In a little under a month, Abu Dhabi’s Al Wathba Luxury Collection Desert Resort & Spa will host the Spartan World Championship. The second consecutive edition to be held in the UAE capital, the obstacle race welcomes some of the planet’s toughest endurance athletes as well as amateurs keen to test their mettle on an elite course. Running from December 2-4 and jointly organised by Spartan – the world’s leading endurance sports and extreme wellness brand – and the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, the anticipation is rising like an athlete doing a rope climb.
Excitement for the three-day event, scheduled to run across UAE National Day weekend, is sky high as community ambassadors and fitness enthusiasts continue to urge their fellow residents to register. The event proved particularly popular among Filipinos last year and the Kabayan community is once again expected to be strongly represented next month in Al Wathba.
Jayson Castillo, a Spartan SGX coach from Las Pinas and a member of the Spartan Community Ambassador Programme, more than 35 UAE-based Filipino athletes actively raising awareness and driving communities to this year’s championship. Castillo is determined to help increase interest among amateur athletes in the UAE and inspire residents – especially his fellow Kabayans – to test their limits and engage in this strenuous physical challenge.
“The Spartan race is a representation of your life journey; there are obstacles and challenges to be conquered,” he said. “If you can go through it and finish a Spartan, you can achieve anything in life. It’s challenging of course, but also so addictive.”
Castillo believes that his love of running is what initially drew him to Spartan and that as an athlete, he is naturally competitive. “Spartan is not your typical athletics event. It’s a hybrid of challenges, endurance, strength, agility, methods, and speed,” he added.
According to Castillo, being a Spartan Community Ambassador means more than the marketing side. “I want to encourage everyone to follow an active lifestyle,” he said. “I focus on the inactive ones to make a change in their lifestyle. I use my status as an SGX coach and an ambassador to promote an active lifestyle. I host training sessions three to four times every week, all of which are free. This is my passion, and I’m blessed to have the talent to pursue it.
“I strongly advise Filipinos to have an active lifestyle because there are so many people in the community who are hungry for sports. When they witness others overcoming challenges, most people get stuck in a rut. They are intimidated by the fact that they want to do it, but they presume they cannot. I can be the catalyst to lead them to their first Spartan. It’s a one-of-a-kind experience. You challenge yourself into doing something out of the ordinary. It’s a place where you become uncomfortably comfortable.”
The 38-year-old coach says the tip he wants to convey to individuals preparing for the race is to focus on the goals, get motivated, and stick to the plan. “If you are not sure how to start, always look for a coach but you can also start on your own. Just be active, you can do anything. It’s better to do something than nothing. Like any seasoned athlete would say: Train hard, race easy.”
Castillo, who just returned from Spartan Race Muscat in Oman, says he always eats a balanced diet when it comes to pre-race meals. “I normally eat food in smaller amounts a few hours before the race. I especially eat bananas, bread with jam and butter, and coffee. Although they say coffee dehydrates your body, it works fine for me. When I apply the concept of carbo-loading, I eat a lot of white rice two days before the race with a home-cooked meal. After the race, it is a feast. I eat chicken or lamb biryani or mandi, I would dive into that. Mandi is my favourite.”
More information and registration for the Spartan World Championship 2022 can be accessed at https://race.spartan.com/en/race/championships/world
