The Spartan challenge
The world’s largest obstacle race is gearing up to take place in Johor Baru, writes Ramasamy Chellachamy
Mohd Saddam (left) and CK Loh.
Iskandar Puteri in an area spanning over 400 hectares.
“Despite the fact that this is the first time Spartan Ultra Beast is being organised in Asia, the response has been overwhelming,” he says adding that the other races being organised on the same day — Sprint and Beast — have been receiving overwhelming response as well, mostly from participants in Singapore and China.
OUTSTANDING SUCCESS STORY
Gim and race director Douglas Lau are the key personalities behind the outstanding success story of Spartan Malaysia.
Initially another company was the official licensee of Spartan Malaysia. Gim was one of the contractors for the race at the time. When the company which Lau was working for decided to throw in the towel, Gim took the plunge and decided to run the show.
Since then, Gim, together with Lau who is an accountant turned professional athletics coach, has been making waves in this new craze of obstacle races.So much so Gim now holds the licence for Spartan in several other Southeast Asian countries as well.
“Quality is the hallmark of Spartan races. We don’t compromise on safety at all. All our obstacles are designed in Boston and manufactured in China before being assembled at the venue.For every race, a quality manager from the United States must give his certification and confirmation before any race can commence,” he says.
He adds that when swimming was included as one of the hurdles in the Spartan Race in Semenyih, they made sure a number of divers were in the lake, besides lifeguards, to avoid any untoward incidents.
According to Lau, preparation starts well before three months of any race and it involves a huge amount of logistics (nine lorries)and more than 30 people who would need seven days to put together all the obstacles.
As for Ultra Beast, Lau says the event requires racers to complete two loops of 21km distances each with more than 60 obstacles to tame, including some which he describes as a surprise which will only be revealed on race day.
“Elite world runners should be able to finish in seven and a half hours while average participants should be able to complete the race within 11 to 12 hours.
“Every runner should keep in mind that not everyone will arrive at the finishing line and the organiser will be strict with regulations. Those who fail to adhere to the cut-off time will be disqualified,” he says.
Lau stresses that it is mandatory for all racers to carry a water bag and headlamp. To boost local professionalism in obstacle racing, Spartan Malaysia has also sponsored three elite local athletes to attend each leg of the inaugural Asia Pacific Championship Series which began in Hong Kong on April 22.
These include female elite athlete Colleen R. Augustin, a two-time Women’s Elite Spartan Sprint Malaysia Champion (from 2015 to 2016); Mohd Saddam Mohd Pittli, a lance corporal with the Malaysian Armed Forces and Spartan Elite Champion (in 2016 and 2017); and CK Loh, a onearmed racer, who has completed a number of Spartan races including the 2016 Spartan World Championships in Lake Tahoe in the United States.
Gim says they are very pleased to support Malaysian athletes aspiring to pave a path to Spartan glory and make the country proud.