KUCHING: With Spartan Race coming to Sarawak this June and with almost all entry passes sold out, it shows that the sport has been received very well and many are getting themselves ready for the race.
For those who plan to race in the upcoming Spartan Race and those racing for the first time, the best way to make sure that you gain the best out of this race is to train with a professional trainer who knows the sport in and out.
The good news is that there is one place located near Jalan Tabuan Kuching, built 100% for Obstacle Course Racing (OCR). Known as Knight Performance Centre, here’s a gym where anyone comes to find the best training for the upcoming Spartan Race.
Co-founded and run by Haiyanti Ibrahim, 39, better known as Yanti , who is a local fitness expert and seasoned OCR athlete. She is also Asia’s number eight ranked Spartan Racer Elite-Beast category.
It is the first and only OCR gym in Sarawak, she told New Sarawak Tribune during an exclusive interview.
“I opened this gym to share my experience, my training routine – how I improved my performance to better prepare me for the next race. My goal is to provide a platform for people to prepare for the race in a properly fashioned manner and to share the passion with everyone interested in the sport and fitness industry,” said Yanti when explaining the objective of her gym.
“From monkey bars, climbing walls, customizable bars, suspended chain bars, and a 360-degree moving bar obstacle, these are among the available facilities that the centre is equipped with.
“What makes us different from other gyms around is that although some do come with OCR themed facilities but compared to ours, Knight Performance Centre is a gym where the facilities here are designed by me.
“Everything is custom-built, designed and erected based on designs that I drew to simulate the same obstacles that were used in the races I competed in before,” she added.
New Sarawak Tribune: “Is OCR popular in Sarawak?”
“Yes, and it is growing constantly, compared to the time when I took part in the first race back in 2015. Today, people from Kuching, Sibu, Miri, and Bintulu are already familiar with OCR and the upcoming Spartan Race is the second race to be held here in Sarawak.
What makes this sport different from others?
“Firstly, this sport is about changing your life positively. This depends on some of these factors. To compete you must respect the sport by preparing yourself for it. It’s not a sport that you simply jump into. To compete in the Spartan Race, you must train well and you can only participate when you know you have prepared for it.
“What you don’t want is to enter the competition only just to realise that you won’t be able to make it to the finishing line. That is a waste of your time and everyone else’s time. Just because you did not make the effort to train, you will never know if you like it. But if you do train well and enough, it will be exciting and fun and only from there, you will know whether you like it or not.
In short, as all other sports are good for everyone, Spartan Race is one competition where you are mentally, physically and spiritually tested.
Concept behind Knight Performance Centre
“My decision to open up a gym is an epiphany and a decision I made together with my partner, now husband, Stephen. I needed someone who shared the same sense of purpose and passion and together we opened Knight Performance Centre. As business partners and fitness professionals, I run the OCR classes and Stephen has his boxing lessons.
“When it comes to OCR, there is a strong sense of nobility in this sport which I see. It is also a value needed in today’s society when it comes to fitness. Personally, it was through Spartan racing I was able to learn more about myself, realise my mental limitations, and confront my emotional frustration.
“Every time I reached the finishing line, I saw a better version of myself and became awakened mentally, physically and spiritually.
“Having the gym would mean that wherever the Spartan race is going, people will look for us eventually. That was my foundation to start a business in the fitness industry.
“There is no proper place for people to train; we established the gym to fill the void. At a time when OCR was not as popular, people only know about the sport on the surface and by name – Spartan and Viper are among the most popular OCR sports brands. This was in 2018.
“I was the only one who seemed to know about Spartan race in 2015 – for my other gym mates… most of them were … apa ya, lumba apa tok (What is this, what kind of sport is this). So that is when I went to KL to race,” Yanti said during the interview with this daily newspaper.
How did the pandemic affect your business?
“When the Spartan race came to Sarawak in 2019, people kept on asking about OCR and I kept on repeating and explaining myself about it. It became much easier to tell people that OCR is a Spartan race.
“With the COVID-19 pandemic and MCO restrictions enforced, it was a hard time for everyone but it did not bring down our spirit. We made programmes and classes to suit the situation at that time.
“Looking back at where and how we started, at this point, I believe I have achieved one of my goals which is to provide a place to train for a race. With that, what we offer today is exactly what the gym is intended for,” Yanti explained while reminding those who are planning to compete in the race to make sure that they train well and prepare themselves by coming to Knight Performance Centre.
For more information about the gym and training programmes available, Yanti and her crew can be reached via mobile at 012-8498629. You can also check them out on social media at facebook.com/knightptc2017/
