Spartan Race Achieved!

What a magnificent Spartan Race and well-organised to say the very least.

After doing a Spartan Super in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia back in July, I had my doubts of how prepared Thailand can be – given the history of such events that have happened here.  In KL, I stood in a pre-registration line for 1.5 hours and it took 30 minutes of delays to take a shower after the race.  The majority of the contestants complained, which they should have.

So, when Thailand decided to host the first ever Spartan, I was hesitant; not only because of the location, but the event in general.

I WAS WRONG!

The Army Cadets did an excellent job in hosting the event, even with scuba divers and lifeguards in the water part of the course.  Endless amounts of fluid and excellent first-aid on hand in case people got hurt (and they most certainly did).

The best part of this event was definitely the people.  I mean being able to see people from all over the world from America/Canada, to Kazakhstan, to the Philippines was absolutely WONDERFUL.  This forced Thai people to converse with one another in English.  I was even more astonished at the English speaking capabilities of the contestants.  At one point, I heard one girl speaking perfect American English before turning to her friends to speak in her native tongue. YEAH! Those were the people that were there.

Not only that, but the actors and actresses (who I don’t know and particularly care for, lol), that went there to bring awareness to health and compete was just marvellous.

The beginning of the race was solid, and I wasn’t too throughout the majority of the race, but the sweltering heat left me dehydrated for about 24 hours (or just needing to drink a larger amount of fluids for the next day). Nonetheless, with the implementation of a water obstacle and a few others that involved us trekking through rocky rivers, this course was definitely the funnest I’ve had (or at least number two behind Bali’s Tough Mudder last year).

However, for the ultimate competitors out there, such as myself, you have to be aware of your team.  Meaning you need to make sure everyone is up-to-par with cardio.  For example, the big man to the right, Mr. King Mai, wasn’t up to the task in terms of doing cardio.  Therefore, we were lounging around walking for about 75% of the race.  There were times I wanted to run and push myself like crazy, but I had to wait for him.  Still a wonderful time, but just train your team on a routine basis so that you won’t have to experience this.  Moreover, do it by yourself.

Holding that hardware in the end was just amazing though.  Unbelievably grateful for taking part in it, meeting Americans and Aussies, Thais, and people from all over the world.  I just can’t wait for the next one! And as you see in the photo above, I’m literally one race from completing the trifecta.  That could be done in early December by doing The Beast in Johor Bahru, which is more accessible through Singapore than it is KL.  I will be twiddling my thumbs in suspense, debating if I should or shouldn’t.