88.8km in honour of the start of the Olympics, which opened on Aug 8.

'I have never run more than a marathon distance of about 42km before, so this distance was quite tough,' said Mr Koh, who is head of the physical education department at Kent Ridge Secondary in West Coast.

'I was pleasantly surprised that I managed to finish it in 12 hours.'

In the past month, students and teachers from the school ran a total of 4,476km - the distance between Singapore and Beijing.

Mr Koh's personal contribution was the finale.

School principal Koh Chong Mong said the run, which followed a course around the secondary school, was a way to promote the Olympic spirit.

'We want our students to have perseverance. And if they see that Mr Koh is able to do this, they will understand that they also can overcome difficult challenges.'

The school used the run to help raise $8,800 for charities such as the President's Challenge, said the principal.

An avid runner, Mr Koh has completed four marathons and two Ironman triathlons. While he is not new to long runs, he still hit a low point last Thursday night at the 30km mark.

'I was feeling down because of the rain and because of sleepiness because I had only slept three hours the day before,' he said.

He took a 20-minute power nap at an unsheltered rest point outside the school gate, which was the turning point of the race for him, he said.

After the nap in the slight drizzle, he woke up energised.

What gave him added inspiration was the presence of his family, colleagues and students.

His nine-month pregnant wife Rachel, 35, went down to the school three hours into Mr Koh's run to cheer him on. She brought the couple's six-year-old son Lendal.

'I was a little worried, but he has done marathons before, so I am quite used to it by now,' Mrs Koh said.

'And I sent a text message to his colleague later at 2am to see if he was all right.'

Some 50 students and a few co-workers took turns running with him during his 70 laps around the school. Other students spent the night at the school and cheered him on.

Hundreds more lined the streets to welcome him the next morning as he made it across the finish line.

His run inspired many of his students.

Kwek Pei Wen, 15, a Secondary 4 student, ran two rounds in the night and the last round with Mr Koh in the morning.

She said: 'I was quite shocked when I first learnt he was going to run 88km because I don't like long-distance running.

'But he was doing something to honour the Olympians and to show how we could go 'beyond frontiers', which is our school's motto.'

The rest of the time, she was studying with her classmates, preparing for their O-level preliminary examinations in two weeks.

Johan Neil, 16, who has been Mr Koh's student for four years, ran with his teacher.

Johan said: 'Mr Koh has done a lot for the school, raising funds through running. So running with him, giving him support, is my way of giving something back to the school before I graduate.'

wycin@sph.com.sg

STUDENT SUPPORT

'I was quite shocked when

I first learnt he was going to run 88km...But he was doing something to honour the Olympians and to show how we could go 'beyond frontiers', which is our school's motto. Running alone can be quite boring, so we ran with him to keep him company and give him some support and motivation.'
Secondary 4 student Kwek Pei Wen, 15