Why Soh Rui Yong's running both half and full at SCSM 2025

Singapore’s top marathoner Soh Rui Yong, 35, will be taking on both the Half Marathon and the Full Marathon over two days at the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon (SCSM).

And if 63.3km over two days is not enough, Rui will also be competing in the 10,000m event at the South East Asian (SEA) Games, potentially securing three major titles in ten days.

Said Rui, “After tackling marathons for ten years, I have been relatively successful with five national titles, two SEA Games golds and breaking the national record twice.”

He added, “I believe that human beings thrive on growth, and I am interested to take on a new challenge that will inject some excitement into my sports career. So ultras could be on the horizon. I’ve always been intrigued by the longer distances as they have a way of showcasing the triumph of the human spirit against seemingly insurmountable adversity.”

How has Rui been adjusting his training programme towards this ambitious goal?

He said, “Preparations for this unique challenge began as early as August. I started doing two track sessions on Tuesdays rather than my usual one. Started small but eventually built up to a session on October 7 which was my biggest double session yet.”

This double session was as follows.

7:15am – 10 x 1200m @ 3:20/km, 200m jog recovery

6:45pm – 10 x 1000m @ 3:07/km, 2 min jog recovery

Added Rui, “With warmup and cooldown jogs included, that was a 35km day.”

On top of that, Rui, who is currently based in London, has also subjected himself to regular sauna exposure – to train for the Singapore heat and humidity. He said, “I will use the sauna such as for 20 min at 90 degrees C, two to three times a week immediately after a hard running session. This helps the body process heat and humidity.”

Why take on such a challenge at SCSM and what does doing so mean to him?

Said Rui, “when I was 13 back in 2004, my mum used to sign up for the SCSM 10km and asked if I wanted to get up in the early morning on a Sunday to support her. Back then, I could think of no worse way to spend a Sunday morning. I think she did it every year and I never once got up to see her run.”

2008 marked the first time that Rui himself was registered to take part in the SCSM 10km. He said, “in 2008, I was 17 and my mum had convinced my dad to join her at SCSM, and I had also been registered together with the Raffles Institution cross country team, coached by Steven Quek.”

“I got second in my first-ever outing at SCSM, losing to one Gurkha runner. It was a huge eye-opener to the stage of SCSM, and I had my parents to thank for introducing me to the event as well as waking up early to come and support me every year that I have done it. In 2011 and 2012, my parents and I did the half marathon distance at SCSM together. I finally then made my SCSM full marathon debut in 2017.”

Added Rui, “So the Double Up challenge is really a journey that has come full circle. It will be a very special weekend for me.”

Rui’s original goal had been to take on both the half and full marathons, but his unexpected SEA Games selection threw a spanner in the works with regard to his training and preparations.

He said, “As athletes, things seldom go to plan anyway and I have become quite good at dealing with uncertainty over the years – example being the 2023 SEA Games when my selection was only confirmed six weeks before, and I had to rapidly adjust my life and training routine. Thankfully I went on to break the 10,000m national record and take the silver medal.”

Rui will be among 130 runners taking on the Half + Full Marathon Double-Up challenge at SCSM 2025 and over 700 more runners attempting various combinations of the Double-Up Challenge.
The breakdowns for the various Double-Up categories are as follows: