Second time’s the charm as S’pore runner Shaun Goh breaks 10km road national record
SINGAPORE – Shaun Goh’s first national record in the 10km road race at the Run Prix in Albert Park, Melbourne on Sept 22, was both a relief and a delightful surprise.
SINGAPORE – Shaun Goh’s first national record in the 10km road race at the Run Prix in Albert Park, Melbourne on Sept 22, was both a relief and a delightful surprise.
The 27-year-old national runner met his goal in an impressive manner, cutting 37 seconds from Soh Rui Yong’s previous record of 31 minutes 37 seconds, set in Valencia in 2023.
Finishing 20th out of 188 participants, Goh clocked an impressive 31:00, improving his previous personal best by a significant 52 seconds, which he had set at the Southern Cross University 10km run during the Gold Coast Marathon on July 7.
Reflecting on his achievement, Goh said, “It feels really good; the first one always feels special. I’ve been thinking about this for a while, and I felt like my fitness was on point this year.”
He added, “I tried going for the record at the Gold Coast in July and thought I had it, but I couldn’t execute it well. Today was my second attempt, and I’m relieved we got it done. I’m also really happy to have broken the record by 37 seconds, which was unexpected.”
Goh credited the favorable weather in Melbourne for his success, noting that it was more conducive compared to the Gold Coast conditions. He explained, “Australia is known for being windy, and today was no different. However, it wasn’t as bad as it was on the Gold Coast. We were lucky that the weather worked in our favor.”
He attributed his strong performance to consistent training throughout 2024, managing nine to 10 training sessions per week while balancing his job as an information security analyst.
“Health-wise, everything fell into place, and I felt good going into the race,” he said. “At the Gold Coast, my preparation wasn’t ideal as I got sick before the race, which disrupted my training.”
Now that he has set his first national record, Goh is focused on competing for a medal at the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand. “I really want to go there and compete. The last time I was just happy to participate, but this time, my goal is to be in contention for a medal,” he shared.
Goh made his SEA Games debut in Cambodia in 2023 but finished last in the 10,000m race. The gold was won by Indonesia’s Rikki Simbolon with a time of 31:08.85, while Soh placed second with a national record of 31:10.70.
Soh praised Goh’s achievement, stating, “Congratulations to Shaun for such a breakthrough performance. After 10 weeks of intense training, he has surpassed the record by a considerable margin.”
Goh’s next race will be the Valencia Half Marathon in October, where he will run alongside Soh before defending his national half-marathon title at the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon on Dec 1.
Meanwhile, Soh, 33, recently set a new national mile road record with a 4:30 time (pending confirmation) at the Westminster Mile in London on Sept 21. Just days earlier, on Sept 13, he broke his own 5km road national record with a time of 15:08.
Recalling his mile record, Soh said, “In the mile, the first kilometre was run in 2:38. My body was flooded with lactic acid, and it felt like a bear had jumped on my back, making it a progressively harder struggle to the finish. But thanks to my base training and marathon cycles earlier this year, I pushed through the pain and was rewarded with a national mile record!”
Singapore Athletics general manager Shalindran Sathiyanesan expressed optimism about the future, noting, “Rui Yong and Shaun’s performances mark the ninth and tenth long-distance national records shattered this year. It’s exciting to see that both the men’s and women’s 10km road records now surpass the 10,000m track records. This indicates that even more milestones are on the horizon, and our athletics scene is thriving across all event groups, especially in long-distance events.”