Soh Rui Yong Sets Singapore Record for 5KM Road Run for a Race He Didn’t Prepare For

Last Updated on 2023-08-22 , 12:23 pm

Local sporting talent Soh Rui Yong sets a national record for a 5 km road race in London.

This may not be very surprising given the runner’s track record of stellar sporting records.

But what makes this special is that Soh did not prepare for the race.

In fact, he only remembered about the race the day before the race took place.

Here is what happened.

Soh Rui Yong Clinches Third for 5KM Run in London

It’s like that person who says that they didn’t study for the exam but ends up scoring an A+ on the subject.

How infuriating. But we are also envious of them.

National runner Soh was happily holidaying in Paris with his girlfriend for his 32^nd birthday when he returned to London to a shock.

His race tag for a 5km run the following day had arrived at his apartment.

However, the runner forgot about the race. It was not one of his key races, and he had signed up only to pace a friend who wanted to run a sub-16-minute race.

The race in question was Sri Chinmoy Kangaroo Hop 5km. It took place at Battersea Park.

Alas, as fate would have it, Soh’s friend was unable to make it for the race, and Soh went for it alone, without any training for the run.

It was a good call, given that he finished third overall with a time of 15 minutes and 15 seconds.

This was a mere few seconds behind second place Matthew Rallison (who finished in 15 minutes 12 seconds) and Nick Bester (who ran the race in 15 minutes 6 seconds).

Soh Rui Yong Sets National Record for 5KM Run in London

In a way, Soh’s third place is a record-breaking one.

There were no national records for a 5km run in Singapore, so this could count as the first record.

The Straits Times reported that Singapore Athletics “recognised Soh’s achievement” in this race. The 5km run meets the criteria of having UK Athletics race permits and an accurate course certification.

Soh can definitely break his record again, given that his record for a 5km run is 14 minutes 44 seconds on a track (which may be different from running on the road in a marathon).

And with this, it looks like Soh has made a comeback after the defamation controversies last year.

In a celebratory Facebook post, Soh revealed that he ran the race after a WFH day.

Wow, we wish we had that stamina or energy to run a race after a long day of work.