style="text-transform: uppercase;">Kota Kinabalu: The inaugural Borneo Mud Challenge (BMC) will be making its first appearance on September 27 in Penampang.Featuring a 10-kilometre race with 25 medium-to-high level obstacle courses, the Borneo Mud Challenge (BMC) will be the first obstacle challenge race of its kind to take place in the country.

Taking its cue from the very popular Viper Challenge in Sepang, BMC will present a shorter course but tougher obstacles for the participants.

There will also be rewards for first, second and third fastest winners for the men and women open, as well as the group categories where RM15,000 worth of cash prizes await the winners.

The tournament is organised by Eco Extreme Borneo Sdn Bhd with the cooperation of Team Karabaw Martial Arts & Fitness gym to hold boot camp sessions for interested participants.

"We have received over 600 participations to date and most participants are curious about whether or not the obstacles will be too strenuous for their fitness level," said Jonathan John, BMC Race Director and General Manager of Eco Extreme Borneo Sdn Bhd.

"Therefore, we've decided to recruit a fitness centre as a co-organiser to conduct a series of boot camps in order to prepare participants for the challenge, and Team Karabaw is just the right gym to do it," Jonathan added.

Rayner Kinsiong, professional mixed martial artist and owner of Team Karabaw Martial Arts & Fitness Gym was delighted with the proposal.

"Karabaw (buffalo) and mud go together hand in hand," said Rayner. He added that ever since its inception in 2013, Team Karabaw has established several branches in several districts including Papar, Tamparuli and Sipitang.

Team Karabaw Tamparuli branch, which is also known as Gym Sokid, is also one of the host gyms in Sabah for the Jom Kurus 1Malaysia (JK1M) programme – a national weight loss campaign initiated by celebrity fitness instructor, Kevin Zahri.

The fitness boot camp will be conducted outdoors and the activities will mimic the obstacles that participants will be facing in the actual event. The boot camp is tentatively scheduled to start in May, just before the start of the fasting month of Ramadhan.

Registration is currently open online. For walk in registrations, a registration counter will be tentatively open in May. Individual registration starts at RM80 and group registration starts at RM300.

For more info on the Borneo Mud Challenge boot camp, do contact the race director, Jonathan at 012-8674258.