Soh Rui Yong braves the cold in Houston to meet SEA Games qualification mark

SINGAPORE – Since he started competing over a decade ago, Singaporean distance runner Soh Rui Yong had completed 15 marathons, with only one DNF (did not finish) due to a heel issue that forced him to drop out of the 2015 Fukuoka Marathon.

On Jan 19, in his 16th career marathon, Soh ran one of his toughest races and “by far the coldest” as frigid temperatures of 1 deg C and icy winds pushed him to the brink of quitting several times during the Houston Marathon.

Despite the punishing conditions, the two-time SEA Games marathon gold medallist crossed the finish line in 2hr 27min 49sec, in the process also meeting the 2:35:49 qualifying mark for the 2025 edition in Thailand.

The 33-year-old, who wore three layers of clothing at the start of the Houston race, said the extreme cold left his body feeling unnaturally tight, leading to pain in his arms early in the race as he thought of throwing in the towel.

“I don’t like admitting it because a part of me sees it as a weakness to even consider dropping out,” he said.

“But I think it’s also very human to feel that way when you’re in pain. This was the one race where I thought of dropping out, like the most number of times.”

He quipped: “There were a few police cars blocking out the roads from point to point and it would have been so easy to just stop and walk over to the police and say ‘I need a lift back’.”

Noting that some of the distance markers were missing amid the windy weather in the early morning, with no crowd support nor anyone right in front or just behind him, he described it as “a fairly lonely race for most parts”.

His “pacing was all over the place” and his vision became blurry midway, but he found the strength to finish strong.

Now back in England, where he is completing a Master of Business Administration at the London Business School, Soh said he was delighted to have met the Games’ marathon qualifying mark, way before the window closes on Sept 5.

Each nation is allowed only two athletes per event at the Dec 9-20 Games in Thailand.

Soh, who holds six national records – 5,000m (track and road), 10,000m (track), road mile, half-marathon and marathon – has clocked the fastest marathon time by a Singaporean within the window.

The next quickest are Henry He (2:34:24 at New York City Marathon 2024) and Aaron Justin Tan (2:35:26 at Valencia Marathon 2024).

But the quest for a marathon treble after golds in 2015 and 2017 may not be straightforward for Soh.

Clashes with the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) had resulted in his exclusion for the 2019 and 2021 SEA Games, although he was selected for the following edition in Cambodia, where he did not compete in the marathon, but won the 10,000m silver in May 2023.

But he was out of the national fold again the following month, as the SNOC deemed that he “failed to honour commitments” to the organisation and omitted him from the Asian Games although he had met the 10,000m qualifying mark for Hangzhou.

It remains to be seen if he will get the nod for Thailand.

The SNOC said on its website that its selection committee will meet in July to discuss the national sports associations’ nominations and make its picks for the biennial Games.

But Soh said he has “faith that good sense will prevail” and is hopeful of being selected.

He said: “A lot of the athletes I competed against 10 years ago in my first SEA Games are no longer running the marathon. The field is getting even better.

“I am looking forward to the potential of facing Agus Prayogo from Indonesia (defending champion) whom I first raced with in 2012 at the Asean University Games so us two old dudes up against the young ones will be quite special.”

Soh, who had also met the 10,000m qualifying mark of 31min 25.55sec with his 31:11.37 effort at the Tokai University Long Distance Challenge last November, is also looking to qualify for the 5,000m event in Thailand.

He is also eyeing the 2029 edition, which will be hosted on home soil again.

He said: “The SEA Games in Singapore will be cool to qualify for because 10 years ago, that edition was what kick-started my career.

“To come back 14 years later and do another SEA Games in Singapore is not very common, and something that I think I should be able to do if I play it smart.”