Growing up I was unextraordinary. My grades were average, there was nothing I was particularly good at and other than a failed attempt at being a goalkeeper in hockey in Senior School, I didn’t play any form of sports... ever. So, if you’d told me then that I would have gone on to achieve something in the fitness world that no other female had before, I wouldn’t have believed you. I probably wouldn’t have believed you 6 months ago either to be honest. If I am being totally truthful, I still can't quite process it now.
Put simply, this year I was the first female to stand on the podium for all 5 Spartan distances in their first elite year. That means completing a Stadion, Sprint, Super, Beast and an Ultra in one calendar year and achieving a podium position for each of them. I am not the first female generally to complete these 5 distances, 9 women have done this across all their races. Neither am I the first person to complete it in a single year, Myriam Boisset had that achievement. But, as the year unfolded I realised I had the chance to be the first person to do it in their first competitive year of racing.
So, I thought I’d explain what has been a pretty crazy journey. A journey of Sean becoming my coach, of a total change in mindset and of a progression from a 5km Stadion race to a 50km Ultramarathon.
In October last year, Spartan Singapore announced that they would be hosting a Stadion race in January to kickstart the 2019 year of racing. At this stage I was racing age group but my friend Ilona had already moved up from my age group and I knew I’d miss the competition we had. During a family trip away, I got to talking about it with my dad, who said that I had to sign up to elite (he’s where I get my competitive side from) to try and challenge myself. This led to a team strategy meeting and Sean officially agreeing to become my coach and a few hours later I had signed up…
For the next few months I spent equal time training and worrying about making a fool of myself on race day until January rolled around and it was time to race. I had never completed a Stadion race and didn’t really know what to expect. Two weeks before the race I went down to the obstacle pop up and sprained my ankle on the fat skipping rope so that wasn’t the best start but The Stretch Clinic fixed me up so I could still race. On the day I was surprised to find out we’d be racing in waves, so I ended up being sent 1 minute after the familiar faces I thought I’d be standing on the start line with. That was unsettling but once the race began I was red-lining from the start and barely had time to think. The race passed really successfully and I even hit my spear throw, allowing me to cross the finish line burpee free. Sprinting to the end, the best part of the day was that a number of the kids from my class that I had convinced to do the kids race later in the day had gathered to cheer me on and one of the girls put my medal around my neck. However, the real surprise came when a provisional 3rd place lanyard followed it. I was shocked, my main goal had been top 10 in my first elite race so this far surpassed any expectations I had. My shock continued to grow when it turned out that my minute delay meant I had actually come in 2nd, not 3rd place. Standing on that podium is a feeling that will stick with me forever. The coveted triangle plaque in hand, my hard work had paid off!
Post race we ate pizza, reviewed the plan and looked forward to the next race. I had a Super in Semenyih in March so the next few months focused on running and strength maintenance and before I knew it, we were being led to the start line by a Chinese New Year dragon parade - a very unique experience.
The race was an eventful one, 2km in I arrived at Twister and as I transitioned to the second section the referee shouted at me that I had been disqualified for cheating. I was thrown, I read the rule book before every race so deep down I knew that I was right in using the truss to move between sections but when a referee is shouting at you that you’re out of your second elite race, it’s hard to remain calm. I carried on going and through tears and panic tried to get an answer from some other referees. I was told to keep going and work it out at the end but it totally ruined my mindset. I came in to monkey bars next and failed them. Questioning why I was even bothering if I had been DQ’d I did my burpees and took off into the jungle. It was about 4 kms later and just over half way into the race that I realised I’d left my headband at monkey bars. Now, as I said, I read the rules religiously so I knew that I was expected to finish with my headband. By this point I had lost any ounce of mental toughness I had left and I just stood in the jungle and cried, not something I am proud of but I am a very emotional person and can’t help but get very invested in things I feel passionate about. A really kind guy came past and asked if I was ok; he even offered to give me his headband as his race wasn’t going how he’d thought, but I’d rather have quit than cheated. At this point I was still in first place and I had thoughts of telling my class on the Monday morning that I had given up and I couldn’t do it so I just kept putting one foot in front of the other.
Eventually I made it into the race village and the final gauntlet of obstacles, I failed my spear, the final obstacle, but managed to throw down 30 burpees before crossing the finish line in ‘first place.’ I wasn’t sure what would happen next but the Spartan team were amazing. The referee had been wrong and should never have claimed I’d be DQ’ed and as a result they allowed me to keep my positioning, despite the headband issue. I have since noticed that a lot of the televised US races seem to have people often not finishing with their headbands so I am not sure on the rigidity of the rule but I now check a million times each race to make sure mine is still on my head, it was a good lesson to learn.
