Spartan Race comes to Sarawak in October

on
Categories: News & Media
Abdul Karim (front row, fourth right) with (from right) Ong, Hii, Lee and Snowdan display their numbered t-shirts as (from left) Tully, Wei, Lau and Riduwan (back row) look on.

KUCHING: Sarawak is expecting more than 3,000 participants for the inaugural Spartan Race Sarawak on Oct 19 and 20.

Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports (MOTACYS) Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah believes that Sarawak will offer a unique Spartan experience as he looks to the event contributing to sports tourism.

“This will be the first time the world’s #1 obstacle course racing brand has set foot in Borneo.

“We are confident Spartan Race Sarawak will grow as an event with in-bound participants spending more time exploring the various attractions and wonders that Kuching and Sarawak can offer,” he said at a press conference here yesterday.

It will be flagged-off at the Leadership Institute of Sarawak Civil Service (LISCS) and other venues include Rajah Charles Brooke Memorial Hospital, Sarawak Biodiversity Centre and Semenggoh Nature Park.

The event will feature the Sprint (5km), Beast (21km), Ultra (42km) and Hurricane Heat (12 hours) races.

The Hurricane Heat race will kick-off at 7pm and continue until 7am on the next day.

So far Spartan Race Sarawak has registered 1,500 participants from countries such as Singapore, Japan, Australia, Andorra and Malta.

Karim is expecting the number to double eventually and lead to spin-off for local tourism players.

The event is jointly organsed by MUSE Group, the newly appointed licensee of Spartan Race for Malaysia, and Kuching Fitness Association (KFA).

MUSE Group CEO Riduwan Matini said they appreciated the growing demand for such an event in Borneo and the tremendous support from the State Government.

KFA president Carter Wei revealed that they have plans to develop and grow Obstacle Course Racing and the Spartan Race in Sarawak.

Race director David Tully said Spartan is the world’s largest onstacle race and endurance brand with over 250 events across more than 40 countries on six continents.

“We hope to make Spartan Race amateur sports an annual event in Sarawak because of the exotic place that you have here,” he added.

Alao present at the press conference were Tourism, Art and Culture Assistant Minister Datuk Lee Kim Shin, Youth and Sports Assistant Minister Datuk Snowdan Lawan, MOTACYS permanent secretary Hii Chang Kee, Sarawak Sports Corporation CEO Dr Ong Kong Swee and MUSE Group general manager Douglas Lau.

SOURCE

0