KOTA KINABALU - Sabah’s young runner, Noor Hafizah Zubaidi—better known as Fifiana—achieved a significant personal milestone after making her debut at the renowned Chiang Mai UTMB (Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc) held from Dec 5 to 7 in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
In her first appearance on the UTMB stage, Fifiana undertook the gruelling 160-kilometre category, pushing herself through one of the toughest tests of endurance and mental strength. The course featured a demanding elevation gain of 9,711 metres and enforced a strict 48-hour time limit, with cut-off points at each checkpoint and water station, requiring runners to maintain steady focus to stay in the race.
“This is the dream of every trail runner, and I wanted to fulfil my first dream of completing a 160KM race here,” she said.
Despite being new to the UTMB series, Fifiana is no stranger to endurance events. Over the past year, she completed nine road marathons across Kota Kinabalu, Tawau, Sandakan, Kudat, Miri, Kuching, Putrajaya, Kuala Lumpur and Osaka, Japan. She has also taken part in two trail marathons in Sabah, the 60KM Kadamaian Adventure Race and the 50KM TMBT.
Her regular participation in both road and trail competitions reflects her strong commitment to running. Outside of racing, she leads a Kota Kinabalu-based running community known as RUNSYND, which conducts free and paid training sessions for runners of all levels, encouraging knowledge sharing and supporting a healthy running lifestyle in Sabah.