Known as the One-Armed Spartan, CK Loh has determination that scales mountains and clambers over obstacles at the renowned obstacle race, Spartan Race despite being born with only one hand. This fighting spirit has taken him over 40km of Spartan Races earning him, his maiden Spartan Trifecta medal for racing in the Sprint, Super and Beast distances.
Completing his first Spartan Beast over 21km with 30 obstacles at the Reebok Spartan Race World Championships in Lake Tahoe, USA recently was indeed the most memorable of his Spartan Race medals. Racing the toughest race of the Spartan series at an elevation of over 2743 meters with thin air and snow along the way, this epic venue once hosted the 1960 Olympic Winter Games.
“It suddenly started snowing during the Log Carry at 16km of the 21km route. The ground became slippery, and I started to put on my windbreaker. I was already prepared for the cold weather, by wearing three layers of clothes,” said CK, a Reebok Brand Ambassador.
The route was the complete opposite of all the races CK had raced in sweltering tropical temperatures and warm climate. The weather was very cold, dipping below freezing temperatures with wind chill and the route was also exposed to the sun, with no tree cover.
“Right from the start, the organisers had created a bone-chilling experience with a swim, getting the racers drenched and shivering cold down to the bones. After that, I had to keep running to keep warm, but (Reebok Malaysia’s Marketing Manager) Moon’s leg was starting to sieze up and cramp,” CK said.
“There was a lot of hills along the way from the 4th to the 10th km with double killer hills. I was ahead of Moon, and thought of going back for him but the hills were too steep to go back down,” he added.
Bone-chilling cold
CK’s plan to hide and keep warm failed miserably as the wind came from different directions. There wasn’t any mud either, as the weather as too cold.
“I also met a lot of different American runners who gave up on the race as it was too cold for them. I thought that they would’ve been more acclimatised to the weather compared to us Asians from warm countries,” said CK.
As the weather and terrain tolled on them, Moon and CK started to get emotional from the distress. Moon was worried that he would slow CK down, while CK started to stress out about letting his sponsor, Reebok down. They assured each other that they would stick together and to keep moving forward in order to make the cut off time of 12 hours.
No Clowning around
“Unexpectedly, I received a boost of faith from a clown. We saw a fellow Spartan dressed in a clown suit racing the Ultra Beast, which means he was doing double the distance that we were racing and he was already on his second loop! He advised us to keep our mental strong, and not to give up. So we sucked it up, and continued the race,” said CK as he persevered.
Team work is key
“A few new obstacles were introduced at the Spartan World Championships, for example, ‘The Gorilla Bags’ which had punching bags lined up in a row, which you need to hug while traversing through a row of it. It was tough, I attempted the obstacle but failed. At this point, I really missed my team members who would support me to move through the obstacles,” said CK.
“Running is my passion, and I usually take 2 hours to run 21km, but in this obstacle race, I spend a lot of time as I needed help from others or doing burpees for the obstacles which I failed to overcome. Therefore, I need to make up time in between as running is my strong point,” CK said while focusing on his strengths.
At Lake Tahoe, CK was hoping to meet his idol at the race, Jonathan Lopez who was honourably discharged from the U.S. army after losing his left arm. However, his determination is stronger than ever, putting everyday Joes to shame as he climbs the 30-foot rope with a single arm.
“I wrote to Lopez to ask for tips on rope climbing and he told me to focus on my abs. Lopez raced the Beast on Saturday and they were supporting kids in the Sprint on Sunday. He also carries his dog on the obstacles, with a harness to carry the dog on his back,” added CK.
Barely a week after Lake Tahoe, CK also raced at the Spartan Beast Malaysia, featuring another 20km and 30 obstacles. This time, CK had to battle through sweltering tropical heat and rain, creating mud and slippery terrain at every opportunity over killer hills in Taman Rimba Alam in Putrajaya.
“We had to memorize a secret code for more than 10km, and many days have passed since the race, but I still remember my code!”
Ironically, the most difficult obstacle required mental strength when all your physical faculties have been drained. After conquering the Beast, CK Loh has earned his Spartan Trifecta medal which combines three medals from the Spartan Race series.
Inspiring Spartans like these motivate couch potatoes to get up and attempt something new in their lives. Meanwhile, CK will continue to improve his upper body strength with more training, in preparation for more Spartan Races at different locations next year. Spartan Up!
