London-based Malaysian breaks six national records in ultra marathon

Walker after the Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 24-hour race in Tooting, South London with her award. Photo: Oleg Galimov

Malaysian-born, London-based Alison Walker is nothing short of a remarkable woman. At 31, she has achieved six national records and is listed in the Malaysia Book of Records for the longest distance covered on a running track for 24 hours.With such accomplishments under her belt, one would think that she started vigorous training at a very young age. However, that was not the case.

“It was quite the opposite. I was obese (as a teen) and too busy eating to care about exercise. In fact, I was already wearing adult jeans at that time!” shares the candid Walker, a senior director (transaction tax) at a consulting firm in London.Running only became an interesting sport for her two years ago when she married her husband, who is from Britain.

“Prior to joining ultra marathons (a footrace longer than the traditional marathon length of 42km) in January this year, I did races and marathons with my husband for fun. We participated twice in both the Marathon du Medoc (a run around the French vineyards with wine stops along the way) and the Beer Lovers’ Marathon (where runners can discover and taste 15 different Belgian beers along the run).