Rembau Challenge
2014 Rembau Challenge
Mari Chandler Of Tecnu Adventure Racing / 16.12.2014
Kyle Peter and I thought our race season was over but were excited when a race director from Malaysia contacted us and invited us to come to his country for the inaugural Rembau Challenge. The race was only 100km long with no navigation and it seemed silly for Kyle and I to travel so far for such a short race, but we had raced in Malaysia before and its beautiful, the people are inviting, and we figured we had nothing else to do this past weekend, so why not go have some fun pushing hard? After only 2 1/2 weeks of 'speed training' we arrived in Malaysia Saturday late afternoon, unpacked our bikes, attended a race briefing and registration, ate some dinner and went to bed. After traveling and racing at expedition races this year, it was by far the easiest pre-race night we have ever had. The course was marked, so we didn't even have any maps to worry about which was also nice.
At 7 am the 57 teams of 2 (both mixed and all male) pushed off from the start on our bikes just after sunrise. Team Thule was in attendance as was a team from Japan. The first bike ride was only 14 km and was pretty chill as we all hung in a tight peloton. There was a bit of confusion as we all rolled into the first TA as we weren't exactly sure where we would be leaving our bikes, but after a very simple transition of dropping the bikes and swapping shoes, we were off for an 8 km run.
The pace was fast as the race had really begun at this point. The run started on pavement but quickly turned to narrow single track through a muddy field with a few random shallow creek crossings and stayed relatively flat. About 4 km in we entered a jungle trail and the climb up the mountain began and so did the humidity and jungle heat. It was very technical, quite vertical and impossible to run. It was more of a scramble using the trees and rocks to pull ourselves up the trail. After reaching the top and a quick technical downhill, we were back pounding the pavement and reached the TA. At this point we had to complete a 'mystery test' before continuing on. A volunteer quickly explained that one person was to shoot a plastic cup hanging on a line with a rubber band. Kyle took on the task immediately and after only 3 missed shots, he hit the cup and we were off and back on our bikes in no time.
The next mountain bike section was 33 km. We had lost contact with the lead group on the run so we were on our own. But within the first 15 km we had caught and passed 2 teams and were pushing hard on the rolling dirt roads and sometimes slightly technical rocky sections. It was amazing how well the course was marked with flagging or volunteers showing the way and blocking any traffic when we crossed the main roads. We arrived at a bike drop area and chose to keep our bike shoes on for the 1.2 km run down to the river.
At the river we quickly transitioned into the provided sit on top kayaks and started the 12.2 km downriver paddle. There was about 5 fun little Class I rapids in the first 1/2 of the river but the flow slowed down considerably as we pushed along. We were able to catch another team in this section which moved us into 4th place. Once we were back on land we were quickly on our bikes again as we did not need to swap our shoes and helped us gain a little bit more time back.
The last bike was all on pavement and Kyle and I quickly formed our 2 person pace line which was very familiar to us as we have done in many training rides and races in the past. We put everything into the ride that our legs would give us taking turns leading the pace for the 26 km back to the town of Rembau. Once we reached the center of town, we left our bikes, put on our running shoes once again and were off for the final 2km run.
Oh, but wait, another mystery challenge! This time we were to blow up a balloon and then carry it between us like a balloon sandwich a few meters. (I'd have to say my one and only complaint of this race was the pointless mystery challenges. I understand the idea, but it just did not work for a pro category type fast race.) We finished the challenge and were off for the final run. As were were a few blocks away we saw Team Thule rounding the corner and heading home. They were in first and a few minutes later we saw 2, All Male teams battling it out for 2nd and 3rd.
It was a bit of a struggle, but we finished the run and came into the finish line area which was a gigantic party going on with banners and loud music driving us home. We crossed the finish line in 4th place overall, 2nd place in the Mixed Category and happy to be done in the brutal humidity. We had a great time, it was a very organized event, thank you Eugene Chan and the Malaysian government. We got to meet the Prime Minister of Tourism, got a large novelty check (but real prize $) and 24 hours later we were back at the airport and headed home. It was a great ending to a fantastic 2014 season with Tecnu. Let the new season begin.
Thank you Tecnu, Adventure medical kits, and Survive Outdoor Longer, Champion Systems racing kits, Epic paddles, Kineysis sunscreen, Out There packs, Julbo USA Pipeline, Dust and Trail sunglasses. Darn Tough Vermont socks, Skins compression gear, Leki, Headsweats, Accel, Endurox R4, Accelerade, 1UPUSA racks, The Probar, and Livestraw. See you next year Malaysia.
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