In 2011, Jasmine Goh began running with one simple aim - to lose weight.
Fast forward six years and the 37-year-old is now on the cusp of representing Singapore for the first time at this year's SEA Games.
Yesterday, the mother of two clocked a time of 2hr 54min 51sec at the Hong Kong Marathon to win the Master 1 (35-44 years old) category.
More importantly, it was her personal best time and well below the SEA Games qualifying benchmark of 3:07:14 set by Singapore Athletics, the local track and field governing body.
The two fastest qualifiers will be picked to represent Singapore at this year's Games in Kuala Lumpur.
National team-mate Rachel See, who competed in the 2015 SEA Games and who was also in Hong Kong, clocked 2:58:27.
Reflecting on her feat, Goh, whose previous best time was 3:03:40, said: "I am pleasantly surprised (by the time) and really grateful (to my club). I trained very hard to achieve this goal."
The financial consultant credits coach Lexxus Tan's training programme for helping her crack the three-hour mark for the first time.
She trains at least six days a week, and her programme includes running up hills and speed endurance.
Goh, who won the Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore women's category last year, said: "I believe the structured training programme set by my coach as well as training with a group of disciplined runners from my club F1, too, helped me to excel. I really enjoy running with the like-minded individuals at my club."
Indeed, while running a marathon is often a lonely toil of putting one foot in front of the other, both Goh and See lauded their training groups for their good form.
See, whose previous personal best was 3.00:37, said: "The marathon is a lonely (event) but you can complete it together with other like-minded people. I run with (2016 Olympian Neo) Jie Shi and a group of guys including our spouses."
The 34-year-old, also a mother of two, added: "I was down with flu the whole of last week so I am very happy with my performance.
"I just kept telling myself that I must do my best because I am representing the country."
The qualifying window for this year's SEA Games closes on May 31 and the duo are unlikely to run another marathon before then.
See, a civil servant, believes their results prove that women's marathon is on the rise.
She said: "I think the local ladies are all getting better. We push each other to run faster. And we get more experience with age and more races."
