Author: Jessie
Race: Beast
Country: Malaysia, Iskandar.
Distance: 21.7km
Elevation profile: 280m
Terrain: Combination of jungle trails, road and sandy paths.
Rating out of 5: 3.5 / 5
Race map for the Ultra, Beast & Super.
From the moment the course map was released, it was clear it was going to be a fast, flat course. Standing on the start line we were told that 5 obstacles weren't able to be put up due to the storm: atlas carry, armer, tyro, plate drag and Z wall. That wasn't my favourite news as I relish the strength based obstacles but hey, we're there for variety and anything can happen!
We went out fast off the start line and I knew straight away that I hadn't recovered well from the Ultra four weeks before. My body felt sore and I just couldn’t kick in to the next gear I needed. This isn’t an excuse as it was entirely my choice, it’s just an important observation for my own recovery and some good practice of my mental toughness.
With nearly 10kms of varied trail (including some scary storm drain near misses) and only a few walls in terms of obstacles, I was actually excited when I arrived at twister, right until I fell off. I had a bit of a crisis of confidence at this point but Sean was there to keep me going. It's not often you get to share the burpee pit with your husband so that was handy! I cleared monkey bars and used the bucket carry to my advantage (I’m still not sure how I feel about the new rule allowing you to put it on your shoulder) before heading in to Olympus. Chatting to the referee after the race it seems that Malaysia have updated their Olympus, the angle the walls sit at is steeper and the material is some horrible slippery plexi-glass. In my opinion it’s harder and I don’t have the technique for it yet, so after a few transitions I fell.
That was apparently was too much for me to take and I burst into tears, wondering if I was even going to get this race finished. At this point I was in second place but the positioning didn’t matter, I was struggling. Luckily, Hera was refereeing and although she remained fully professional in her role, she was the friendly face I needed to reassess and keep going. I got my burpees done and continued to the spear throw, my nemesis. I got myself set up, took a deep breath and threw… it hit! It was the exact reset that my brain needed and I ran off cheering, apparently most people on course heard me!
The rest of the race passed with a case of head down and keep running. The terrain was mostly road, interspersed with some sandy sections that were tough on the Achilles and a cooling muddy swim. I managed to maintain 2nd place but knew I could be overtaken at any moment. The rest of the obstacles passed without any drama and I was pleased with how strong I felt on the multi rig. I was happy to end the race with the Hercules hoist and rope climb and I loved the addition of the natural ‘trench’ before the slip wall and finally the finish line.
Crossing the finish line of this race meant a lot to me, it was the culmination of a lot of hard work and some lofty goals (more of that in another post) and the end of the 2019 race year, my first elite year. I was exhausted when I finished but I had so much fun at the finish with the other amazing elite ladies and this is a race I’ll never forget.
If you were at the race let me know in the comments below how your race experience was! Aroo!