Muhammad Nur Adha bin Ahmad Mazlan finished fourth overall and third in the Men Open (18 – 39) category in his 50km debut at the Malaysia Taman Negara Ultra 2026, a race he decided to enter only about two to three weeks beforehand.

The event was held at Taman Negara Kuala Tahan in Jerantut, Pahang, from 23 to 25 October, with the 50km on 24 October. Nur Adha, wearing bib 2148, crossed the line in 10:25:32 and was fourth of 166 overall, third of 84 in Men Open (18 – 39) and fourth of 132 men, according to the official results.

“Happy and unexpected. My clear and main mission for this debut was simply to finish the run safely while learning and gaining experience for this ultra distance,” Nur Adha told ToughASIA.

He said he took the place of a friend who could not take part at the last minute.

Not much of his training routine could be reworked, he said, with the severe haze adding further constraints. The small amount of extra mileage he added in the final two to three weeks was mostly done on a treadmill.

“I knew I already had a ‘base’, so I just wanted to make this race a gauge of my endurance capacity and physical strength, and to learn for future races,” he said.

As it was his first attempt at the distance, he kept his effort at a very controlled level to make sure he reached his main goal of finishing.

“I had to finish because my wife was waiting a long time at the finish line, lol,” he said.

It was also his first time running in the jungle at night, which he described as quite awkward and scary, and he fell a few times.

“Thank you to my more experienced friends for letting me ‘tag along’ with them. Without the friends who helped, I might not have been able to finish this run,” he said.

The official results show he took 5:54:36 between CP1 at the 7.65km mark and CP3 at 31.65km. Asked about that stretch, he said the biggest challenge was a track that was too muddy and slippery, and very technical in some sections.

He moved more carefully, even when it meant slowing down.

“Slow is better than not moving,” he said.

A few sections forced him to slide down, he said, and he believes suitable shoes also helped a lot.

His existing routine already included incline threshold workouts on the treadmill, which he kept and extended slightly in duration and distance. He also did a stair workout once a week and said long trail runs with elevation were a must.

He kept his weekly strength training session, and said he felt the added time and elevation gain on his long trail runs also helped build his physical strength.

He has no more races planned this year and will take a short off-season, he said. The nearest is next year, possibly the Penang Skyrace.

Asked whether the result had fired him up to try longer distances, he said: “Yes, it certainly ignited my spirit. Maybe, if fortune allows, I will try a longer distance, but not in the near future.”