Daved Eyes Victory In Malaysia Ultra Trail UTMB

TAIPING, Nov 15 (Bernama) -- The country's number one trail runner, Daved Simpat, has a two-pronged mission when he competes in the 100-kilometre (km) category at the Malaysia Ultra Trail UTMB here tomorrow.

The 42-year-old said he not only wants to win the race but also to set a better time than his previous outing.

This, however, is not a new challenge for the Mount Kinabalu mountaineer, who previously won the 2023 Malaysia Mountain Trail Festival at the same location and route.

“For this competition, I will race in the 100-km category which I have been training for three months. I also recently finished eighth in the 2024 Asia Pacific Trail Running Championship and won the Mount Kinabalu International Climbathon in October.

"I hope to be able to improve on my time (and dip) under 12 hours and 15 minutes tomorrow," he said today.

National woman trail runner Lim Siok Har, meanwhile, does not intend to set high targets for this competition but instead wants to improve on the record she set last year.

“I don't have any target, but I hope to do better than last year. If possible, one hour less than last year's 17 hours,” she said.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese trail runner Hau Ha Thi, who is one of the favourites to win the women's 100-km category, is excited to make her debut at the tournament.

"I am ready for the race and have trained for three weeks for this competition. I hope I can do my best and break my personal best of 16 hours and 9 minutes,” she said.

Malaysia Ultra Trail UTMB (Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc), formerly known as Malaysia Mountain Trail Festival (MMTF), will see the participation of over 3,000 runners from 60 countries.

More interestingly, those who finish on the podium in the first UTMB tournament in Malaysia will earn a spot in the UTMB World Series Finals in Chamonix, France, in August next year.

-- BERNAMA