Spartan Sarawak 2023 to be held in Miri in May

Miri – 9 February 2023 – The Spartan Race, one of the world’s most sought-after and highly-anticipated international high endurance events, will be making its return to the Land of the Hornbills on 6 May 2023, this time in the illustrious city of Miri.

Following a successful race in Kuching in June 2022, the Kuching Fitness Association, the event’s main organiser, is committed to ensuring the upcoming race in Miri will be even bigger and better. The organisers will also be looking to garner considerable support from Mirians, as well as Spartan supporters from neighbouring Sabah and Brunei Darussalam and other countries in the region, to join the race.

The venue will be the campus of Curtin University Malaysia (Curtin Malaysia), located in Senadin about 16 kilometres from the city centre. In addition to its vast land area spanning 1,200 acres, the campus was also chosen for its excellent sports and recreation facilities.

Speaking at a Spartan Sarawak 2023 press conference at the university on 9 February 2023, Spartan Sarawak 2023 organising chairman Carter Wei said he was extremely excited to bring the world’s largest obstacle course race and endurance brand to Miri.

Wei said that Curtin Malaysia’s campus size and unique landscape was most ideal for a Spartan Race event and more than 2,000 racers are expected to compete in the race. He thanked the university for agreeing to be the official venue partner and for its support towards staging the event. An agreement for this purpose was signed between the two organisations as part of the press conference proceedings.

On hand to witness the signing and give the keynote speech was Sarawak Deputy Minister for Tourism Datuk Sebastian Ting Chiew Yew.

Wei added that with the increased frequency of international flights, he expects to see more racers from across the globe flying into Sarawak to participate in the race. This will inevitably place Sarawak on the map of international endurance events and enhance Miri’s image as a preferred tourism destination, he said.

Also present were Miri mayor Adam Yii Siew Sang, Miri resident Abdul Aziz Bin Haji Mohamad Yusuf, event organisers Annie Wong and Fadzilla Sulaiman; pro vice-chancellor, president and chief executive of Curtin Malaysia, Professor Simon Leunig; his deputy, Professor Vincent Lee; acting chief operating officer Associate Professor Ir. Pieter Pottas, sports and recreation services supervisor Ezra Bada, and sports science consultant Dr. Ong Kong Swee.

Prof. Leunig remarked that it was a great privilege for Curtin Malaysia to be the host venue for such a prestigious international event as the Spartan Race. He said it was very much in line with the university’s commitment to sports development through its education and research in areas such as sports engineering and health sciences, and in promoting sports excellence in Sarawak through its ongoing collaborations with the Sarawak Sports Corporation, Sarawak Rugby Union and other sports bodies.

Spartan Sarawak 2023 will feature two main categories: The Sprint, which is a 5-kilometre race with 20 obstacles, and Super, a 10-kilometre race with 25 obstacles. In addition, there will be a Spartan Kids Race with distances of 800 metres, 1.6 kilometres and 3.2 kilometres for children aged 5 to 14 years.

For more information on ticket registration, race categories and FAQs on Spartan Sarawak 2023, visit the official Spartan Race Malaysia page at https://my.spartan.com/en/race/detail/7919/overview. Relevant information can also be found on the Spartan Race Malaysia Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/spartanracemalaysia), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/spartanracemalaysia/) and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@SpartanRaceMalaysia/videos).

For more information on Curtin Malaysia, visit curtin.edu.my, or look for Curtin Malaysia on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn or Tik-Tok.

(L-R) Vincent Lee, Pieter Pottas, Simon Leunig, Datuk Sebastian Ting, Carter Wei, Adam Yii, Abdul Aziz Haji Mohamad Yusuf, Ong Kwong Swee.