As you may have noticed throughout this year, SISH has hosted a series of events in celebration of our 10th year anniversary. We had an Instagram competition as well as setting a new Singapore Record; our latest adventure is our participation in the grueling SPARTAN RACE!
A short introduction about the Spartan Race; it is a military style obstacle course race that usually requires the participants to power through different terrains. Although there are a few examples provided of the obstacles, most of them are unknown until the day of the race. 6 staff members (Arun Pakalapati, Alexis Lee, James Tay, Craig Albrightson, Jonny Zhu and Julie Sim) participated in the Spartan Sprint category which was 8km long filled with 25 obstacles to complete. In preparation for the race, we participated in outdoor community workouts, created our own exercise plans and altered our diet.
After 6 months of training, we were buzzing on race day! Thankfully, the weather was pleasant with cloudy skies and a slight drizzle later on in the race. The race was mainly split into 2 areas; forest and flat ground. The forest part of the race was more about stamina and getting muddy – obstacles included hurdles, shock cords, tunnels and farmer’s carry. Once we came out of the jungle area, obstacles were more strength-based such as Tyrolean Traverse, Hercules Hoist, Rope Climb and several wall climbs. The collaborative culture of Spartan is extremely motivating as you help and encourage not only your team members but the other participants around you. As team SISH, we physically and mentally supported each other throughout the race e.g. giving high-fives or carrying a member through the monkey bars obstacles. The jump over the fire pit and crossing the finish line was extremely satisfying; team SISH spent over 3 hours battling through! We are SO proud of our Spartans; they worked hard and most importantly, did not give up. It is wonderful to see an example of how you can accomplish anything you put your mind to – congratulations to our Spartan finishers!
Most importantly, we raised about $2,600 for SPD (society for the physically disabled) which exceeded our target by $600! A huge thank you to everyone who donated – a special mention goes out to those who came to support us on the day and stuck with us throughout all the obstacles.
