Wow, what a race the Washington DC Sprint was on Saturday, July 26. I spent most of the race running scared, because I was in third place after the OUOUO (Over, Under, Over, Under, Over...there might have been a "Through" in there also) obstacle near the start.
Third place in a Spartan Race?!? A goal for this year is to make a podium, but I set that at the beginning of the year when I was naive and didn't realize the amazing athletes and competitors that run these Spartan Races.
That said, I came in fourth.
My grandma told me to start on the front row, so I did (see below...I'm on the left). I usually start two or three rows back, so I don't go out too hard. But I noticed I would be well behind the leaders just a short distance into the race. Starting in the front row did make me go out harder. And there's no way I could have held that pace for a Super or Beast.
The race was going fine (relatively speaking). The only major delay was the barbed wire, because I went to climb over the A frame cargo thing instead of running under it and through more barbed wire. After the second set of barbed wire, you circle back and then go over the A frame. And my legs weren't working on the rope climb for some reason.
Moving along, I had a decent lead on Kevin Donoghue when I reached the Traverse Wall--which I slipped off of. Ugh...how did this happen?!? I think I mentally failed the obstacle before I started, because I noticed one of the foot holds was chipped (lesson learned: pick a different wall). A couple steps in and my foot slipped. So I went over to do my burpees and found McCauley Kraker doing burpees also. He finished and took off. Kevin made it across the wall and then made the spear throw, which--thankfully--I made also. McCauley finished about 30 seconds in front of Kevin, and I was 30 seconds behind Kevin.
David Magida won, which I thought was great since it was his "home" course and he had his Elevate clients there running their first race. Congrats to David and his Elevate clients.
Kevin ran a great race, and he was great to talk with after the race. He even got to bring his dog onto the podium. No complaints here about a fourth place finish.
My placing fourth is the beauty of obstacle racing. Had this been just a trail run, I likely would have finished third and McCauley would have been a good minute ahead. Had I not fallen off the wall, I would have passed McCauley and been in second. These races truly are not over until you reach the finish. Maybe that's another reason Spartan Race has the trademark "You'll know at the finish."
Third place in a Spartan Race?!? A goal for this year is to make a podium, but I set that at the beginning of the year when I was naive and didn't realize the amazing athletes and competitors that run these Spartan Races.
That said, I came in fourth.
My grandma told me to start on the front row, so I did (see below...I'm on the left). I usually start two or three rows back, so I don't go out too hard. But I noticed I would be well behind the leaders just a short distance into the race. Starting in the front row did make me go out harder. And there's no way I could have held that pace for a Super or Beast.
The race was going fine (relatively speaking). The only major delay was the barbed wire, because I went to climb over the A frame cargo thing instead of running under it and through more barbed wire. After the second set of barbed wire, you circle back and then go over the A frame. And my legs weren't working on the rope climb for some reason.
Moving along, I had a decent lead on Kevin Donoghue when I reached the Traverse Wall--which I slipped off of. Ugh...how did this happen?!? I think I mentally failed the obstacle before I started, because I noticed one of the foot holds was chipped (lesson learned: pick a different wall). A couple steps in and my foot slipped. So I went over to do my burpees and found McCauley Kraker doing burpees also. He finished and took off. Kevin made it across the wall and then made the spear throw, which--thankfully--I made also. McCauley finished about 30 seconds in front of Kevin, and I was 30 seconds behind Kevin.
David Magida won, which I thought was great since it was his "home" course and he had his Elevate clients there running their first race. Congrats to David and his Elevate clients.
Kevin ran a great race, and he was great to talk with after the race. He even got to bring his dog onto the podium. No complaints here about a fourth place finish.
My placing fourth is the beauty of obstacle racing. Had this been just a trail run, I likely would have finished third and McCauley would have been a good minute ahead. Had I not fallen off the wall, I would have passed McCauley and been in second. These races truly are not over until you reach the finish. Maybe that's another reason Spartan Race has the trademark "You'll know at the finish."
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