I did have a brief moment during my first race that I thought I might not finish when I looked up to the top of the mountain and was out of breath. I had to focus on one step at a time and tell myself that I was capable and strong enough to finish. When I did cross the finish line I felt extremely proud. I worked hard and it paid off in the end.
These haunting words linger in my mind in the aftermath of one of the toughest and most interesting events I've participated in; the 60h Spartan Agoge Class 002 which took place this weekend in Pittsfield, Vermont.
The NBC competition reality television series Spartan: Ultimate Team Challenge continued to rule the airwaves last night with the second episode airing after American Ninja Warrior. The new team obstacle racing series premiered last week as the second highest rated "alternative television" launch in the last nine months. Last night the show captured the number position at the 10pm slot beating out Mistresses on ABC and BrainDead on CBS.
This week on The Cooldown episode 7 features Agoge, Rocky Mountain Marathon as well as tools to help you train in the mountains. This week is action packed. There are more things to cover in a weekend in the world of OCR and endurance than could be covered in a 5-hour show, so we just pick a couple that stood out this week. Thanks for tuning into The Cooldown, produced by Athlete On Fire.
OCR forces me to live a healthy lifestyle, or I simply wouldn't be able to compete and do the things I do. It has re-taught me to appreciate my body and value it for what it can do, rather than how it looks. I marvel at the progress I have made and feel proud of how far I have come, and recognize that I am indebted to the OCR community and all who have supported me along the way. I also feel inspired by so many of the people I've met and stories I have heard.
I went to the Spartan Race AT&T Stadium Sprint over the weekend to test my knee out that I had scoped 5 weeks earlier. Also to see where I was fitness wise, after not working out for a few months now. I thought to myself could I choose a worse race to test a knee out than at a stadium race? Too late...let's do this!!
There are very few people willing to spend hard earned cash and dedicate countless hours to physical training, with the level of enthusiasm that Mark Petersen does. This guy never quits. In fact, that’s his personal life motto. Mark Petersen does exactly what he says he will do. He loves to face conflict head on. He learns from his defeats and enjoys his victories. It is clear why Obstacle Course Racing is his sport of choice.
Two days ago, in the West Coast Spartans Facebook group, Michael Lopez-Paras shared a photo of a broken window on his car with a note saying his five years of Spartan Race medals had been stolen along with a few other items from the backseat of his car. Spartan Race responded.
This is the race SO many of you have been waiting for since the season kicked off. While Saturday racers had to rely on the insanity of the course itself, Sunday racers were treated to proof that Norm Koch has indeed made some dirty deals with a particular underground entity. Rain, wind and cold took out many a racer on this already incredibly challenging course, and even without all that on Saturday, when it came to numbers on the UB, over 800 started, but less than half finished.
In some areas, the wall is beautiful; the stones you walk on and virtually every surface you touch is made out of bricks that were fired in a kiln. The structural ones were quarried, and the base is basically mounds of packed earth, but the wall becomes a sculpture on the surface. In other areas, the Great Wall is nothing more than a pile of rubble. Some parts have completely disintegrated and you'd never even know the wall was there.
