Using the struggles from his first marathon last year as motivation, Samuel Chua hopes to overcome new challenges and achieve his goals at the upcoming Sydney Marathon
He's featured at several races already all over Singapore. This year, Samuel Chua is looking for a fresh set of challenges and he's set his eyes on one — the rolling hills of the TCS Sydney Marathon Presented by ASICS.
The hybrid athlete known for not only his running but his strength training as well, has been at arms for the past few months preparing for the Sydney Marathon.
Though he's been at several half marathons, the 42.195km race in Sydney will be his second ever full marathon. His first full — on paper, anyway — was last year, when Samuel crossed the finish line of the Berlin Marathon. His true first marathon however, which he doesn't count as a serious completion, was actually eight years ago.
"I did run a marathon when I was 18-years-old for jokes and had zero training!" he recounted.
"So, Sydney Marathon will be my second proper marathon with proper training."
Samuel is hoping to improve his marathon timing in the capital of New South Wales after last year's rather disappointing run out in Germany. The 26-year-old had struggled during his preparations back then, and has since used that experience to fuel his marathon training block this time around.
Now with four days to go until he toes the start line in Miller Street, the avid runner exudes confidence and positivity. Sportplus.sg caught up with him to find out about his long term goals and journey towards the Sydney Marathon.
What are your long-term goals as a marathon runner, and how does the Sydney Marathon fit into that vision?
I think the main long term goal I have as a runner is to go under 3 hours for a full marathon. It will probably take a while but I think Sydney will be a good stepping stone because I can see how I have progressed from my marathon last year to this year. I think it will be a significant jump.
What new challenges are you embracing as you prepare for the Sydney Marathon 2024?
I think there are two main challengers for me. The first challenge is managing my training load between my strength training and my running. I think it’s been a challenge trying to get my legs fresh, keeping my legs while also clocking sufficient mileage for the marathon.
The second is finding hills near where I live because the Sydney Marathon is a very hilly course. It’s difficult to find any sort of elevation near me so I have to make do with the treadmill or any kind of place I have to drive to just to get in my hill work for the marathon.
How does your approach to the Sydney Marathon differ from your first overseas marathon experience in the Berlin last year?
I think for Berlin last year, it was quite a problem for me as I was ridden with injuries such as shin splints. I couldn't get my weekly mileage up and I suffered a lot. I cramped very early at 26km because I didn't do sufficient long run training and I didn't put in my marathon prep long runs.
So this year, my approach is to not only increase my weekly mileage but to also add in a lot of marathon pace intervals during my long runs so I can simulate race day as close as possible.