Carnation, WA – For my first ever official half marathon, I chose a “silly” one. Why is this half marathon “silly”? How about having couches, cake and a purple drink at each water station? Not “silly” enough, how about various Blerches reminding you that “you don’t have to do this!” and “Lets go sit on a couch and watch a movie instead!?” For the history on the Blerch, read here.
This race was an interesting race, not just because of the silliness, but it was a 99% trail run, not really what I was expecting. I started off really strong, running under 9 minutes a mile for the first couple of miles, but then the funkiness of the day started to set in.
Welcome to my recap of the 2014 Warrior Dash in New Plains OR, Race with my Mom edition. This was my first Warrior Dash that we did not receive a timing chip to race with, which I new a few other racers had mentioned that they were sad that it wasn’t timed. I didn’t mind that it wasn’t timed. I was racing with my mom for her first Warrior Dash and I think her second “mud run”. Continue reading 2014 Warrior Dash→
Mt quest to become a member of the Spartan Trifecta Tribe has taken me from the West Coast to the East Coast to participate in the Ohio Super Spartan. This location was rather unique as Spartan Race gave the option for racers to sign up to do a single day trifecta run, by racing in the Beast, Super and Sprint legs in a single day. Due to the terrain being mostly flat, the race distances were extended. We can’t have easy Spartan Races can we? No. Easy is not an option.
The fire burning before entering the Super Spartan
I had planned to run the Super and then the Sprint on the same day. I flew across the nation, might as well make the best of it and run two races. Walking up to the race, through the sea of cars there was a nice fire that was started near the entrance to the Spartan Race plaza that was much appreciated as it was a rather cold day. I had checked the weather a few days prior and it was forecasted to be in the mid fifties and raining. That’s not what happened as the day was a little cloudy and in the mid forties. As long as I kept moving, I would be fine.
Add another completed OCR to the list: Tough Mudder. This edition of Tough Mudder was in Lebanon OR at Lester Farms. My initial start time was at noon, which put making it back in time to see the Timbers match in jeopardy¹. Luckily, my future brother in law and his Crossfit club were running the TM as well and had a start time of 9:45 and I was invited to run with his team. Knowing I had an earlier start time, an hour and 45 minute drive, plus another 30 minutes to get to Ben’s place, a 5am wakeup call was set.
What can I say about the Spartan Sprint? Just that it’s the toughest 5k+ obstacle course race that I have ever done that is under 7 miles. I will be able to compare the Spartan Races to the Tough Mudder in a few days time.
The first obstacle to the Spartan Sprint was the line to the parking lot. I had left 20 minutes earlier than I planned on and I was glad I did, but eventually would not have mattered. There was a line of cars over a mile long before entering the parking lot. It gave me a little time to relax and let the nervousness settle a bit. Once I got my parking pass and parking spot all situated, I made my way to the waiver area. What I didn’t know was, there were two waivers, the standard white waiver for the Spartan Race and a green waiver for NBC to film you. Needless to day, I had to wait in the packet pickup line twice. Thanks green waiver. Continue reading 2014 Pacific Northwest Spartan Sprint→
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My Adventures in Obstacle Course Races and Training for them
