[dynamite]

There's nothing new about covering the 2.4 km in under 7 minutes, if claims about speedsters running this distance in a sub-7 minute timing ring true. And these fleet runners are said to be from the SG Commando, Special Operations Force, Naval Diving Unit or are some fleet-footed civilians. In that case, those super-fast times clocked by the speedy gonzales have probably not been made public, unlike this Soh Rui Young's recent feat which received widespread media coverage.

Runners registering times of 7 minutes plus, though, are plentiful. I count myself as very fleet of foot, and used to clock around 7 1/2 minutes at the peak of my athletic prowess. However, I've grown older, and am something like an off-peak automobile that is no longer running at peak capacity. Though I'm consistently clocking a sub-8 min 45 sec timing now, it's more than a full minute longer than my best times in the halcyon days of my peak physical condition. But I'm not complaining for I'm still in fine fettle, and being able to run each day is great!

There's bound to be a gradual physical decline as one ages. Although Soh is already 30, he's still in his prime and shows no sign of  declining athletically. He's currently our fastest marathoner and holder of the national record in the 10,000 M. It takes a lot of stamina to run a marathon which really tests one's endurance as well. His recipe for his long track success is pretty obvious: he keeps himself in tip top condition by training intensively and competing in running events regularly. And of course having bags of stamina and strong, fast muscle fibres in his legs helped enormously.

I am still waiting to see someone claiming the prizes from Soh.