Subaru Palm Challenge: Hold it to win it!

Ngee Ann City Civic Center Plaza in Singapore is the venue for the Subaru Palm Challenge.

CebuanO Donn Michael Yap holds on for dear life, and, hopefully, the Subaru vehicle prize.

NGEE ANN CITY, Singapore—For the 13th consecutive year, MediaCorp together with partner Motor Image Enterprises Singapore held the Subaru Challenge in the scenic and bustling city-state of Singapore, Asean’s financial hub. Sponsors were Maybank and Shell Fuels.

Four hundred participants from all over Asia, representing Motor Image’s markets in Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Cambodia, Taiwan, China, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Indonesia, came to weather the odds, the elements, four sleepless nights and each other.

The Philippines sent 10 delegates to participate in this event after competing in various local elimination rounds held all over the country. These 10 were Johnny Anticamara; two-time competitor Filmark Bernante; Oshwald John Carbonel; former Navy man Juan Furiscal, who is also a two-time competitor; Francisco Gomez; Mary Emilee Mendez, the sole Filipina competitor in this year’s finals; six-time veteran Alex Neblasca Jr., who would later on outlast his fellow Filipinos; Albert Saguillo who represents Davao; Donn Michael Yap who hails from Cebu; and Carlo Talahib.

Pumped up

The official start flagged off at 1 p.m. last Nov. 8, during an uncharacteristically cool weather for a typical Singapore day. Competitors were pumped up with excitement. The organizers had also introduced some changes, allowing some lucky competitors to pick their positions on the car, and family and friends of the competitors to play an online game and grant their chosen competitors an extra five-minute break.

Crowds were always present, even during the wee hours of the morning, to support the 400 competitors. With Singapore being a regional business and financial hub, each country had its own group of supporters, despite being complete strangers to the competitors.

Competitors stretch their legs and backs in the rain to help ease tired and cramped muscles and stiff joints while improving blood circulation.

The Philippines was no different. Shouts of “Puso,” “Laban,” “Kaya mo pa ’yan,” and “Sige pa” could be heard at odd times throughout the four-day event from Filipinos supporting their countrymen.

Keen to break records

The current standing record, established in 2008, was 81 hours and 32 minutes set by Singaporean George Lee. Everyone was keen to break that record and win the car, a brand-new Subaru Forester 2.0i worth SGD$85,000 or around P1.39 million.

Florence Lian and Glenn Tan flank G. Jaishanker, winner of the grueling 2104 Subaru Palm Challenge.

Aside from the grand prize of winning a Subaru XV, competitors also had other prizes to win: the Country Winner, awarded to the last person standing from each country excluding Singapore, got SGD$1,000 (about P35,000); the Asian Winner, awarded to the last person standing outside of Singapore, received SGD$5,000 (about P175,000); and the Country Team Winner, given to the country whose contingents have the longest standing combined time, took home SGD$10,000 (about P350,000).

For four days and nights, competitors were slowly whittled down to the last 10 at just past the 70-hour mark. Our countryman Alex stayed true to his goal and outlasted his previous record with a new personal best of 75 hours and 43 minutes, and was the eventual Philippine Country Winner.

A five-minute break was given every six hours to allow competitors to eat, receive basic medical assistance if needed, rest, stretch their worn-out bodies, and relieve themselves in the toilet.

The eventual winner was Singaporean G. Jaishanker, who bested the 2008 record with a new one of 82 hours and 16 minutes. Second placer was fellow Singaporean Analiza Binte Mokhtar. The final four competitors all broke the previous 2008 records as well.

Dramas and controversies

The challenge wasn’t without its controversies and dramas though—competitors complained of favorable partiality by the all-Singaporean marshals toward their fellow Singaporeans, and who were intensely strict toward contestants from other countries who showed a strong potential to finish on top.

Next Top Model finalists and Subaru/Motor Image brand ambassadors in the Asean region

Other competitors collapsed, having hallucinations due to intense physical and mental stress, and fatigue. A competitor thought his name had been called out as the winner, removed his hand from the car, and started running with joy, shouting with glee. It was only after marshals stopped the competitor and knocked some sense into him that he realized he had hallucinated. And since had removed his hand, he was booted out of the contest.

Thankfully, a battalion of first-aid medics were on hand to provide medical assistance to the fallen competitors.

Speaking to Alex after he was booted out due to a minor hand slip, he was still very normal, if a bit worse for wear, and had excellent motor skills and presence of mind in answering questions from the Philippine media. Alex said this might be his final Subaru Challenge because he feels he has finally given it everything he had, and would like to seek out other possible endeavors elsewhere. Being a veteran six-time competitor at the Subaru Challenge, Alex has made us Filipinos proud.

With the 2014 edition finally coming to a close, what challenges await competitors for the 2015 run of the Subaru Challenge? One thing’s for sure, next year will be bigger, better and, hopefully, with a new record established once again!