Nicole On Ke Yan finished third in the Women Open (18-39) category of the Malaysia Taman Negara Ultra 2026 50km in 13:35:01, after heavy rain before the night start briefly had her thinking about giving up.

The event was held at Taman Negara Kuala Tahan in Jerantut, Pahang, from 23 to 25 October, with the 50km on 24 October. Nicole was 30th of 166 overall and fifth of 34 in the female category, according to the official results.

“To be honest, when it suddenly started raining heavily before the race, I really thought about giving up for a moment,” Nicole told ToughASIA.

Her younger sister, Chloe On, encouraged her to give it a try now that she was there, and to go as far as her ability allowed while staying safe.

“I told myself that since this race was my final event of the year, I should bravely accept the challenge,” she said.

Rather than blindly following the runners ahead in the dark, she kept watching the trail markers, the reflective signs and the ground within the beam of her headlamp. She praised the organisers for a very clear route, saying she basically only had to follow the markers to finish.

The muddy sections made a deep impression on her.

“Some sections were muddier than I could have imagined. The normal way simply didn’t work, and I had to rely on tree roots and branches, even using both hands and feet to help me climb,” she said.

She said the terrain drained a lot of energy because it called on her upper body and arms as well as her legs, but the bigger challenge was mental, as every step had to be taken with great care.

“But it’s precisely these paths that don’t look like paths that made me both love and hate this trail race,” she said.

Before the race, she set herself the goal of reaching CP3 within its 12-hour limit. She kept a steady pace instead of chasing speed, jogging the flat sections and adjusting her effort on the climbs to suit her stamina.

She reached CP3, at the 31.65km mark, in 8:40:06, according to the official results. She said arriving well ahead of her target gave her a lot of confidence.

She said she had been focused on the trail ahead throughout the race, but on reaching Bukit Dedari and seeing the river beside the cliff, she instantly relaxed.

“Wow, so I’ve already come this far,” she recalled thinking.

Knowing she had made the time limits she needed to, she decided to take in the view as a reward for herself.

“At the moment I safely crossed the finish line, I was truly happy and very grateful,” she said. “But more than the placing, what I wanted to thank most was the me who didn’t give up easily during the race.”

She said the heavy rain, the dark mountain trails, the slippery mud, the river crossings, the climbing and the constantly undulating terrain all tested her strength and willpower.

“This medal not only gave me my confidence back, it also showed me that when I face the mud again, I can do it,” she said.

She said she did not really do any specific training for the mud, but her past experience at Cultra and Trans Naning had prepared her mentally. In training, she tried to set aside one day a week for strength work on her legs, glutes and core, and also scheduled long mountain runs.

Next year, she hopes to keep improving her endurance, climbing and technical skills and to take part in more types of trail races.

“100 kilometres has always been a small goal in my heart, but I feel I still need to take it step by step,” she said.

She said she hopes to try a 100km race if a suitable opportunity comes, after first building more race experience and a stronger training base.

“I hope that when I take on 100km in the future, it won’t just be about finishing the distance, but about enjoying the whole process and reaching the finish line safely and healthily,” she said.