Bintan Beast 2016: Second Trifecta

The second Trifecta! The first one was sweet, the second one is sweeter. When I started my Trifecta journey, I had a simple superficial reason of achieving a second Trifecta just for the sake of getting one whole medal. When I finally held that chunk of metal in my hand, it felt wonderful. Even better when people came and asked me where I bought the medal from, and I happily told them that they had to earn it. So my timing was miserable even for my own low standards (mostly from detraining), and I had cramps all the way after the river crossing at the 12km mark, but I got the medal I so desired and it felt good.

The race was held at the beautiful resorts of Bintan, with its clear beaches and ever changing terrain. The race started with beach runs leading to wading in the sea, navigating the rocks and more beach runs. Leaving the seaside and venturing inland, the terrain moved into the rainforest with knee deep mud pits (or quicksand?), a good section of man-made concrete pathway and open flat lands. A good variety of terrains to make for a run that is never boring.

Extra slippery rope climb for an added adventure

The organisers made full use of the seaside location, and even built the rope climb into the beach, giving an old obstacle a totally new spin. Another new obstacle at this race was the log hop, which seemed daunting at first. I took the seemingly safe approach of crossing the obstacles by stretching and straddling my legs across two logs, only to feel my legs cramp up as I balanced between two logs. Stood there in all my misery waiting for the cramps to stop. Decided to take the plunge and actually tried hopping (after the cramps were over) across the logs and discovered that it is actually easier done than said (you did not read this wrong).

The organizer threw a screwball at the majority of runners with a new rule at the barbwire crawls. Instead of allowing participants to leave their hydration pack at the side as they crawl across the obstacle, participants are required to bring all personal items with them through the crawl. This lead to most participants with bags flinging their packs across the barbwire and crawling towards it. Not exactly the safest thing to do.

Do as the name indicates. Hopping across is easier done than said.

With a freer rein with the location at Bintan, the organizers have created a unique race that made full use of the seaside location. I am happy to say that this race have lived up to the hype created and the Spartan branding. From a purely 'race' viewpoint, this race stacks up well against the Putrajaya Beast, with both races being fun, tough, and a fight to the finish. When race entry fee is taken into consideration, the Putrajaya Beast is definitely better value for money.

One thing that sticks in my mind is the finisher-tee situation. I came home with a tee marked with 'Singapore.' My friend got a tee with 'Bintan' on it. Other participants actually got both tees! Honestly speaking, I would rather get my hand on a tee with 'Bintan' on it, as that is where I ran and raced.

Another thing that stood out was the coconut! Instead of giving out packages of Vitacoco to the participants, finishers get an actual coconut at the end of the race!

With my secondary schoolmate, who did 3 races with me.

So a big thanks to the organizers for organizing a great race. Moving to Bintan has allowed them to create a unique race that lives up to the Spartan branding. From a participant point of view, I hope that the organizers would be able to make use of Singapore's urban landscape to design stadium races like those in Australia. Bring on the Bright Trifecta weekend!

It is with sadness that I end this article with a piece of sad news. A Participant, Mr Syed Mohamed Yusof passed away during the race from cardiac arrest. Spartan races and exercise in general are no joke and everyone should look into their health status before embarking on a strenuous exercise program or sign up for any type of race.

Lin Yimian, CSCS, SGX

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