SINGAPORE – Singapore marathoner Soh Rui Yong finished 66th out of 86 runners at the IAAF/Cardiff University World Half-Marathon Championships - the highest a Singaporean male runner had ever placed at the world championships - but it came at a painful price.

The SEA Games gold-medal-winning marathoner said he might have suffered a recurrence of a heel injury during Saturday’s race in Cardiff and is concerned it would affect his preparations for the Rio Olympics in four months’ time, even as he does not want to be “too caught up with it”.

Soh had sustained plantar fasciitis - which causes pain in the heel and at the bottom of the foot - in November last year.

Recounting to TODAY how his left foot was “screaming in pain” on Saturday at the 5km-mark in Cardiff, Soh said it felt as if “someone put a golf ball” in his left shoe.

“I was on a strong pace then, and was absolutely frustrated with the flare-up of my old injury, which I had gingerly managed for the past four months,” said the 24-year-old, who even explored managing the injury through Traditional Chinese Medicine treatment when he was back home in Singapore.

““My plantar injury was even more painful than (it was) at Fukuoka Marathon (when he pulled out of the race in December at the 12km-mark). I was thinking if I was going to pull out of two big races. But I was wearing the Singapore national jersey and to pull out of a World Championships is just not an option.

“I know that the pain would become dull and increasingly less sharp over time, and it was a matter of keep going, and trying different strides to cope with it.”

Through pure grit and determination, Soh braved testing race conditions with strong winds and torrential rain to complete the race at a creditable 1hr 7min 56sec. The national mark belongs to Mok Ying Ren, who timed 1hr 7min 8sec in January.

“My run here showed me two things – both good and bad. The good thing is, I am still very fit,” Soh said. ““But if my injury still pops up, I am not going to run in Olympic standard.

“It is a cause for concern, even as I don’t know how much it will affect (my Olympic qualifying). I am glad I am at the World Championships though, and I am going to talk to people in the know about this and find out what I can do with it.

“The plantar is an injury that can plague a runner for a long time, and there is no miracle (cure), but proper stretching and exercise helps.

“It is important that I don’t get too caught up over it, and I remain thankful that I can still continue running, and doing what I like.”

For now, Soh will get back to the grind as he plans to remain in the UK to train and live with a friend in Barnstaple, only leaving for Monte Gordo, Portugal for a week from April 1 for warm weather training.

He is preparing himself for the London Marathon on April 24, where he needs to shave around seven minutes off his personal best of 2hr 26min 1s to meet the Olympics marathon qualifying time of 2hr 19mins and secure his ticket to Rio de Janeiro in August.

2016 IAAF/CARDIFF UNIVERSITY WORLD HALF MARATHON CHAMPIONSHIPS

Men’s: 1. Geoffrey Kamworor, Kenya (59min 10sec), 2. Bedan Karoki Muchiri, Kenya (59min 36sec), 3. Mo Farah, Britain (59min 59sec)

Women’s: 1. Peres Jechirchir, Kenya (1hr 7min 31sec), 2. Cynthia Jerotich Limo, Kenya (1hr 7min 34sec), 3. Mary Wacera Ngugi, Kenya (1hr 7min 54sec)