The 2017 Spartan Beast in Johor

Halfway through the Spartan Super five months ago, I was in quite a lot of pain and distinctly remember thinking, "who are these crazy people who do the Spartan Beast?!?"

So it stands to reason that I was on the start line (Elites no less) of the Spartan Beast in Johor, Malaysia - three days before my 40th birthday!

The Malaysian Spartan Beast 2017 Map

Initially the race was scheduled for 8th October and I was keen to join that but it turned out the delay was a blessing for me (although not for the hundreds who had pre-booked flights and hotels) because it meant I could prep a lot more with regards to training. I logged a lot more grip strength time at Orient Fitness Gold via pull ups sets and dead hangs as well as building up my stamina in my legs as the Spartan Beast involves more running than the other two categories (Sprint and Super). I logged under 2 hours at a half-marathon at the end of November which I was pleased about and thought that would be enough for this race. I also had a pair of spanking new OCR shoes after I punctured my Super ones during a National Park run and decided to go long sleeve as I presumed it would be a very hot day with a 8.30am start time.

My biggest decision was whether to carry a camelbak as suggested by the organizers. I've always run without one in my half and full marathons (which are run mainly in near darkness) but Spartan has different requirements for a body's aerobic and anaerobic system plus there was also the issue of the Malaysian midday 30 degree humidity. I elected not to wear one to save chafing, money, obstacle interference and after taking advice from my Dutch friend who said there were plenty of water stations excellently placed around the course. However Joost finished 13th in last year's race whereas I had finished... 145th earlier in the year! He suggested taking 3-4 cups of water at each stop together with gels and salt tablets so I had four of the former and 3 of the latter.

Race site (find photo credit)

After a long wait to register (why don't they allow race packs to be picked up a day earlier like marathons?) and pick up my race headband and race chip, I slipped my shoes on and dropped my bag off sharpish after someone said the Men's Elite Beast WASN'T going to start late as I presumed! However what was an even bigger shock than that was that my Hungarian friend, Kris, wasn't running. His wife said his ankle hadn't recovered from the half-marathon in November but he had only made a late (and sensible) decision to not run the day before. I didn't expect to beat him but would have liked the company for half the race (or however long I could keep up with him!).

Listening to race director, Douglas Lau, at the start line, my heart sunk a little when he said it was a hilly course with very few flats and the sandbag and bucket carries were even harder than the Super. However there wasn't really much anyone could do about them at this late stage so up the hill we went from the start line!

If you go shirtless, you are usually fast and at the front of the pack.

I had decided not to go flat out from the start to save energy and hopefully not indulge in cramps later on but my starting speed (and probably enthusiasm) is usually a bit quicker than the average racer so after the first two hills, I hit the first 5 'warm up' obstacles with very few people around me (which is the only reason I sign up in the Elite category!). Through the yellow plastic Tunnel, Over Under and Through the 3 walls, rolling Under Over Under Over Under Over (and nearly lost 2 gels from my pocket on my last roll!) and over the 3 hurdles were standard fare before trail running more slopes and the burpee maker - Spear Throw!

It's mainly difficult because spearing a straw bale that is 25ft away in one go is not something that anyone can practice easily. And, of course, each competitor only gets one attempt! I remembered my short three word pitch for the spear - hard and high - and after checking I wasn't standing on the rope, I delivered the spear. Unlike my Super attempt, I did actually hit the middle of the target this time but the spear had spun in mid-flight and stick it did not. The burpee maker had done its job and I was doing (together with many others!) my first of many 30s of the day.

After more running, it was the turn of the Barbed Wire Crawl. I rolled my way as is my want but I learned from my previous race mistake - and remembered to change my direction of roll after 10 spins as well as telling other Spartans in the area of my previous dizzying experience! Again a quick pat of my pockets to check my gels and salts were still there and I was off across more Johorian terrain and over a 7ft wall to reach the Olympus. We had doubled back to near the start point so as I was making sure my feet were up, my buttocks were down and fingers did not lose strength in the holes and on the climbing holds, it was nice to hear some atmosphere and music from the camp. However it was even nicer to hear the cowbell ring - I can see why some people get addicted to it!

