'Sabah Adventure Challenge' (SAC) is Southeast Asia's oldest and most established adventure race.[1] Founded in 1998 by Danish engineer Claus Pedersen, Australian Pilot Captain Taz Lawrie and New Zealander Martin V.Rijwsk, the present-day event features both a three-day, 120 kilometer adventure race and a separate two-day, 60 kilometer ultra run through Malaysia's Crocker Mountain Range surrounding famed Mount Kinabalu. Here, teams push their way through the rainforests of North Borneo, crossing chest-high rivers and orienteering through local villages to navigate to predetermined checkpoints. Experienced outdoor adventurer Avtar Singh Sandhu, a Malaysian was brought on in 2000 as a full-time member of the organization and assumed the responsibility of race director for the 2000 event for that year only and reverted to assistant race director until 2004 when he took charge of the event on a full-time basis.
Each year, the race course is kept secret until flag off to ensure that local and international competitors stand an equally fair chance at completing the course. Numbers are kept deliberately low to preserve the beauty of the local rugged terrain.
Competitors have the option of home stay accommodation during the race.[2] Here they spend at least one night with a local family during the course of the event. The aim is to create awareness about Sabah and its people, and also to build bridges between international communities.
To date, the race's youngest competitor was 14 years old and 4 months.[3] Participants come from more than 18 countries including Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Belgium, France, the UK, Canada, South Africa and France. Competitors generally compete in a Sabah Adventure Challenge with the express interest in completing the gruelling three day race course and crossing the finishing line on the final day of competition.