Many of us on Borneo and across South East Asia have been affected by the fires that have been burning across Kalimantan. The haze originating from these fires is primarily caused by widespread agricultural slash-and-burn clearing, illegal land-clearing for oil palm and timber plantations, and the drainage of peatlands, which turn naturally wet organic soil into highly flammable fuel - conditions that have been worsened by prolonged drought and El Niño weather cycles. As these carbon-dense peat fires smoulder underground, they have generated thick, toxic smoke that has had a devastating effect on wildlife and people and led to severe local and cross-border consequences. The resulting pollution has drastically degraded regional air quality, causing widespread respiratory illnesses and eye irritation, forcing school closures, and disrupting flights due to low visibility. Beyond the local ecological effects, the immediate public health crisis and economic losses for local farmers, the fires release millions of tons of carbon emissions and cause transboundary haze that has drifted across Southeast Asia, affecting neighbouring countries like Malaysia and Singapore.

The Borneo Nature Trust’s mission is to protect some of the world’s last great rainforests on the island of Borneo, for their amazing biodiversity - from orangutans to clouded leopards - and the many natural benefits they provide communities both locally and around the world. Borneo Nature Trust supports the Indonesian NGO Borneo Nature Foundation which works with governments, communities and university partners to implement programmes of conservation, research, education, community development and peatland restoration.

They have trained nine community firefighting teams, built over 1,000 fireproofing dams, planted almost 1,000,000 trees to create a fire buffer and drilled 100’s of strategic boreholes to access water. They have guided communities to adopt fire-safe farming and fishing practices, Invested in drone pilot training and thermal drones, and adopted new technology like fire-foam and peat injectors.

To do all this they need funds, and I am hoping to raise some money to support their efforts, and at the same time, represent Brunei in the 2026 Backyard Ultra World Team Championships.

A backyard ultra is an ultramarathon where competitors run a 'yard' (6.706 km) on the hour, every hour, until just one runner is left. The distance of 6.706 km was chosen specifically because running 24 loops equals exactly 100 miles in a 24-hour period.

I hope to break my previous record of 24 yards (100 miles/160km) and the current Brunei record of 26 yards (108 miles/174km).