2017 was an incredible racing season! I achieved many of my goals that I carefully planned out during my off season. First, I completed the New Jersey Ultra Beast in April. After looking back, I have a lot to improve upon. Being my first Ultra Beast, the race was very challenging, because I did not know what to expect. Most people do not complete their first Ultra, because there are time requirements. If racers are not at a certain obstacle by a certain time, they will be taken off the course. Currently, I am doing much more strength training compared to last season, where I did much more endurance training. I would go out and run 20-30 miles at a time to train for this event.
After completing the Ultra Beast, I ran a 5-mile Sprint course in Rutland, Mass where I took 3rd for women in the competitive division. That was one race that I was very proud of, because I have never been top of the pack, as I was during that race. It was an incredible experience! I also competed in Tuxedo, NY, where I took a half hour off my time compared to the previous year. The race in Tuxedo is two weekends back to back, and the course is the exact same. During the first weekend, I competed in a Hurricane Heat. A Hurricane Heat is a teamwork event where racers are put into groups and each group needs to complete a series of different tasks. For example, one challenge we had to do was carry a log up the mountain. The log was a trunk of a tree and it took 10 people to carry it. When we returned to the bottom of the mountain we had to bear crawl and low crawl. We also had to climb up and over a 30-foot cargo net without using our hands. We did this by having 1 team member on either side, and we put our hands on their shoulders. I met some awesome people during this event, because there is much more interaction with people versus a race, because the races are mostly individual. Hurricane Heats are untimed events, and it is about building endurance and helping others out.
After Tuxedo I competed in the 8-mile Palmerton Super in PA. I did not perform well at this race because my electrolytes were off. I take an electrolyte powder, and it allows my heart to work properly, since electrolytes affect heart function. There are 7 major electrolytes, which are sodium, chloride, potassium, bicarbonate, magnesium, calcium, and phosphate.1 Electrolytes create a charge in the body.1 Creating a charge can allow the heart to maintain its electric potential. When I have too much or too little electrolytes, I don’t feel right and my performance decreases. Before the race I took too much, and I could feel my stomach beginning to hurt within the first half mile of the race. For the remainder of the race, I felt sick, and all I could focus on was doing the best I could given the situation.
The weekend after Palmerton, I competed in an entirely different race series known as Savage Race. This was my first time branching out and competing in an obstacle course race that was not a Spartan Race. The way this race works, is each racer in the Pro division (Which is where I competed) is given a wristband. Each obstacle is mandatory, however racers can try the obstacles as many times as they would like. To qualify for cash prizes, racers must keep their bands for the entire duration of the race. I ended up losing my band at an obstacle called Wheel World. After I failed on my first try, I got in line to try again, and there was a 15 minute wait. “Screw this”, I said to myself. I gave up the band and I kept trekking through the race. I came across the finish line, and I was not happy with my performance, so my parents and I decided to go get something to eat (After I washed off of course). As we are sitting down eating at a local Cracker Barrel (Because when we travel for my races that is my favorite place to eat, and they have good healthy food of course!) my phone lights up and it is one of my fellow racing friends, who happened to be at the venue as well. He ran 2 laps of the course to earn a special medal, called the Savage Syndicate. He said, “Did you get an award? I just heard your name over the speaker”. I looked at my parents with confusion and said, “There is no freakin way that I got an award”. So, I messaged the race announcer for the event on Facebook, describing the situation, and he went to check to see if I placed. A few minutes later he messaged back saying that I took 3rd in my age group. It turns out that if you give up your band, you are still eligible for age group medals, but if you keep your band, you are eligible for cash prizes as well. Being new to this series, I had no idea how it worked. This was my first official podium of the season and I was not there to accept my reward, because I was grubbing (No regrets). Long story short, after this happened, I contacted Savage Race and they shipped me my medal, which is awesome!
