Gene is an emerging talent in the thriving SEA OCR scene with goals to race for his nation in the newly added OCR at the SEA games and compete in the Spartan SEA series to qualify for the world championships at the end of 2020. Gene is pegged as one of our ‘ones to watch’ in competitive obstacle course racing.

Name: Gene Casimero

Age: 16

How did you first get into OCR?
My running coach back then introduced me and my brother to OCR. The thought of getting to run around and get covered with mud was quite interesting to me which brought me to my first race at the Allianz Conquer Race last year which was 1.5km long.

What is your favourite race or OCR experience?
The best race I’ve ever experienced was the fiery finale of the 2019 Spartan SEA Series which was held at Bukit Timah. Although it wasn’t the first place finish that makes it the best, it was the joy I had seeing racers that I knew throughout the course and meeting racers with amazing backgrounds and transformations from the couch to the course.

Favourite Obstacle?
My favourite obstacle would be the rings because of the way you’re able to traverse through it in many different ways.

Biggest Achievement?
The biggest achievement I’ve had is finding out that I was part of the National Developmental Pool for OCR, which helps athletes train and qualify for the OCR National Team!

OCR must have item?
An item that I always have on hand during race day are GU Gels.

Favourite post-race snack?
A good reward after a race would be Durian, a lot of it. It’s what I look for whenever we race at Singapore or Malaysia.

When is your next race and why did you choose it?
My next race will be the Vietnam Sprint this February because of my intentions to race the whole SEA Series and qualify for the Spartan World Championships at Abu Dhabi.

[note from Team Grit: While Abu Dhabi is the expected venue for Spartan World Championship nothing has been confirmed yet]

What is your favourite mantra when things get tough?
My favourite saying would be “the more you seek the uncomfortable, the more you become comfortable”.