By Karen Bong
KUCHING, April 20: The highly anticipated Spartan Race is set to return for its third edition in Sarawak on May 6, this time in the resort city of Miri.
The race has attracted 2,375 participants with 1,664 from outside Sarawak, living up to its reputation of being one of the most sought-after international high endurance events worldwide.
This year, the world’s largest obstacle course race and endurance brand will be making its way to Curtin University Malaysia in Miri where racers will be expected to race through the challenging terrain and tackle obstacles such as the Spear Throw, Barbed Wire Crawl, and the famous Spartan Race signature obstacle, the A-Frame around the campus.
Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said the ministry fully supports the event, both now and in the future, as it not only attracts visitors for tourism, boosting both the local and domestic economy, but also promotes a healthy lifestyle.
“This is very good for everybody, including society, tourism, businesses like hotels and food and beverages services, and stakeholders. This will be a big bonus as it will put Sarawak, which has a lot to offer, in the limelight.
“This year it is going to be held in Miri, a beautiful resort city and near to the Niah Caves which is on track to become a Unesco heritage site. So participants from overseas can stay on for a couple more days after the race to enjoy activities here such as diving, hiking or trekking or even visiting Mulu. Everything is there,” he said at a press conference to announce the Spartan Sarawak 2023 event at his office in Bangunan Baitulmakmur 2, Petra Jaya here today.
Abdul Karim, who is also Minister of Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development, hopes the race will be taken to other cities in Sarawak in the future that will also help to promote the tourism of other areas.
On Spartan Race’s target, he said “the more the better” as this year’s race will see the largest number of international participants from Singapore with over 300 registered, apart from Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, New Zealand, Thailand, United States, Brunei, France, India, Japan, the Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom, China as well as Malaysia.
Organised by Kuching Fitness Association in collaboration with various collaborators, the Spartan Sarawak 2023 will involve two main categories: The Sprint, a 5km race with 20 obstacles; and the Super, a 10km race with 25 obstacles.
In addition, there will also be a Spartan Kids race with distances of 800m, 1.6km and 3.2km where children from the age of four to 14 can participate.
One major change to this year’s race is that all Elite and Age Group racers will now be exempted from performing burpees as a penalty for an unsuccessful attempt to over the obstacle. Instead, racers are required to run through a penalty loop if they are unable to complete that obstacle.
Registration for Spartan Sarawak 2023 is currently ongoing, and participants can sign up for the race on the official Spartan Race website.
The Spartan Brand will also be organising the second series of Borneo Trail Classic and DekaFit in Sarawak again this year.
Deputy Minister of Tourism Datuk Sebastian Ting, Deputy Minister of Creative Industry and Performing Arts Datuk Snowdan Lawan, Spartan Race managing director Michael Goodwin and Kuching Fitness Association president Allan Bungan were among those present. — DayakDaily
