Darren Christopherson Villalino has finished the Grand Slam 100 as the fastest male finisher of the Class of 2026, completing four 100km races in one year despite losing his father a month after the first stage.

He heads the Grandslam Ultra 2026 list of the fastest male Grand Slammers with his Sekinchan Ultra time of 11:52:29, ahead of Qawiem Abu Bakar in 12:17:05 and Tiam Yee in 12:23:23. Nurul Nadia Mohd Zin tops the women’s list in 14:20:30, followed by Wai Thing Law in 14:43:03 and Fazilah Puat in 14:47:10.

“Honestly, it feels amazing to finally get it done. Four 100K races in one year was something I wanted to challenge myself with, but the journey turned out to be much more than I expected,” Villalino told ToughASIA.

His father died exactly a month after Stage 1 at Route 68, and Villalino said there was a point when he was not sure he could carry on.

“I knew my dad would want me to keep going and finish what I started. I carried him with me through every remaining race, and whenever things got tough, I reminded myself that I was doing this not just for myself, but also to make him proud,” he said.

Route 68 was his favourite of the four races because he knew the roads from training, and he took the overall champion spot there.

Knowing where the climbs were and which sections he could run comfortably meant he did not have to spend much energy working out the terrain, and helped him judge when to push and when to hold back, he said.

“I think that familiarity gave me a bit of a psychological advantage, allowing me to stay composed and focused throughout the race,” he said.

At the Semenyih Ultra, his biggest challenge was the climb up Genting Peres, first in the afternoon heat and then on pitch-black roads at night. He said he broke it into sections instead of dwelling on the climbing still ahead, choosing when to push, when to ease off and when to power walk.

In Langkawi, he lost his momentum after being chased by dogs.

“In an Ultra race, unexpected things are bound to happen, and you can’t let every disruption affect the rest of your race. I remind myself of the goal, focus on the next checkpoint, and keep moving forward,” he said.

The Sekinchan Ultra looked like the easiest stage on paper because of its flat elevation, but he described it as the toughest 100K of the series.

The exposed roads along the paddy fields offered very little shade. Sunshine at the start gave way to heavy rain in the second half, and the flat route meant working the same muscle groups for hours as fatigue built up, he said.

For runners planning a multi-race series, he advised setting the race calendar early with enough recovery time between races, and taking travel, accommodation, transport and budget into account, especially when the races are in different locations. Nutrition and race essentials should also be prepared ahead of time, he said.

“It’s not just about being physically ready, but making sure everything outside the race is taken care of too,” he said.

He thanked his running communities for having his back even before the quest began, as well as the friends he made among his fellow Class of 2026 Grand Slammers.

“We all have different stories and reasons for running, but somehow, we ended up sharing the same crazy journey. It’s nice finding people who understand why we do this,” he said.

Villalino holds on to the word “Padayon”, meaning “Keep going”, and the phrase “You do you”, a reminder not to measure his own journey against anyone else’s. He said he needed them most after losing his father, when he seriously considered giving up on the Grand Slam.

“I learned that I’m capable of going through more than I thought, even when life doesn’t go as planned,” he said.

Next, he wants to explore more trails, take on longer challenges and travel to new places through running.

“There’s still a lot I want to experience. In God’s time,” he said.