SERIAN: The Silabur Ultra Trail event scheduled for March 19, will feature contestants from 18 different countries including Canada, the United States of America (USA) and the United Kingdom.
There will be 544 competitors vying for spots in the event, which has four categories: 8 kilometres (km), 15 km, 30 km, and 60 km.
Social Division Unit Head of the Serian Resident’s Office, Wee Chung Yee, said that over 100 participants are from other countries while the others are from Malaya and Sabah.
“All the participants are over the age of 18, and 40 per cent of them are locals.
“Entries have already been closed as this is the first time we have organised it in collaboration with the Sarawak Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industries and Performing Arts.
“Although this is the first time the event is organised, the number of participants is remarkable. There are 544 registrants from 18 countries,” he said.
He told the media in a press conference at the Sarawak Government Administrative Centre Serian Division on Thursday (Feb 16).
Participants can anticipate some challenges on the trail, which goes through the Silabur caves, a few villages, hills, and rivers.
The jade-coloured limestone cave inside Mount Silabur at Kampung Lobang Batu Noted is one of the hidden gems in Serian. The mountain also has vertical cliffs.
As such, Wee is confident that the event organised by Alpha Sports Event would showcase Serian’s stunning natural beauty, particularly Kampung Lobang Batu and offers participants a fresh, exciting experience.
Given the encouraging response to the event, Wee emphasised that a new category, the 100km, would be introduced in 2024.
It is hoped that the event would become a yearly calendar event in Serian.
“We will try to organise it on a large scale next year by targeting 800 to 1,000 participants,” said Wee, adding that when the event was first promoted on social media, the majority of those who registered were foreigners.
Also present during the press conference were Sarawak Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts principal assistant secretary Nasir Lariwoo and event organiser Josh Tan.
