At the Pacer Endurance Challenge 2025, Ariel Lim wasn’t just running against the clock—he was running against himself. Every step on the 2km loop course tested not only his endurance but also his ability to push past physical and mental barriers. And at KM 33, when his legs cramped, his breathing became laboured, and his pace dropped, he had a choice: give in to the pain or fight through it.

“At that moment, my mind was just focused on finishing strong within the three-hour mark,” Ariel recalls. “I knew I had slowed down after 30km due to fatigue and cramps, but I told myself, ‘One last push. Just get it done.’”

His strategy going in was simple: maintain a steady pace and push hard at the end. But as the kilometres added up, his body had other plans. “After 30km, I had to adjust based on how my body felt,” he admits. “I slowed down when necessary and made sure to push in the final lap to finish under three hours.”

For many runners, the monotony of running the same loop repeatedly can be just as much of a challenge as physical exhaustion. But Ariel found a way to stay engaged. “I focused on small targets,” he explains. “I told myself, ‘Just get through this lap,’ instead of thinking about how many more were left. It helped keep me mentally engaged.”

As the race neared its final moments, Ariel was locked in a battle—not just with himself but with fellow competitor Muhammad Faaiz Danial. Yet instead of focusing on the competition, he remained committed to his own race strategy. “I was aware of his pace, but I focused on running my own race,” he says. “If I had tried to match his pace early on, I might have burned out too soon.”

In the final minutes, Ariel had one last decision to make: should he push through the pain or ease up and risk missing his goal? “The biggest gamble was the last lap—my legs were already hurting, but I pushed hard to finish strong,” he recalls.

Reflecting on the race, Ariel recognised both his strengths and weaknesses. “I realised that I’m not yet strong enough to maintain my pace after 30km,” he admits. “I can hold on well up to around 23km, but after that, I start to slow down. This shows I need more long runs over 30km to build greater endurance.”

But he also discovered an inner grit he hadn’t fully appreciated before. “I was surprised that I was still able to push during the final lap, even though I was extremely tired,” he says. “This shows my mental strength is stronger than I thought. Even though my body was signalling to stop, my mind pushed me to finish within my target time.”

 

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So, what’s next for Ariel Lim? While he remains focused on perfecting his performance in distances up to the marathon, this experience has opened the door to new challenges. “For now, I still want to focus on 10km to marathon distances,” he says. “But this experience has made me more open to trying an ultra in the future—perhaps 50km as a starting point.”

His biggest takeaway from the race? The power of mental resilience. “Don’t let your mind give up before your body truly can’t go any further,” he advises. “Sometimes, we feel like stopping not because we can’t run anymore, but because our mind is making excuses. If I had listened to the urge to stop at KM 33, I wouldn’t have finished within three hours. So, when you feel like giving up, try taking just one more step—and keep going.”