Soh wants to end 2016 on a high

SINGAPORE — These days, national marathoner Soh Rui Yong heaves a sigh of happy relief after completing each training session at Flagstaff, Arizona, where he is currently based for a nine-week training stint.

After struggling with a plantar fasciitis injury — which causes pain in the heel and at the bottom of the foot — for the past nine months, the 2015 SEA Games men’s marathon champion is finally running pain-free as he sets his sights a new personal best (PB) time at next month’s Chicago Marathon.

The Oct 9 marathon is Soh’s first competitive outing since the London Marathon in April, and the 25-year-old told TODAY: “It’s been a long and frustrating process as I’ve been battling this injury since last November.

“I’m so relieved to be running pain free again. I hope to run fast there (in Chicago) and if I get a PB it’ll be great, and a national record will be even better.”

Soh’s injury woes began in November last year after he sustained the foot injury during training, with the subsequent flare-up forcing him to drop out of the Fukuoka Marathon at the 12km mark.

The pain continued to dog him at the World Half Marathon Championships and London Marathon in March and April, respectively, and Soh eventually missed out on qualifying for the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Soh has not beaten his PB of 2hr 26min 01sec since the 2014 California International Marathon, but he is hoping that the Chicago Marathon’s flat race terrain will give him the best chance of ending the year on a high.

“Chicago is an easier course than California, but the weather can be unpredictable,” added Soh.

“It’s pancake flat but very windy. But if the weather conditions are good, I believe I can run 2:26. I’m in better shape than when I ran my PB in 2014 and I’m running longer training distances of 185km as compared to 160km a week.”

The Chicago race could also be a huge confidence boost for Soh ahead of next year’s SEA Games in Malaysia, as the runner makes his bid to capture back-to-back titles in the men’s marathon.

The national record-holder in the men’s 10,000m is also gunning for a bigger goal in 2020: Qualifying for the Tokyo Olympic Games in the men’s marathon.

But Soh will first have to navigate the realities of balancing work life with his training and competition plans, as the business graduate from the University of Oregon will return to the Republic next month to work for Sport Singapore.

Citing the lack of a coach, training group and Singapore’s hot and humid weather as challenges he faces here, Soh hopes to be able to return to Flagstaff for a six-month training stint next year to prepare for the SEA Games.

“Ideally I would like to have the best of both worlds — contribute to the organisation and train at a high level — but we’ll see,” he said.

“To eventually compete against the best in the world ... I’m hoping to increase my training mileage to 190km per week next year, and up to 200km in two years’ time.

“I don’t want to just compete in the Olympics — I want to place in the top half or top 20, and not go there to fill up the numbers.”