It turned out that the race director had lied on the start line - the Sand Bag was not as tough as the Super several months ago which was a killer! Although the route took us up and down through some rough terrain (where you had to slide down on your butt on one stage), it wasn't as long and nobody looked absolutely exhausted by the end. A fellow male Spartan recognized me from the last race at the end of the challenge and said I was good encouragement! 😊

Being light is not an advantage in The Hercules Hoist!

However the lovely bell noise didn't ring on the next obstacle, the Hercules Hoist. Again it was another obstacle I found I couldn't practice for but later on, I regretted not trying harder than lifting the sandbag a mere foot off the ground. My reasoning was that I wanted to save my grip strength for other hanging obstacles but as I ran round the next quarter of the course, I realised that those obstacles were widely spaced apart and that I would have had time to recover. It was also at this stage that I noticed that some people weren't getting their chest to the ground during burpees which was quite annoying. Couldn't the volunteers tell just by looking at their clean shirts or chests?

So anyway it turned out the race director had lied more than once on the start line - it wasn't all hills at all. Hidden behind the large mounds at the race site were several flattened areas (for houses to be built on later on I presume) and this proved a relief for us as it gave our legs a bit of a rest from climbs. By the time we had to get over the 8ft and 6ft walls, we were 6km in and I was trotting along nice. I came across various Ultra-Beast participants at this stage who had to do 2 laps of what I was doing 😯 and did my best to verbally encourage although I think a few might have been regretting their choice at that early stage judging by their faces!

It was also at this stage that I met a fellow Penangite on the Tractor Pull. It wasn't a particularly tough obstacle but it was fun to chat to course instructor Conor McManus of Warrior Boot Camp, Penang for a kilometre or two before he pulled away from me. It speaks to the willpower and strength of the man that despite being 8 years older and recovering from illness, he was 47 minutes faster than me! After the race, he said he thought I was just behind him! Well two of those last three words were true! 😅

More flat ground covered and I found myself an early Christmas present on the second barbed wire crawl. After an uncountable number of rolls I found a caffeine Gu energy gel right at the end. I looked around as I wanted to return it to its rightful owner but there was no-one immediately ahead so I accept this gift. It was especially helpful because I had already used up three of my four gels and I was a little worried about how I was going to power through the second half of the race. At the next water station, I also met Jeremy Williams for only the second time in my life (I had gotten to know about him through his GoPro coverage of the 2017 races during my pre-race research) - the first time was about halfway through the Spartan Super - at another water station! And again, he sped away ahead of me after the briefest of chats!

There was a lot of dusty level ground to cover before the next obstacle, the Z Wall, which was only alleviated by high-fiving two gentlemen dressed as Father Christmas resting under a tent (whom I assumed were course marshals). The Z Wall is one of those obstacles that is easy to do when you aren't tired but I failed it during the Super due to groin cramp (as fun as it sounds!). However this was not repeated and the sound of the cow bell dinged again for me as long as I channelled the spirit of Project Rock through me! At this stage I also came across Team Algeria with whom my paths would interconnect several times before the race. They were a great bunch of young lads, ready to encourage, but also stopped to stretch and spray any Ultra competitors who were on the ground with cramp.

Ahhhhh cramp. My arch nemesis. It's something I've never encountered on a half marathon but yet again, it struck my calves as I slid down a short steep slope after the success of Z Walling. The 3 salt tablets taken earlier had not worked its magic and although I got through 14 kilometres, there was still another 10 kay or so to go. 😓

So it was around a lake, and a slow crossing via water rope (thankfully not via a swim because it was pretty large) where I saw lots of people fall in due to the uneven surface, before it was back onto the hill slopes and forests.

Then BOOM injury number two. I thought I'd trained well enough to monkey around on the Monkey Bars but on bar number 6 to 7, there was sudden sharp pain as I swung forwards a millisecond before I heard a tear. As I lay on the floor wondering if my race was over, the very enthusiastic punisher err obstacle marshal was shouting at me , "DO YOUR BURPEES!" Fortunately there was a medic nearby but his raise your arms above the head test showed no dislocation - at which point I got down to doing my 30 burpees... while wondering if I could complete the race.

So after a few more kilometres of slopes in a forest, we came up on a rocky slope and as we climbed atop of it, Stairway to Heaven was upon us. This obstacle also intimidated me in the Spartan Sprint and I remember staring it at it after 10km thinking, "do I really have enough acceleration to power up, jump, grab and pull myself up on the 9ft high bar?" Ordinarily it wouldn't have been a problem but when you have calf cramp and a suspected shoulder injury, there was unsurprisingly some doubt.

