SINGAPORE — When Haile Gebrselassie shaved 27 seconds off his own marathon world record in 2008 to become the first man to complete 42.195km under 2hrs 4mins, he was hailed as the world’s greatest distance runner.

Since then, four men have run faster than the Ethiopian, all at the Berlin Marathon, and most recently two weeks ago when two Kenyan runners Emmanuel Mutai and Dennis Kimetto both bettered the previous record set by Wilson Kipsang.

Kimetto’s winning time of 2:02.57 gave him the distinction of becoming the first man to go under 2hrs 3 mins, and Gebrselassie is convinced it is a matter of time before someone will go below two hours.

While Gebrselassie’s record stood for three years, Kipsang’s lasted for only one. Said Gebrselassie in a phone conference yesterday: “In the past, it might be a record that would last for a while, but people are very fast nowadays. So I think it is a record that will stand for now, but perhaps not for long.”

The two-time Olympic and four-time world 10km champion, 41-year-old Gebrselassie is set to be the main draw at Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore (SCMS) on Dec 7, although ironically he will be competing in the shorter 10km race where he initially found fame. It will be his first race in South-east Asia for the running legend, whose personal best over 10km is 26:22.75.

“Everyone I’ve spoken with has told me the Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore is one of the great events in Asia and I’m delighted to have chosen this race as my first running event in that part of the world,” said Gebrselassie, who will line up alongside about 13,000 participants in that category at the Esplanade Bridge.

During his first trip to Singapore, the 41-year-old will also host training clinics and share his experiences with local runners.

“I’m looking forward to racing the 10km, but I am equally excited by the opportunity to help out the local running community with the various training runs and clinics I plan to host,” he said. “I’ve been told there is a vibrant running scene in Singapore and I can’t wait to experience it for myself.”

In a career spanning two decades, Gebrselassie set 27 world records over various distances and won the Berlin Marathon over four consecutive years (2006-09), and he is not about to slow down even as he enters his 40s.

“A day without running is not a day. My body needs running. I enjoy it and competing is just an aspect of it.

“A lot of people have actually been asking about my retirement, but at the moment, I am going to keep running competitively. I don’t know when or how long in the future I will do it for, but I am not worried about and do not fear the day I have to retire. I may stop running competitively, but I won’t stop running.”

Ranking his 10,000m gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, where he beat Kenya’s Paul Tergat by 0.09 seconds, and his 2008 run in Berlin as his top achievements, Gebrselassie also had some advice for runners, especially those who will be tackling the full marathon.

“You can’t just jump in to participate in a marathon — it has to be taken very seriously and requires a lot of preparation. It’s a choice you make and a tough one, so it should be taken very seriously,” he said. “Training is very important. I cannot emphasise on that more.”