KUCHING: Over 300 racers participated in a Spartan ‘Stadium Challenge’ community workout at the Stadium Perpaduan in Petra Jaya here, yesterday morning.
The one and a half hour workout acted as a pre-event platform for the racers to get ready for the inaugural Spartan Race Sarawak which is scheduled to take place at the Sarawak Civil Service Leadership Institute in Semenggok, Kuching on Oct 19 and 20.
The workout was led by Spartan Certified SGX (Spartan Group Training) trainers from CrossFit Kuching — the only gym that has Spartan certified SGX trainers in Sarawak — to provide a safe and functional workout that is adaptable to any fitness level or physical limitation.
The workout was open to anyone age 12 and above. It featured mock up equipment as training exercise for the racers. However, the real event will have heavier and bigger equipment.
The exercises involved Monkey Bar, Rope Climbing, Burpes, Hercules Hoist and Atlas Carry.
Youth and Sports Assistant Minister Datuk Snowdan Lawan said the Spartan Race is introduced as a new sport for Sarawakians.
“This is a new trend for those who are familiar in marathons but instead of just running (in marathons), the Spartan requires the participants to go through various obstacles,” he said when officiating at the event.
He encouraged more Sarawakians to try the Obstacles Course Racing (OCR) as a new sport to lead a healthy life.
“This new sport will be added as a tourism product for the state since we have been informed that 80 per cent of the participants for the actual event are foreigners,” he added.
The event was organised by the Kuching Fitness Association (KFA) in collaboration with the Spartan Race Malaysia and Sarawak Sports Corporation (SSC).
The ‘Stadium Challenge’ workout was the second pre-event after the ‘300 Burpes Challenge’ held in Saradise Kuching on Sept 29.
Tickets for the actual race can still be purchased at www.spartanrace.my.
Also present were SSC chief executive officer (CEO) Dr Ong Kong Swee, KFA president Carter Wei, KFA deputy president Gordon Chung, Spartan Race for Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines and Thailand’s Build and Course manager Jerry Tay.
