Team captains,

Please note there will be an enforced change of location for the following:

-Race briefing for 1st April
-Start location for 1st April
-Accomodation for 1st April

We have decided to enforce the change due to the exteme heat at the moment in Sabah and the distance teams would have to cover on foot and on mountain bikes in the open hot sun for 50 odd Kilometers. The fact remains, the vast majority of teams will NOT be aclamitized to the heat and given it has been hotter than normal, we feel it is in everyone's best interest to move the venue to Tambunan, and to revert to changing around the race course for day 1 and 2 and adding a new day 3 as a replacement for the original day 1 route.

Sensibility and common sense dictate we adjust ourselves because we simply don't know for sure if this heatwave will subside by April or not, and we cannot wait till then to make a decision.

What does this mean?

1) Teams board buses at Mega D'Aru on the 1st April at 11:00am and will be transfered to Tambunan Village Resort Center (TVRC) which will serve as the START/FINISH location for all 3 days of the race.

2) All baggage and equipment, including Mountain Bikes will also be transfered to the same location at Tambunan, easing your logistics.  Dinner will be served after the briefing.

3) The starting time for day 1 remains unchanged, and at 3:00am, 2nd April. The starting times for day 2 and 3 remain unchanged and remain at 8:00am each day.

4) All team captains will be issued with CELCOM GPS Trackers for the 3 days of the race which will give us a tactical view of the locations of all teams on the entire race course over the three days. Trackers will be issued each morning before teams start the race as they need to be recharged over night and must be returned to a designated CELCOM member of staff IMMEDIATELY at the finish point.

This tracking system will allow us to respond to teams and have an accurate location (we hope!) of team captains in the event a team is lost or in trouble and in need of medical assistance.

5) There will be a medical center set up at Tambunan Village Resort Center and this will be made clear to you of its location, which is easily accessible from the START/FINISH line. Competitors may stop there at any point in time, day or night if they need medical treatment, need advice on injuries or need help with cleaning wounds and bandaging. The medical staff are there for YOU and to help you get treated and ready for the next day's events so use them. If there is a need for further treatment or X-Rays, the doctor on duty will refer an injured competitor to the appropriate hospital.

6) All teams should have personal medical insurance in the event you need specialist treatment at Sabah Medical Center, our preferred specialist center in Kota Kinabalu.

10) A race management HQ will be set up at the venue and teams can drop by to get information, help or advice if they need to from the camp manager who will be introduced to you at the official race briefing.

11) Tentative race results will be made available to teams as they finish each day but the race director reserves the right to add time penalty's IF he feel's there is a need for it based on reports or after-race briefings from check point marshalls and sufficient reasons dictate or call for penalty's. Remember, your total time over the three day's dictate the overall winner of each category.

12) If you are planning on flying in early and to "aclimitize," and need advice on what to do given we have changed the venue for the start, please contact me so we can discuss alternative options and suggestions.

13) Teams will be paying the original homestay rates we had agreed to: RM25 for the first night and RM60 per night on subsequent nights regardless of the change in venue's and lenght of time at the homes now. We will honor this agreement and have sorted out the nitty gritties with the homestay families in Tambunan. RM25 is traditional a half-day's rate and the extra RM10 per person is to help cover fuel costs to send/collect participants when they need transportation back to the homestay villages.

Thank you for your attention and good luck in your preparations.