Ultramarathoner conquers Malaysia in just eight days
Australian ultramarathoner Natalie Dau has crossed the land of Malaysia on foot at a breakneck pace to claim the record for the fastest crossing of Peninsular Malaysia on foot (female).
Natalie travelled over 700 km from Kelantan (north-eastern tip of Malaysia) to Johor Bahru (southern end of Malaysia) in just eight days and 46 minutes.
Natalie ran her first ultramarathon in 2019. Since then, she has became a 10-time champion in the sport. Ultramarathons usually start at 50 km; the longest that Natalie had competed in was 200 km.
In a bid to do something no one had attempted before, Natalie decided to cross the land of Malaysia, which was part of another endevaour called Project 1,000 - a 1,000-km journey on foot from Thailand to Singapore.
"I wanted to encourage people to push their boundaries and believe that they were capable of doing amazing things no matter what their age," she said.
Being a successful ultramarathoner, Natalie had a strong physical base for a successful attempt. However, she did more double run days (running twice a day instead of once only), and spent as much time on her feet as possible so her legs could stand days of pounding the pavement.
Each day, Natalie ran about 85 to 95 km. In order to avoid scorching heat as much as possible, she started running early in the morning, often as early as 12:35 a.m.! That meant that she didn't get much sleep each night, putting a toll on her body. Plus, she was suffering from some infection from the very start, which she had to manage throughout the attempt.
"The last 20 km of every day was just the hardest runs I will ever do," she confessed.
The reason Natalie embarked on this epic journey was to raise money for GRLS, a global charity that supports girls and women through sports.
She said: "There is a huge gender gap when it comes to exercising as females are 40% less likely to be active, and this number is even higher in underprivileged communities. It can be a lack of access to facilities, gender stereotypes, religious or cultural reasons that make it hard for females. GRLS work to breakdown these barriers."
After eight tough days of running, Natalie was in disbelief as she finally crossed the finish line.
"The start of the final day was emotional so I was just trying to enjoy the last few hours. And then was about spending time with family and letting it all sink in."
After completing a huge 1,000 km journey and a Guinness World Records title, Natalie says action speaks louder than words.
"Going out and showing what is possible is one of the best things anyone can do. Inspiration to follow their own dreams, being brave, dreaming big and believing in yourself are all messages that can impact someone."
If anyone is thinking of breaking records, Natalie would say "go for it".
"What’s the worst that can happen? Even if you don’t make it, you'll get the chance to try again. But the upside is that you have tried and had an amazing experience in doing so, and no doubt inspired someone else to do something great too."