My next huge lesson was just around the corner at the YCK Spartan Sprint in Singapore in April. This was a race I was really looking forward to and it’s always nice being in your own bed the night before a race. The competition was strong for this race and with it being a Sprint, people went off the start line hot. I hung on for as long as I could until spear throw and of course, 30 burpees. I spent the rest of the race trying to run as fast as I could, knowing there was a strength based gauntlet at the end that I could use to my advantage. Coming in to the multi-rig I was neck and neck with Ilona and as always we knocked limbs mid-way, it’s become something of a tradition. I managed to inch ahead coming over the slip wall and threw myself down and over the finish line. I was stoked but exhausted. I had given my all to cross the fire in first place. Except, from the background noise from the finish line I heard a single voice shouting at me “Jess - finish line.” In my exhausted state I had been so focused on getting over the fire that I had slumped down to rest… before crossing the final timing chip. By this point Ilona had caught up and crossed the actual finish mat in first. It was the dumbest mistake that cost me a first place position, but again, it is a lesson I have learnt and something I will never repeat. It took a while, but I can now laugh about it too.
The next race was another Sprint in Lima in the first week of May. At this point I didn’t even know that people tried to cover all 5 distances but it was a series race so I went ready to give it my all and see how I stacked up against the women across South East Aisa.. The series dates were horribly timed for me this year and this was the only race I could make, so I wanted to secure the best points I could. I felt great from the start and held a pace I was really happy with. Sean had been working hard to put together a training program for me and it was paying off, I was making progress across the board and starting to feel more like the ‘athlete’ that everyone thought I was. Hitting my spear throw I was elated and I felt like I floated through through the rest of the race. I made sure to run clear past the timing chip and secured my second 1st place of the year. It was the redemption I needed for the mistake I had made in Singapore and although I wouldn’t be able to take part in the series, I was happy with my performance in this race.
The reason we couldn’t take part in the series was due to a previously booked trip to the UK and two races at their final series race at Marston Lodge. I’ll save that recap for another time but I took a 4th place Sprint and a 5th place Super, a good highlight of how I currently stack up in the UK and both important races for Sean to see where my training needs to be focused for me to be more competitive here.
My next race was due to be an Ultra, the first one I had ever undertaken and as I only ran my first km in 2018, i wasn’t sure what to expect. We trained hard over the summer, using the mountains and trails in the UK to increase mileage and by the time we got back to Singapore it was all about maintaining this progress. I took part in a 50km trail race in Borneo to test my gear and my mental toughness and managed to place 3rd, a reassuring sign for the Spartan 4 weeks later. Standing on the start line in Sarawak, I felt ready. I had trained hard and knew I needed to run my own race. I went off at a comfortable pace and maintained this for the next 50km. Coming in to transition in 1st place, I was stoked to receive my first lap leaders bib and I felt good heading back out again. I did a LOT of burpees during this race (240!) but the jungle trails and cries of orangutans kept me in a very happy place and I do feel that this is a distance I should probably explore more… I just hate the long recovery needed afterwards. I hung on to 1st place and despite not even being able to get up the rope climb during the final gauntlet, I crossed the finish line feeling pretty good! I then got to see Sean finish his race and had the best time hanging out with some amazing people.
It was after this race that Sean realised I was on track to podium all the distances, I had 4/5 in the bag. He reached out to Jack Bauer, the OCR stats man, and he confirmed the statistics I mentioned at the start. In case you weren’t keeping track I currently had: Stadion - 2nd place; Sprint - 2nd & 1st place; Super - 1st place; Ultra - 1st place… I just needed a Beast. Luckily for me there was a Beast just over the border, just 4 weeks after the Ultra. It was the only race left in 2019 that I could travel to so I signed up, but boy, did I feel the pressure.
I have come a long way with my mindset this year, but knowing this race was my only chance to achieve something pretty cool was overwhelming and I was a barrel of nerves on the start line. I didn’t feel recovered from the Ultra and I’d been sick leading up to the race and from the first km I knew I wasn’t going to have my best race. I won’t bore you with this one as you can read a full race recap here, but it was the hardest race of the year for me. When I crossed the finish line in 2nd place it hit me, I had done it and I was a little sad that Sean wasn’t there at the finish line, he was out running his Ultra. But, as always, the Spartan community was amazing and I got to hang out with some epic people.
So, that was it, I had done it. 5 distances, 5 podiums and 1 elite year. There are so many people who helped along the way. People who kept me healthy physically and mentally; friends who trained with me and showed incredible support; an awesome OCR community who have always got my back. But the biggest thanks, as always, goes to Sean. My coach and husband who dedicates his time to making me the best athlete I can, who wakes up at 6am to let me ask him if I should be training, who calls me out when I’m full of self doubt and who, no matter what, always believes I can achieve these bonkers goals I set for myself. That’s it, my very long summary of 2019. Right now it’s time to reflect, re-set and recover, but as we map out the 2020 calendar, I am already excited to set some more big goals and see what the year has in store.
