Exclusive Behind The Scenes Sneak Preview Of Warrior Trail 2016

Mind Over Matter

We all like to think that we are the Masters Of Our Universe, but in reality, our inherent human failings can let us down if we keep making the wrong choices in life. A wise man once said, “Life is Simple, but People make Life Complicated”. How true! Nevertheless, what determines success is not what we say, but invariably, we are judged by what we DO. In particular, how we handle the  challenges that we face on a daily basis, big or small, is a good judge of our strength of character. Furthermore, if we are to believe in Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, we would know that in the Animal Kingdom, it is the strong which will outlive the weak. Fortunately, for Human Sapiens, we can survive and thrive because the strongest among us will protect the weaklings, and even the weaklings can be triumph over Life’s adversaries by using their brain power to make-up for their physical limitations. So, Life can be harsh, but it is always fair.

Brains And Brawn

I like Obstacle Races such as the Warrior Trail, which will be held for the very first time in Malaysia at Eco Venture Resort Semenyih on 30-31/January 2016, because these races challenges us both mentally, as well as physically. After having experienced Viper Challenge, Spartan Race and Commando Elite Challenge, I can confidently say that brute strength alone will not be enough to overcome these type of tough challenges. The participants will need to work smart in order to figure out the best way to complete the myriad of different obstacles without falling-over face-first into the many mud pits. Moreover, there will be a few challenges whereby the participant’s ability to work well as a team will be the difference between failure and success.

What Is Your Motivation To Succeed

Apart from the attributes of Strength and Courage, I find that having the right motivation helps me greatly in powering through the obstacle course. My source of motivation varies widely depending on my current mood and the types of challenges. For this coming Warrior Trail, my motivation will be those people who would like to see nothing better than watch another human being fail or fall, but up front, they pretend to be sincere and concerned about others well-being. Normally, my motivation is more positive in nature, but this weekend, I will be battling each obstacle as though I am kicking the asses of those two-faced assassins.. I will let you know afterwards through my blog if my experiment works or not. In the end, there is no right or wrong motivation, as long as you find something that you feel strongly enough to spur you on when the going gets tough.

Meet Mr. Nick James

This week, I was fortunate enough to meet-up with the founder of Warrior Trail, Mr, Nick James who started the Warrior Trail series in Cheng Mai, Thailand in January 2015. Nick is a Welshman who works as a full-time Athletic Director in Cheng Rai, Northern Thailand. He has been hooked on Obstacle Races ever since, he successfully completing Tough Guys challenge in 2000. It was a life-changing event for Nick because the training for Tough Guys made him the fittest he had ever felt in his whole life. However, soon after, Nick was tragically diagnosed with cancer, and he had to undergo 6-months of chemotherapy. Looking back on those dark days. Nick confided, “Funnily, having completed Tough Guys, it gave me the belief to battle this disease and to fight for my life”.

Fast forward to today, Nick and his crew were busy setting-up the course for Malaysia’s first-ever Warrior Trail 2016. Despite Nick’s hectic schedule, I felt privileged that he took time off his busy schedule to show and explain to me the concept and intricacies of what makes Warrior Trail popular from the get go. As he pointed-out, we are the first true trail-based obstacle race around which means that he will make full use of the natural settings and obstacles that is available in this resort and its surrounding areas, in addition to the 20-over custom-made obstacles set-up throughout the 10km route. Nick is adamant in making his muddy event tough enough so that the participants will have fun, and at the same time, there is the feel-good factor of being able to survive such a grueling challenge.

Pushed To The Limits

As Nick walked me through the beginning of the course, I noticed that there was a river crossing challenge about 1km from the start line, and I said, “It looks like the contestants will get wet early on”. Nick replied half-jokingly, “Yes, we like to give hard challenges right away.” Looking at the other early obstacles, I was resigned to the hard fact that we were all going to get very wet and muddy early on in the race tomorrow. This course was designed by Nick to force the challengers out of their comfort zone and make them feel dirty, tired, battered and bruised. Why do people pay to torture themselves like this, I began to wonder. Could it be that our natural survival instincts force us to explore the boundaries of possibilities in search of enlightenment and inner wellbeing? Or are we just looking for an excuse to release our stress by jumping into a pool of mud? Sometimes, like now, I never know in the beginning exactly why I want to compete in certain races. However, from experience, I have learnt not to question my instincts and go with the flow. So, following my gut-feelings again this time, I believe that the Warrior Trail will provide me the answers to the questions about which I do not yet know. Stay tuned and find-out all about my Warrior Trail experience soon.

Video of Nick’s Welcome Message

About The Author

Gus is the Chief Entertainment Officer of Running Toons and he is passionate about endurance sports. As a writer, he has contributed numerous insightful articles to The Star newspaper, Running Malaysia magazine, Cycling Malaysia magazine, Cycling Evolution magazine, Swim Bike Run magazine and more. LIKE Happy Runner and follow gusghani @Instagram.