Good job: Australia's Natalie Dau wins the women's 100km title in the Sekinchan Ultra on Sunday.
PETALING JAYA: Hong Kong's Law Chor Kin and Australia's Natalie Dau claimed the overall men's and women's 100km titles respectively in the Sekinchan Ultra on Sunday.
Despite its reputation as Malaysia's flattest ultra course, the Sekinchan Ultra, organised by Lumen Sports, proved to be a true test of mental and physical fortitude.
Chor Kin, one of Hong Kong's leading ultra-distance runners, showcased exceptional grit, breaking the tape at SRJK (C) Yoke Kuan in 10’12:17 to secure a commanding victory.
Malaysia's Lye Tick Twan followed with a solid 11’17:42 performance while another Malaysian Qawiem Abu Bakar completed the men's podium in 12’22:33.
"I'm glad that I accepted the organisers' invitation to race in this event for the first time, it was truly a fruitful one," said Chor Kin, who has completed over 100 ultra-distance races in his career.
"It's very exciting indeed, the route is actually really flat, it really lives up to the event's hype. I came here with an intention to just train and acclimatise myself because I've signed up for Route 68 event, where I will take part in a 400km race next February. So to be able to win today just added more joy to it,” said Chor Kin.
The women's race saw world record holder Natalie deliver a masterclass in ultra-running, as she navigated the double-loop of 50-km course through Sekinchan's picturesque paddy fields to finish in 11’42:38.
Malaysia's Lee Yee Shi came in runner-up in 12’20:33 as Poo Lai Kuen sealed third position with a time of 12’45:26.
Natalie, who earlier in July earned a place in the Guinness World Records for the fastest crossing of Peninsular Malaysia on foot - running more than 700km from Kelantan to Johor Bahru in eight days and 46 minutes - surprisingly found the flat 100km course more challenging than her record-breaking achievement.
"I thought being flat would be easy but it was much harder. It was too flat. I think it's hard on your body because you're not getting to use different muscles climbing or descending," explained Natalie, who’s also an author, motivational speaker, and social media influencer.
