Daniel Munson
Students and staff alike participated in the 2017 Spartan Sprint on March 12th.
A group of 18 bleary-eyed athletes piled into a single van that spirited them away to their destination—Kuala Lumpur—to compete in the first of this year's Spartan race. This group of strong - willed individuals had been forced to wake up early for the past eight Saturday's to prepare for the grueling race. They were ready. The van rattled its way swiftly down towards KL, only stopping a couple times for gas and a bathroom break, and it arrived at the proper area for the Spartan Race. After driving around for what seemed like hours to find a parking spot, the group made their way towards the registration to get their numbers and timing band.
The group then made their way to the special tent provided for the team they signed up with—the Penang Warriors—which was the largest team present, for their 11:15a start time.
"Alright guys, for the first obstacle we should stick together, and if you can find someone to run with, it'll be more fun that way," called Principal Brewster above the crowd before the start line.
"SPARTANS, WHAT IS YOUR PROFESSION?" the man with the microphone shouted at the mass of people, itching to prove themselves during this race.
"AROOO, AROOO, AROOO," came the reply from the crowd. And with that, the man with the microphone gave the command to start the race. The crowd surged over the small initial barrier and continued to meet the rest of the race.
The Dalat team broke up into groups for the rest of the race: Miss Grad and Trevor Ronning (10) speeding to the front, followed by Mr. Brewster, Mr. Ronning, Noah Graves (12), Teddy Zimmer (11), Gavin Zimmer (9), Bena Mauger (12), Mr. Anderson, Yi Yao Tan (10), Aaron Chand (12), Alan Luchtenburg (12), "Uncle Paul" Luchtenburg, Daniel Munson (12), Ke-erh Huang (11), Emily Tan (9), Lee Zhi Yong (9), Yuuki Horie (9), and Tien Min Tan (9).
The next two to three hours passed by like a dream; the race was composed of mud through nine kilometers of jungle and rivers with various difficult obstacles along the way.
"By far the worst part of the Spartan race was the bucket carry. The 35-45 Kg bucket was a nightmare to carry," Chand recalled.
After crossing the finish line—a burning log—each competitor gratefully grabbed a medal. The many weeks of exercise had paid off, and the entire Dalat group are now officially "Spartans."
"It was super fun to run and do obstacles with my dad and friends. I had a great time and got to know new people," commented Alan Luchtenburg on the race.
The Dalat group then still had a long van ride ahead of them to head back home, but they were comforted by the heavy weight around their necks.
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