My first attempt was poor, as I sprinted and attempted to jump, I literally hit the wall and then floor before staying down on the rock hard surface for quite a while and asking for a medic (again) for some spray, cream or any other magic solution he had for calf cramp. He wasn't very good as he did a bit of a half arsed job on calves but then as I lay down in pain, who's silhouette should loom over me?

Colleen on the far left is Spartan royalty

Colleen Augustine. For anyone who doesn't know who she is, this young lady is basically the number one Malaysian female Spartan racer winning multiple races around Asia and represented Malaysia in the World Championships in the U.S. of A..

As she stood over me, she was kind enough to ask, "are you ok?"

I would have liked to tell you all that I stood up at that point, ran up and cleared the obstacle in one fell swoop but everything was still pretty painful so I stayed on the floor with my legs propped up against the wall and said, "no, not really... but show us how it's done," and with that, she hurdled the obstacle with grace and energy. Even with the help of a kind Ultra runner giving me a boost, I couldn't pull myself up onto the bar and with that shoulder pain, I went on over to do 30 burpees. At this point, I lost quite a lot of confidence here to do any hanging obstacles but on the bright side, I was beginning to embrace the burpee!

Not me!

Not too far from that site was the next obstacle - The Tyrolean Traverse. This was a first for me as it didn't feature in the Super and I was doing quite well until about 10 pulls from the end, my forearms didn't have enough to strength to hold on and bang, it was back on the floor time again! That was frustrating as I was so close to the end and just as annoyingly I got rope burns around my calf as I didn't roll up my Spartan specific socks - designed to stop these very rope burns! However as I stood next to the defeated obstacle, I saw a fellow Penangite and helped Claire Lacey by letting her know how many pulls she was from the bell. It was satisfying to know that I helped her to a tiny degree to her 9th place finish - knowing mentally how far you are from the end and having someone encouraging you should never ever be underestimated.

A steep but manageable downhill via a scramble on your backside or a rope led to a flat road and a vertical cargo net. As I ascended and most importantly descended, I suffered from another bout of cramp and had to do stretches that I did when I was 10 years old. It was at this stage, Orient Fitness Gold gym trainer G (Jee) caught up to me and in our little chat, he told me there wasn't long to go. It turned out he wasn't quite telling the truth but it was good to hear at the time!

A short upward rope slope climb led to the Atlas Carry. Finally an obstacle I could complete! It's about squatting deep, wrapping your arms around it and letting a Hulk style roar out in my book! Just around the corner from that success was The Bender and again, I wasn't really convinced that I could do it due to a bad Spartan Super experience and the fact that my shoulder wasn't 100%. However there was a lady Beast runner who saw my apprehension and she just gave me a stare as I stood and gazed up at it, that really convinced me that I could do it - and I did!

However I couldn't do the Twister which had far too many handles for my injury. However I didn't come here not to give things a go but about 3-4 handles, feet were on the group and I was joining a large group of people doing burpees which for some reason I decided to do in French. A member of team Algeria was also at this stage cheering his friends and the rest of us on but his enthusiasm was not matched by my fellow burpeeteers as we sweated and got our chests to the ground!

It was a short run to the next obstacle and one that filled many people with dread - The Bucket Carry! It was ridiculously tough in the Super but thankfully, a lot shorter in the Beast - probably due to one thing... the big hill that you had to climb. Interestingly before I even reached that far, the obstacle marshal told me that I had filled my bucket with too many stones but while I was relieved to some extent, it's supposed to be heavy! The rules say fill to cover the holes at the top!! I saw a lot of people who were carrying lighter loads - and on their head or shoulders which is against the rules! This p*ssed me off in the last race and did again here but hey ho, what's done is done!

So the emphasis when carrying a heavy bucket full of stones is the fact that your lower limbs are going to be tested to the limit. I was very concerned about a very tight right hamstring which hadn't caused me any problems but was raising some objection to the fact that it had to carry a 35kg weight up steep hill. After a pause and stretch for the hamstrings and glutes, I decided there was only one way to get up that slope - by singing songs! I am an appalling bad singer which is possibly why no-one joined me in my renditions of 'We wish you a Merry Christmas,' 'another Christmas carol that I can't remember' and 'Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it's off to work we go.' On the bright side, it was a nice view from the top as can be seen here:

This was the train of people inching down a steep slope while trying not to tip over their bucket of stones!

