After over five months of looking forward to it, the Viper Challenge finally came. And I have to say that it was one of the funnest things I did in 2013. It was far more exciting than the standard running event and I found myself looking forward to each obstacle with long periods of the more ‘boring’ running in between. But since I’m rather all right with running nowadays (especially with my target to run my first full marathon in December), even the running wasn’t too bad – other than flat roads, there were off trail runs, as well as uphills and downhills, which kept things interesting.
The obstacles themselves weren’t too difficult but because I went with a group of friends, the fun of the teamwork experience more than made up for the relative ease of most of them. My team also tended to try to look for the most challenging way to handle each obstacle – going through the muddiest and most slippery parts, not using a boost up, and climbing over the middle part of walls so we couldn’t brace against the side supports. I understand why the organisers made it a bit easier this time round because it was the first time it was being held and it meant that most, if not all, participants could finish the course.
I think that a lot of people underestimated how far 20km really is. A lot of them focused on training for the obstacles, building up more strength, especially in their upper body, so I observed a lot of people really struggling with the distance and the steep uphill climbs. The distance and trail weren’t easy at all and the ones who did better were those where running is their main sport of choice – with obstacles, they could still use boost ups and people at the top helping to pull them up. There was a group of men who decided to do the event topless with pretty flawless physiques (well-defined 8-pack, bulging pectorals and biceps), who finished far, far behind my group, so this went to show that the course wasn’t exactly catered to bodybuilders and ‘non-running crossfitters’.
All in all, it was a blast. Would I do it again if it came around next year? Most definitely. I know that there were a ton of complaints on the Viper Facebook page but I didn’t share any of their negative experiences. It probably helped that I did it on Sunday morning so a lot of the issues were improved on by them. The weather was awesome and very cool until the sun started coming out around 10:45am or so. The thunderstorm which went on for hours and then stopped right when we started made the course and obstacles excitingly muddy and fun. I didn’t get any diarrhoea from drinking from the Syabas water tanks. None of my team got injured. I’m not that fussed that some of the obstacles changed from the original list in the marketing material.
And most of all, I really enjoyed the company of my teammates. There were two guys and two girls, and somehow, all our preferred paces matched each other. The guys didn’t have to slow down for the girls, and vice versa. No one felt like they had to wait for anyone, and no one felt like they were slowing down the group. But I have to say that the girls in our group were super fit. My sister didn’t train at all but effortlessly got through and didn’t even ache after or have DOMS, whereas I was sore for a good two days after. And my sister’s friend has been doing crossfit with her boyfriend for years so she’s a lot stronger than me. Her boyfriend…could probably have carried the three of us on his shoulders and gone through the course.
I’m actually tempted to do the upcoming Reebok One Challenge in September but it’s a week before my Standard Chartered half marathon and so it will be hard to train for both consecutively, and I don’t want to risk injury right before a run. After much deliberation and my finger hovering over the button to register, I’ve decided not to go ahead with it. It also helped me decide (very quickly) when my wife narrowed her eyes at me and said I shouldn’t be gone two Sunday mornings in a row because that’s when she’s at work (in church), and the two babies would have to be left with my in-laws.
So this concludes my first ever obstacle race experience. I can’t wait for the next one. It may not be Reebok Challenge but my sister has just sent me one called the Commando Challenge happening in Singapore this December. So maybe…
Who’s going to join me for the next one?
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