Next up on the race schedule, was the Spartan Super in Barre, MA. This race was a few weeks after the Savage. It was at the same venue, which happens to be a farm, with cute cows! Before I took off, it was cold and rainy. I remember standing at the start line and it just started down pouring. It was an extremely wet and muddy race due to the rain, but that is what makes racing fun! You never know what the weather will bring. I failed many more obstacles than I had anticipated, because everything was wet and muddy. There was one obstacle that stood out to me though. It is called the rig. At this venue, the rig was a series of 3 rings, which led to a metal bar, which led to 3 more rings. As I approached the obstacle, I could see the burpee pit was full, which is not a good indication. I approached the obstacle with a clear mind and hands that were ready to hold on for my life. I started on the rings, which went smoothly. I transitioned onto the metal bar, and I began to move hand over hand (Which is how I always do it) to make my way down. I almost fell off, because it was extremely slippery. Instead of doing that, I gripped the bar as hard as I could, and I swung my body as hard as I could and I slid down it instead, which allowed me to grab the next series of rings and ring the bell. Obstacle course racing is about adapting and making quick decisions. I started this obstacle as I would any other rig, because that is how I am comfortable doing this obstacle, however during wet conditions, that technique did not work, so I had to improvise.
The rest of the race was decent, not my best performance, but certainly not my worst. As I approached the final obstacle which was a 30ft cargo net, there was a volunteer directing racers around it, because apparently climbing a 30ft metal structure while it’s thundering and lightning is not a good idea. After that I crossed the finish line, and finished in 19th place.
The day after running the 8-mile Super, I did the Petit Family Foundation 5K road race which is sponsored by Chip’s Family Restaurant. This race is an amazing event and they give out free pancakes. It was the first 5K I ever completed which was in 2014. What made the race so fun, was that I raced with some of my fellow cross-country runners from college, as well as some friends from high school. I don’t run many 5Ks other than the meets for cross country. This race was not a personal record for me, however I took 2nd in my age group and I won a gift card to a trampoline park.
The week after competing in the 5K and Super, I was sick. I had a stomach bug (Which I think is from all the mud during the Super) and I did not even train. So, the following weekend, I did what any intelligent person would do, and I ran an 8-hour race. This event is called the F.I.T Challenge. It stands for Fortitude, Integrity, and Toughness. The way the event worked was the course was 3.5 miles, and racers had to run as many laps of the course as possible during 8 hours’ time. The obstacles were amazing! My personal favorites were the rope climb, log and sandbag carries. I was able to complete 5 laps and with each lap completed, racers earned a block of wood with a number on it that signifies how many laps were completed. So now I have a block of wood in my training room with a 5 on it, it gives me motivation to train harder to earn a 6 or a 7! After looking back on the race, I wish I had gone out and completed more laps, however there is always next year!
After the F.I.T Challenge, on August 26, I competed in the Spartan Race West Point Sprint. This was a brand-new venue for this year, and I was excited! The course was very similar to that in Rutland, MA. I had an amazing race, and I took 5th for women in competitive.
On September 16, I ran my final Spartan Race for the year. This was the Killington Beast in VT. This is probably the toughest Spartan Beast and Ultra Beast offered. Being able to finish is an amazing accomplishment! I remember my first year doing this event, I couldn’t walk for a week. This year, I was able to take 2 hours off my time from last year, and I even finished 8th for women in competitive. My favorite obstacle, the swim, was just as cold and awesome as last year (Video on my YouTube channel). There was one small misstep during the race though. As I was completing an obstacle called the Tyrolean traverse, which is a rope that is suspended between 2 metal structures. Racers need to jump up, grab the rope and climb like a sloth to the other side and ring a bell. I got about half way through the obstacle, and my grip started to give out. So, I just started pulling as hard and as fast as I could to get to the other side. In doing so, I ripped the skin off the back of my knees, because I was wearing shorts and knee-high socks, and there was no skin protection there. This gave me extremely bad rope burn. Let’s just say I learned never to do that again! When I got to the bucket carry, just past mile 13, I put the bucket down for a moment to stretch, and that is when I realized my legs were bleeding. The rope burn happened just about half way through the course. When I climb walls, I hook my legs on the top, so that way I can pull myself up and over with ease. After having rope burn, it was challenging, however I got it done, as usual. My prize from Killington this year, was bleeding legs and now a couple of scars on the backs of my knees. On Sunday, I woke up to my legs being covered in blood.
The final 2 races were during the OCR World Championships, which I have dedicated an entire blog post to.
This has been my strongest racing season yet, and I cannot wait to get back out on the course in 2018! There will be one change to my ’18 season though. I have decided that I will start competing in the Elite Division for Spartan Race. This is where all the pros are, and I can’t wait to be going up against the best of the best in the sport! It is going to be extremely challenging, however I am ready for a challenge. I am dedicating most of my off-season training to building more strength and grip. I am very excited to see what 2018 will bring.
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