OBS Instructors Thian Choon and Daniel bag the top prize in the NTU-ATC race

Team ‘OBS Young and Younger’ was borne out of an unlikely partnership that spans race, religion, nationality and generation.  Both ardent outdoor race enthusiasts, Outward Bound Singapore (OBS) Instructors Ng Thian Choon, 38, and Daniel Lawrence Grillo, 26, came together with one passion in mind – getting that next adventure race adrenalin fix! After shopping around for an event, they settled on the Nanyang Technological University - Adventure Trail Challenge (NTU-ATC). Organised by NTU Outdoor Adventure Club (ODAC), the race involved running between a series of checkpoints at which participants would paddle, cycle, abseil, and complete puzzles/challenges. The team came in first under the Men’s Open Category.

Team 'OBS Young & Younger' traiblaze their way through obstacles, side by side, staying ahead in the race

Daniel shared, “Before the starting gun, there was already a commitment between Choon and I to help pace one another; but with assurances not to push too hard. Of course, any sentiments about ‘taking it easy’ were gone as soon as the race official launched our wave!”

Highlights over the next three hours of the race involved Choon and Daniel folding origami whilst sharing one oven mitt, having a bath under a drainage pipe, and exploring some of Singapore's restricted areas near MRT lines and construction sites. The final triumph for the team was solving a tricky sudoku-esque game, afterwhich, they saw no other teams on their trail until the finish line.

Thian Choon and Daniel come up winners not just in the race but with a new-found friendship

“I was truly delighted that we won the race,” remarked Choon. “However, I felt my biggest win was to have forged a deeper friendship with Daniel whom I see day in and day out. Through the time we spent on the race, I found out more about the challenges that Daniel had to face in landing his job in OBS; having come from the United States. His sharing has inspired me and has earned me even greater respect for him.”

OBS instructors, Rennie Iskandar Suprayitno and Tan Pei Lee, also took second spot under the Mixed Open Category at the NTU-ATC. Click here to read more about their experience.