In Mahathir Mohammad Bin Jamaludin’s world, endurance is not an act of bravado but a calculation. Every move, every breath, is measured against consequence. When his body rebelled three kilometres into the Muse Eco Challenge with a sudden vomit and later, a crippling cramp at kilometre fifteen, he did not panic. He assessed, adjusted, and continued, not out of impulse but obligation.

The 2025 Muse Eco Challenge in Gua Musang was engineered to expose weakness. Fifty-nine teams faced a three-stage trial that fused precision with unpredictability: a 20-kilometre trail run, a 12-kilometre kayak, and a 5-kilometre road run under the noon sun. Mahathir and his partner, Nor Azmir Bin Baharum, entered with modest ambitions, a Top 10 finish. They left with silver in the Remaja category and a lesson written in endurance mathematics.

The first leg was the breaking point. The trail climbed 444 metres over rough terrain, and by the midpoint, Mahathir’s right leg had seized. He describes the moment without embellishment. “I had to grit my teeth and just push through.” But beneath that simplicity was control. Rather than surrender to the cramp, he made a series of cold, micro-decisions: seek a medic, spray the calf, keep moving. His thoughts narrowed to execution. There was no emotional language, only process.

By the time they reached the kayak transition, the team’s strategy had evolved. What began as a race became a survival algorithm. The water, once seen as a tactical rest, turned into recalibration. Mahathir’s description of that leg reveals his systemic thinking. “The focus shifted to never stopping and looking forward. Stability was the new goal.” His partner, Azmir, became the steady voice of continuity, the psychological compass that kept the team moving when rhythm faltered.

If the kayak steadied them, the final 5-kilometre run threatened to undo everything. It was noon, and the heat transformed the tarmac into a furnace. Mahathir’s body broke again, his legs lost coordination, his vision faded. In those moments, partnership stopped being a concept and became a mechanism. Azmir, refusing to let the race disintegrate, pushed, pulled, and at times physically carried Mahathir forward. “He slapped me to wake me up,” Mahathir recalled. “That was the only thing that snapped me back.”

The finish line was not a triumphal sprint but a controlled collapse. Mahathir held onto Azmir’s shirt as they crossed, their roles inverted, one engine, one body. The result, 4:10:44.3, was less important than the equation it proved: that teamwork can function as an extension of logic, not just emotion. Mahathir’s takeaway was analytical. “Team success isn’t about being equal,” he said. “It’s about complementing each other.”

That philosophy extends to how he trains. A tower runner by discipline, Mahathir’s preparation for Muse was built on vertical power, stair intervals and sustained muscular endurance. The method was indirect but effective. “Tower running demands sustained output under duress,” he explained. “It became the core engine for the entire race.” This approach, using intensity as foundation rather than distance, explains his ability to survive long efforts through short, explosive conditioning.

Even his gratitude carries precision. The role of his sponsors, he says, was not decorative but functional. DEVER Malaysia’s gels and electrolytes kept him upright after the trail, while Amazfit’s tracking helped him pace through chaos. RunSynd’s belief, meanwhile, was psychological ballast, the unseen element of accountability. Each element served a purpose. Each was part of the formula.

When Mahathir reflects on the result, there is no romantic language of victory. Instead, there’s quiet satisfaction in validation. “It proved that meticulous preparation and true teamwork can overcome inexperience,” he said. The statement is clinical, almost detached, but beneath it lies the central thesis of his racing identity: the belief that endurance is an equation solved through discipline, composure, and trust.

At Muse, he didn’t just survive the chaos. He organised it.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Lelengx25 (@lelengx25)