By Nancy Nais
SINIAWAN, Sept 24: The Sarawak Adventure Challenge (SAC) is back and this time, the race will take participants to parts of Sarawak that people might not have seen before.
Running on its fifth edition this year, the event will be held on Nov 7 starting from Siniawan Village, located some 20km from Kuching city.
Event organiser Robert Basiuk from Draco Action Sports said the race theme ‘The Evolution Trail’, is a reference to the mountain of Bung Muan that will dominate the scene.
He disclosed that Bung Muan has a long history with the local communities and was also an important research site for the explorer, Alfred Russell Wallace.
“History aside, the mountain provides a beautiful backdrop for the XC MTB and some challenging trails for the event running categories. SAC has become regionally well known and respected for tough, but well organised events with many returning participants.
“With the support of our Sarawak Tourism Ministry and Sarawak Tourism Board, the event has built up the state’s reputation as an adventure tourism destination and at the same time encourage local participation.
“We assure that the SAC one-day event will showcase some of the best rainforests, rivers, trails and sites including some of Sarawak’s fascinating history. So get ready with this new trail to test your endurance,” Robert said at the event launch today.
Serembu assemblyman Miro Simuh launched the event today on behalf of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
Registration is now open until Oct 17, and those who are interested can sign-up online at www.sarawakchallenge.com.
To encourage more participation, Robert added that the SAC has expanded the number of race categories. There will be 14 race categories including the signature Duathalon as well as Sprint Duathalon, individual MTB, Trail running and veterans events.
“In view of the ongoing Covid-19, and the standard operating procedures (SOP) imposed by Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC), organisers have implemented several measures to ensure the safety of all participants.
“Participation will be restricted to Malaysians or foreigners residing in Malaysia with a total limit of 250 people. All participants must be fully vaccinated and show proof of vaccination status,” said Robert.
On the race day, registration will adhere to the SOP by SDMC such as MySejahtera registration and vaccination confirmation, temperature checks, hand sanitisation, social distancing and isolation areas.
To ensure social distancing during the race, the start times will be staggered with limited numbers for each starting wave.
There will also be strict access control to the registration area, start, finish and transition areas. — DayakDaily
