Spartan Race had a very busy weekend with the Championships in Iceland, a race in Los Angeles, and a race in Central Florida. There was a lot going on and a lot of people chasing their final Trifectas of the year. I had the pleasure of running both days in Central Florida and drew a [...]
It wouldn’t be a complete year of racing without traveling to Snohomish, Washington to take on the second in a two-weekend Spartan race series at Meadow Wood Equestrian Center. Known for its brutally muddy US Championship series super and sprint in the spring, the beast and sprint weekend is known as the final piece in the Seattle trifecta – a keystone OCR for the area.
Following an epic race weekend in 2017, modern Spartan athletes will journey back to the ancient ruins, rivers and mountains of the legendary city of Sparta when the world’s largest obstacle race and endurance brand hosts the inaugural invite-only Trifecta World Championship, November 2-4, 2018. Offering a $20,000 prize purse, the weekend’s series of events will test the strength and endurance of athletes from around the globe with the three signature races of Spartan’s coveted Trifecta.
I am 15 years old and I am just finishing up my freshman year in high school. I’ve been active in team sports since I was 5 when I joined my first soccer team and I continue to play with a local select team when I am not training for my high school cross-country or track teams.
Never let someone else tell you, “This is what you have to do.” You’ll most likely fail. Get angry at yourself. This is the best drive you will ever get. Self-motivation was my secret weapon in becoming who I am today. I’d be a VERY, VERY rich man if I had a dollar for how many times someone told me, “You should probably lose weight,” and I never went to the gym the next day.
This weekend we did a double race weekend. Saturday the RAM run and Sunday the Spartan Race Beast Windsor. This was going to be my first ever Spartan Trifecta, so I was really excited! My knee got a bit worse overnight, but I felt up to it! We were on a tight schedule, having to return the car at 7 and fly home at 8, so we were happy to be able to start just before noon. At the starting area, we met up with two RAM friends volunteering there.
In a broad perspective, my favorite part about the sport is how literally anyone can get involved. Since some courses are only three miles, it doesn’t take much training to be able to be complete a course. An amateur strongman, bodybuilder or triathlete has to put in many hours of training and dieting to even complete one event.
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.
Faces at the Races focuses on Samantha Ellison today. This 14-year old is living the OCR life already at a young age. She is the daughter of a Death Racer and lives and breathes the sport of OCR. Learn more about Samantha and her love of OCR.
Let's forego the "Why do you race?" question and get right down to the subject of this article: wickedly cool medals that you've earned and love to show off.Whether you hang 'em all in your office on an elaborate medal holder or they spend their time in a box, you put in the blood, sweat, and (possibly) tears to claim them as your own and it's up to your discretion what you want to do with them.