So the tricky bit was getting down without tipping your bucket (although there was quite a few bits of spilled stones dotted around the route!) but I managed by scooting down on my buttocks and balancing the black bucket on my lap.

Reaching the bottom of the hill

My turn in front of the official photographer!

There was still about six hundred metres to go after this photo but despite a few proposal moments (rest your bucket on your knee not on the floor was the advice I read!) on a firm (and fortunately non-muddy) trail, Bucket Brigade was over!

However it was not the end of slopes... there was a similarly tough uphill after Bucket Brigade which led many people to have cramp again - there was just no fear about dropping all your stones this time! As I slowly ambled down the other side of the hill with my cramp recovery, there were two ladies patiently waiting for their partners at the top. However as I got nearer the Rope Climb, I found that I had my own supporter waiting for me - Kris!

I only look happy here because this is after the rope climb!

It was uplifting to see Kris because of what he shouted at me (and the fact that he must have been somewhere near the finish line!) but I had no rope confidence because I was thinking shoulder, shoulder, shoulder - but thanks to the excellent encouragement of the marshal stationed here, I did it with surprising ease and probably excellent technique (clamp the rope with your feet before reaching upwards)! Sadly I told Kris not to take any photos because failures are never fun to watch but he did catch some shots when I was shuffling down - and probably because I shouted his name! Thanks Kris!!

On the way down

Paracord was very close by and was basically a simple bear crawl (tough if you've got a backpack on though!) and I had the opportunity to talk to another Penang member, Alame, who seemingly knew every runner around us as he encouraged them all on!

The finish line was visible from the hill at this point but I still couldn't run and then it was the Inverted Wall. A blue shirted China guy and I got to it about the same time but we were playing a game of 'please, after you,' 'no, you first,' 'no really, I insist' which was amusing! I think the competitive spirit had really drained out of us at this point and we were both looking for survival and a finish!

The Dunk Wall into Swim meant we were only one large body of water away from the Fire Jump but  like the last one I couldn't swim which meant I had to pull myself across the small river along the rope. My sandwich bag for glasses (to keep them dry) didn't really help at this stage as there was a hole in it (perhaps unsurprisingly after many kilometres of running, rolling, climbing) so when I opened my glasses case, it was full of water!

I think I was responding to something Kris said

I was overtaken by Kris's photogenic wife, Zsofia, around this stage but not before I had the above photograph taken by one of the various official Spartan photographers. However it was another swinging obstacle in front of me - The Multi-Rig (where you had to move along 2 rings, a bar, 7 rings, 2 balls before ringing the cow bell) and I had a little go at it but the conclusion was going to be obvious - Embracement of the Burpee (as seen below!).

There were far too many likes on Facebook of this photo for my liking!

Then it was an A frame cargo net climb up, a slide on my butt down before the Slip Wall. A poor Beast contestant was stuck at the slip wall where you have to run up a metal sloping slippery wall and grab the 1 foot ropes at the top - tricky with cramp, tiredness and wet shoes! I was trying to show him how to do it but then I got stuck myself! I was at the top holding two ropes but my body was lying down on the metal slop as my feet err slipped. I did shout to passers by for advice at this stage but I don't think any verbal instructions would have helped. However a kind volunteer at the top got my hand to feel a bar on the other side and I managed to pull myself over with my right arm... before calf cramping again climbing down!

Nearly there and...

I barely mustered enough energy for the iconic Fire Jump but it was all over after a final spurt!

My final statistics were:

4:17:47
Men's 102 / 152
Overall 127 / 200


Post Spartan, the left shoulder was in a lot of pain and my plan was to lay off it for at least a month before getting back to improve my strength base. I did wonder if my ligaments just weren't used to the angle of swings while supporting my body weight. I had practiced on children's monkey bars but obviously the distance between the Spartan ones were further with thicker bars.

My other issue (as it was in the Super) was obviously calf cramp again. My half marathon training was pretty decent together with the Penang Bridge race but it didn't make much of a difference. I think there is a need to do more hills, hills and hills (as suggested by my friend Joost) if (when?!) I retry a Spartan again. Probably with some disapproving looks from my wife!

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