Bright Trifecta Weekend 2016 Part 1: Preparation for an Adventure

Back in June, I found myself huddled under a blanket in the first aid station, shivering badly. I was in the middle of the Melbourne Super, and the river crossings with its freezing water was proving to be a little too much for me. I'm not even sure if I will be able to finish the race and I wondered why I'm even doing this. Never again shall I join an Australian race, I told myself. But I did finish the two races I signed up for. I ran and I walked and I crawled. I fell off a few obstacles along the way and I limped to the finish line. But I completed them, and I was proud.

And than the campaign to make the first Trifecta weekend in Australia a reality started. "We need 2,000 regos by 15 July to make this event happen!" they said. And at AUD198 for all three races, it was a pretty sweet deal. If you asked me whether Spartan races are fun, I will give you a quick no. The races are physical and mental torture. But when you cross the finish line at the end of it all, there is that feeling of invincibility, as if nothing in this world can stop you or slow you down. And so I found myself once again signing up for the great unknown. Plus there's a few obstacles I have an axe to grind with, and I'm hoping to take my revenge!

This was going to be a really short trip, 4 days, but really only 3, with 2 days of racing. Arriving in Melbourne on Friday morning after a Thursday red-eye flight, I raced on Saturday and Sunday, before making my way back to Singapore on a noon flight on Monday. And thus begin my great solo adventure as I collected the rental car.

Bright itself is located in the Alpine Shire of Victoria, about 350km away from Melbourne, making it an almost 4 hours drive from Melbourne. I was however making camp a little further down, at Tawonga with Iris and Nick, whose beautiful home I stayed in for two nights.

View from Tawonga Gap lookout

Back to the races! This is a Trifecta weekend. In other words I will be doing 3 races over Saturday and Sunday. With the aches from the Bintan Beast still weighing on my body, my priorities was simple. Survival was first on the list, that means erring on the safe side and not getting sick or injured during the race, and pacing myself to survive the two days. Completion was second, run, walk or crawl, my goal is to complete all 3 races to complete my third Trifecta. Finally race timing was last on the list, for myself, this is no competition against the other racers, this was a battle against myself and my timing against the pack simply doesn't matter as much.

The Fortress

After a good night rest, drove back into Bright and to the race village in the early morning. After collecting my race tags, bandana and timing chip, into the bull pit I go. Smack right in the middle of it all was the fortress. an imposing wooden structure that promises to punish you if for even a moment you loosen your grip. Quickly made my way to the starting line, where the race director is doing his best to work the race wave into a frenzy. This is going to be a fun day!

To Be Continued

Lin Yimian, CSCS, SGX

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