Amir Zaki was arguably the biggest name on the start list of Janda Baik Ultra, in the last-minute absence of Chris Timms, and the recent winner of The Borneo 100 Miler in Sabah showed again he has had a fantastic first semester in 2023 by grabbing another victory on his beloved 50km distance. He had to work for it - not surprisingly so short after a tough miler - but in the end Zaki managed to open up a gap of 20 minutes over Akmal Mansur and Malaysia-based Japanese runner Atsushi Ito. Zaki found it amusing he finished just five seconds above the 6 hour mark. In the women’s 50km we had ultra specialist and Grandmaster Siokhar Lim, back from the world championships in Europe, but it was Singapore-based Japanese Hanayo Brighton who took the race victory at Janda Baik. Brighton arrived 10th overall and eight minutes earlier at the finish than Lim, who for sure still had to cope with some jet lag. Third place went to Vivian Shin Yiing Tong, who stayed just ahead of Jenny Holloway.

JBU also offered a 100km option, and that race saw a tight battle between Mohamad Syahmim Nazmy and Maihazan Nurafendy. For quite some time it looked like Nazmy would take it, but he developed an injury in the final descent of Gunung Nuang and had to slow down. Nurafendy had kept something in reserve for late in the race, and overtook Nazmy for the race victory in 17h26’. In third, more than one hour later, Grandmaster Beng Siong Lee finished seven minutes ahead of Italian Francesco Floris.

In the women’s 100km, we saw a rather surprising victory by Nur Amaani Razilan. The young and every more competitive Razilan was 11th overall and ran more than 1h40’ faster than more established names like Sum Mei Soh and Norlela Ismail. A win that propels Razilan up the performance ladder in Malaysia!

Janda Baik Ultra was a solid ATM Candidate Race, taking place not too far from Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya. It’s been an established event in Malaysia for quite a few years already and one of the few taking place in the first semester. Lots of videos shot by Mark Jinmin can be watched via our ATM facebook.

Amir Zaki takes another win at Janda Baik