Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/734031
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 2 OCTOBER 2016 61 Sport SPARTAN RACE LAST weekend a group of fit- ness fanatics participated in the gruelling Spartan Race. Led by their coach and Spartan Racer, Clinton Schembri Francalanza, the group faced the now pro- claimed toughest Spartan Race in Europe. The Race took place in the mountainous region of the south Tyrol in Austria. The group had been training specifically for the past 12 weeks and nonetheless the course still proved to be much tougher than one would have ever imagined. A Spartan Race is a trail run but with numerous obstacles along the course which challenge the athlete in various ways: be it strength, agility, precision and even fear! A very important detail in the Spartan races is the penalty you get for failing to complete any obstacle – being burpees. Thirty to be exact. The group participated in three races: the SPRINT (5KM+) the SUPER (13KM+) and the BEAST (21km+). The "+" sign gives lee- way for the race to lengthen as necessary; in fact the distances to the finish line, in all three races, did change quite a bit in Austria (7.5km/17km/27km respective- ly). Clinton, took on the three of them, which in Spartan jargon is called a TRIFECTA; and managed to finish them all in a total time of eight hours, placing him at the 17th place out of 240 other ath- letes from all over the world who were at- tempting specifically the TRI- FECTA weekend. Clinton has been participat- ing in Spartan Races for the past three years, and is now the first certified SPARTAN SGX coach in Malta. With the aid of his ex- perience in these specific obstacle races, along with the knowledge from the Spartan race mentors, he has the ability to prepare couch potatoes and transform them into seasoned athletes to take on a Spartan Race challenge – and to help them test their limits! Spartan Race is not just a race, but a path to conquering fears and improving oneself – each and every individual will be facing his own challenges but once you jump over the last obstacle (fire), the athlete is reborn into a new person, with new strengths and self-belief. This would not have been pos- sible without the aid of the people that believed in the X3M Spartan SGX coaching: NYOO Destina- tion wellness, Shapeshifters, Eu- rosport and Mochika outdoor life. Maltese athletes travel to Austria to compete in Spartan Race