SINGAPORE — It was not a great time by his lofty personal standards. In fact, it was about 17 minutes off his personal best of 2hr 26min 33s.

But considering that it was his first competitive marathon this year after being blighted by injury, and that he still emerged the top local male runner at today’s (Dec 6) Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore (SCMS), Mok Ying Ren had reason to feel fairly pleased with himself.

The 27-year-old doctor — who was forced to pull out of last year’s Commonwealth Games as well as this June’s SEA Games because of injury — won his category in 2hr 43min 6s, more than eight minutes ahead of nearest rival Fang ­Jianyong (2hr 51min 49s).

He received a winner’s cheque of S$10,000 today. But, more crucially, Mok — who also suffered a freak eye injury during training two months ago — believes that his injury woes are behind him and that he is still on track towards fulfilling his dream of qualifying for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

“Of course, I am still not as confident as I was two years ago,” said the 2013 SEA Games champion.

“Honestly, this one year of injuries has derailed my road to (the) Olympics quite a bit. I have been very unlucky with injuries, but I think they’re ­finally past me now.

“Training has been consistent so far. Last week, I managed to run quite a good timing in the 5,000m. It was my season best — 15min 6s — about 10 seconds off my national ­record (14min 51.09s). I think I am in pretty good shape. I just need to keep getting in the consistent work, and try not to be injured.”

For the last six months, Mok has been training in the United States. His group of about 10 training partners are all gunning to qualify for the Rio Games. They include Laura Thweatt, the top American runner at the recent New York City Marathon.

“Because the intensity I’m running now is so much lower than here. So everything is just clearing up,” said Mok, who recently went to Japan to train for three weeks before taking part in the SCMS.

“Before I went to the US, I ran by myself without a coach, so I tended to push myself more, maybe too hard sometimes, thinking that what I was doing was not enough.

“But I subsequently realised I had been training too hard, and that all that led to injuries. The top runners in the US who can easily run 2hr 10min are just keeping consistent and training much less than I was. It has been a learning lesson for me.”

Mok will return to Colorado this Thursday to resume training. While his injury woes are behind him, it is not the case for 2015 SEA Games marathon champion Soh Rui Yong.

The 24-year-old University of ­Oregon undergraduate, who is also gunning for Olympic qualification, was forced to drop out at the 12km mark of the Fukuoka Marathon in ­Japan today, no thanks to the flaring up of a plantar fasciitis injury he sustained about a month ago.

“I’ll have to let the doctors look at it. The good thing is I dropped out early, so it’s still not badly damaged,” Soh told TODAY.

Mok’s performance in the SCMS was not the only pleasant bit of news for Singapore athletics today. Neo Jie Shi, 30, provided a welcome surprise when she qualified for the 2016 Olympics by finishing 10th in the women’s open category.

Neo’s time of 3hr 15min 6s may have been off the “B” qualifying standard of 2hr 43min but, according to International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) rules, the top 10 finishers at IAAF Gold Label Marathons in 2015 and 2016 held during the Olympics qualification period will be considered as having achieved the entry standard. The SCMS is a Gold Label Marathon.

Singapore Athletics president Tang Weng Fei told TODAY that pending official results from after-race doping tests and confirmation from the IAAF, Neo has become the first Singaporean to qualify for the marathon at the Olympics.

She was stunned. “It was such a surprise, but it is definitely ­going to be a good experience for me, and I am very proud,” she said. “I am leaving it to the race director to advise me further. Right now, it is a surprise for me and I haven’t planned any upcoming races yet. If this is really true, I will start drafting a training plan.

“The qualifying mark for Rio is way out of my league, so that (making it to the Olympics) never really crossed my mind.”

RESULTS

Men’s Open: 1. Julius Maisei 2:17.36 (Ken) 2. Chelimo Kipkemoi 2:17.32 (Ken) 3. Bamaba Kibii, 2:17.38 (Ken)

Men’s Local: 1. Mok Ying Ren, 2:43.06, 2. Fang Jianyong, 2:51.49, 3. Evan Chee, 2:56.51

Women’s Open: 1. Doris Changeywo, 2:44.26 (Ken) 2. Peninah Arusei, 2:44.41, (Ken) 3. Sharon Cherop, 2:44.53 (Ken)

Women’s Local: 1. Neo Jie Shi, 3:15.06, 2. Mok Ying Rong, 3:15.38, 3. Rachel See, 3:19.19