SINGAPORE: National long-distance runner Soh Rui Yong shared online that he ran the NYC Half Marathon on Sunday (March 16) in memory of his friend and fellow athlete, Renuka Satianathan.
Ms Renuka died last week at the age of 37, as noted by her friend, para-athlete Md Shariff Abdullah, on Thursday (March 13). He said that she had passed away the day before.
Like Mr Soh, Ms Renuka had been a national runner, representing Singapore in the 2011 and 2015 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. Many tributes have been posted online in her honour.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday (March 18), Mr Soh wrote that he ran the race in New York with a “heavy heart, mourning the loss of one of the best people and training partners I’ve met through running, Renuka”.
He described her as “Ever gracious and supportive, I believe she’s as close to an angel a human can get.”
The runner also recalled a conversation he had with Ms Renuka in 2012, wherein he had told her, “I sacrifice so much for running.”
Her response, which he said has stayed to him to this day, was, “If you’re enjoying what you’re doing, is it really a choice or a sacrifice?”
Mr Soh noted there is an ongoing police investigation into the death of Ms Renuka and said he had been stunned to hear she had passed away. He also shared that he spent the past week on the phone with mutual friends. As there has been no confirmation of the cause of death, it has been all the more disorienting, he added.
He met Ms Renuka years ago through Raffles Junior College and coach Steven Quek. In the comments below his Facebook post, he pasted encouraging messages that Ms Renuka had posted on his Facebook wall way back in 2009.
Mr Soh also expressed his gratitude to Ms Renuka for introducing him to her brother and fellow runner Devathas, who also posted about her passing. Noting that Mr Devathas helped him “get through some painful long runs in the Singapore sun”, Mr Soh wrote, “I can’t begin to imagine the pain you must be going through, Dev. I love you, man.”
Mr Soh added that while he wasn’t in the best shape during the NYC Half Marathon, he still ran with a smile “the way Renuka would race in her prime”.
“It’s been almost a decade since we’ve gone for one of those weekend long runs around the Marina Barrage. I miss you and I hope we’ll share some miles again on the other side. Till then I’ll be choosing. Not sacrificing,” he wrote. /TISG
Read also: Former national runner and educator Renuka Satianathan passes away at 37