By Les Tan and Erwin Wong
Mok Ying Ren set a new half marathon record of 1:07:08 in Arizona. (Photo © Clara Yuan/Red Sports archives)
Arizona, USA, Sunday, January 17, 2016 — Mok Ying Ren of Singapore set a new half marathon record with his time of 1 hour 7 minutes and 8 seconds at the Arizona Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon.
Mok’s time was 13 seconds faster than the previous mark of 01:07:21 set by fellow Singaporean Soh Rui Yong at the San Jose Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon on September 27, 2015.
Mok has held the half marathon record four times in the last five years, and the two runners between them have set a half marathon mark every year since 2013.
Both runners are also targeting a marathon place in the 2016 Rio Olympics where the qualifying mark is 2:19.
Mok’s personal best (PB) time for the marathon is 2:26:30. He clocked the time at the 2013 Gold Coast Marathon. At the 2015 Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore, Mok won the local category in 2:43:06.
Soh has a marginally faster PB for the marathon of 2:26:01. He set the time in his marathon debut at the 2014 California International Marathon.
Soh’s timing is also the second fastest marathon time ever for a Singaporean. The current Singapore marathon record holder is Murugiah Rameshon, whose 2:24:22 was set at the South East Asian (SEA) Games in Chiangmai, Thailand on December 13, 1995.
Singapore national half marathon record progression
Mok Ying Ren – 67:08
18 Jan 2016
Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Half Marathon, Arizona, USA
Soh Rui Yong – 67:21
27 Sep 2015
San Jose Rock N Roll Half Marathon, San Jose, USA
Mok Ying Ren – 67:29
1 Jun 2014
Christchurch Airport Marathon, Christchurch, New Zealand
Mok Ying Ren – 67:53
17 Nov 2013
Ageo City Half Marathon, Ageo City, Japan
Mok Ying Ren – 68:18
13 Mar 2011
Bareno Run, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Soh Rui Yong after the 2014 California International Marathon, where he clocked 2 hours 26 minutes 1 second to become the second-fastest Singapore marathoner ever. (Photo courtesy of Soh Rui Yong)[/caption
Leave A Comment