| James Kon |
LOCAL long distance runner Sefli Ahar added another accolade under his belt after finishing 11 hours and 26 minutes to take first place in the 100km run of The Magnificent Merapoh Trail (TMMT) in Kuala Lumpur and smashing last year’s winning time by 31 minutes.
The event, which attracted international runners, was organised by Running Project as a continuous effort to save Merapoh Caves and preserve its national heritage, which includes at least 145 precious limestone hills and dozens of rare species of flora and fauna.
In an interview with Sefli, he said, “This win is a redemption from the last race I did two months ago in Penang Eco 100km Challenge. Breaking the course record was a plus for me.”
On the challenges during the race, he said, “The challenging parts are the caves and the rivers at the 20km and 80km mark. The 3km of river crossings and multiple caves make running difficult. I slipped a few times at the river. Luckily, I didn’t slip in the caves since the elevation inside was high. Another challenge was the low visibility from the 40km to 80km mark due to the fog. I can hardly see anything more than 5m.”
When ask about changing from marathon to ultra trail running, he said, “I’m now leaning to more ultra trail running competitions with a few more upcoming this year under Asia Trail Masters. I also would like to thank Sketchers Brunei for giving me the opportunity for these challenges.”
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