Borneo Kinabalu Challenge was a life changing experience

For some it may seem like a dream trip, for others a nightmare journey, but for four adventurous Bermudians, the Kinabalu Challenge was a life-changing experience they will never forget.

Adam Birch, Alex Styche, Richard Madeiros and Daniele Bortoli recently returned from Borneo where they took part in the race to raise money for the youth development charity Raleigh International Bermuda.

The Bermudians did us proud, coming in first place in the gruelling five-day race against seven international teams.

What’s more, they raised $15,000 for the charity, and counting.

The money will help local youngsters to improve their lives through local training programmes and overseas expeditions.

The local programmes are designed to improve personal development through activities such as survival training and adventure sports, while the expeditions allow youngsters to take part in community development programmes aiding education, health and the environment.

Trip of a lifetime

Returning to the island, the four team members were bursting with enthusiasm about their trip. “It was a trip of a lifetime,” said Adam. “When we were there we were saying, there is no way we can explain this to people back home — you can’t put it into words.

“You are carrying bikes through swamps, you are crossing rivers on rickety bridges, if you slip you are overboard.

“When you’re climbing the mountain if you slip, you are off the side of the mountain.”

The Kinabalu Challenge is organized by British Military Fitness and the four men had heard about it through friends who had competed the previous year.

They spent two days travelling to Borneo from Bermuda via Malaysia at the end of February. Arriving in Kota Kinabalu in the late afternoon of February 19, they were immediately given kayak training and a swimming test before spending one night in a hotel.

Day two involved basic jungle training and survival skills and cultural advice, before the race began on February 21.

Helicopter ride

It started with a 4km run along a jungle river to a rendezvous point where they were collected by helicopter to set up their camp and prepare their own meals.

Early the next day they began a 6 km bike and run down river where, after a lunch break, they competed in a white water rafting race down the Kiulu River before a grade two descent back to camp.

The following day at first light they did a 9 km bike ride before possibly the most challenging part of the race — the kayak relay race.

As if this wasn’t the toughest week of their lives already, on the last day of the race they climbed 3,000m up Mount Kinabalu where the race ended.

Competitors could climb the final 1,000 m to the summit of the mountain the following day before the gruelling descent to the bottom.

While at the end of the race, according to Adam “everybody was walking like they had been through a war”, the team charts their Borneo adventure as one of the best experiences of their lives.

For Daniele the people and location stood out among the fondest of his memories.

“Apart from the mud and the rain, one of the best parts of the trip was camping in the middle of the tropical rainforest — that was something else.

“To say you slept in a hammock in the middle of the rainforest  — it was absolutely incredible. The scenery and being in that part of the world, it was truly an amazing experience.

“Everyone who took part went there with the same collective spirit, completely positive and that’s what made the experience such a success.

“That’s why I think we would all do it again because the relationships that were built from that event were incredible.”

For Alex, the people stood out above all.

“The organizers were brilliant, they had local Malaysian guides to work the whole time — they just smiled the entire time we were there. I never heard one of them say ‘no I can’t do that’.

“It was brilliant and all the competitors too, I didn’t have a problem with anyone there.

“At the end of the day you get together, have dinner, have a couple of drinks and sit back and talk. Also, the helicopter ride through the jungle was absolutely amazing.”

While physical fitness was a large part of the Kinabalu Challenge, it wasn’t entirely down to muscle power.

Competitors could gain points on how well they built their camp and there was also a great deal of strategy involved in some of the races. The bike and run race for instance where each team of four had two bikes, required teammates to know each others’ strengths and weaknesses and to make careful calculations about who should do what and when.

Richard recalled one of their most successful races within the challenge: “We dominated in the white water rafting race. We were told that normally people come within 15 seconds of each other at the finish line and the next closest team to us was a minute, 47 seconds, so we blew away everybody.

“As a team we came together a lot quicker. We were in time, we were in sync, we knew what we were doing.

“We joked around at the beginning when we were rafting down but when it came time to put out the competition we certainly did.”

All four teammates said they were already considering their next race, competition or challenge.

“I need a holiday after the holiday,” laughed Adam.

“You are completely out of your comfort zone. It wasn’t easy but it was definitely an experience that everyone should have at least once in their lifetime.”