REPORTING FROM MYANMAR
'I didn't expect to win', Mok Ying Ren repeated, as media, family and fans swarmed around the newly crowned Southeast Asia (SEA) Games marathon champion from Singapore.
Neither did reporters waiting near the finish line on a cool Monday morning at the Wunna Theikdi stadium in Naypyidaw, Myanmar.
Word from officials along the race course indicated that Mok was languishing in fourth place with just six kilometres to go.
As the clock ticked past two hours and 27 minutes, it seemed like all hope was lost.
First, the national mark of 2:24:22 set by Rameshon Murugiah at the 1995 Games, then Mok's own personal best of 2:26:33 passed.
But all of a sudden, with multiple cameras trained on the entrance to the stadium track, he appeared.
'It's Mok!' an unknown voice cried out from the stands, and there he was: the slight, 1.7-metre frame, clad in distinctive salmon-red, fists pumping in the air and the widest smile on his face as he strode unchallenged towards the finish tape.
History served
With his winning time of 2:28:35, Mok made history as the first Singaporean man to strike gold at the SEA Games marathon.
The last time Singapore medalled in the event was when former female track star Kandasam Jayamani finished first in 1983.
This was also not Mok's first time tasting gold at the Games. In 2007, the doctor came up tops in the triathlon event, competing amid full-time studies at the National University of Singapore.
Even with that experience behind him, this year's Games qualified as one of his 'hardest marathons ever', said the 25-year-old, in between a racking cough that he attempted to cure with cough syrup the night before.
Just a day earlier on Sunday, he had booked out of his National Service medical officer course, boarded a plane and reached Naypyidaw around 4.30pm after a gruelling six-hour drive from Yangon.
All of that, coupled with a strained thigh muscle and a 'tougher' race route made the situation less than ideal, said Mok.
'Tactical'
Having driven around the 42.195km course once, Mok had taken note of its rolling hills and concrete paths, and decided to run a 'tactical race' focussed on position and not timing.
After a slow start, the race eventually unfolded as a test of patience, and Mok spoke of how he held back even as Indonesia's Nikolas Albinus Sila and Thaung Aye of Myanmar broke away from the pack in the final 12km or so.
'I thought I was just good for bronze,' he described. 'Then in the last five kilometres, the rest started getting fatigued.'
With Nikolas rapidly losing steam, Mok seized the chance to 'put in one last effort' as he reached the gate to the stadium with 1.5km to go.
He blew past eventual silver-medalist Thaung Aye, who made no attempt to follow.
'That was when I knew the gold medal was mine,' said Mok.
Road to Rio
After collecting his medal, Mok will return to Singapore on Tuesday and is due to book in to camp on Wednesday.
Life in NS resumes for the easy-going athlete, until he finishes his service in April 2015, after which he has decided to train full-time for both the 2015 SEA Games in Singapore and above all, the ultimate goal of the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
To do that, Mok is planning either a return to Japan or an extended stay in Kenya, home to the fastest marathoners on the planet.
He has yet to fully make up his mind, but is confident of 'going in the right direction', and when the long-distance champion of both Singapore and Southeast Asia says so - it likely is so.
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