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Are you a runner? Are you afraid of an obstacle Race? Yeah, me too.

Published by
Maximus   Apr 21st 2015, 3:58pm
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The email correspondence with Chad Trammell before my first Atlas race went something like this.

Max: I’m injured for UROC. Are you racing the Atlas Race this weekend? I’m thinking about it. Can I still get an entry?

Chad: Yes, we’d love to have you. There will be a free entry waiting for you. Show up about 7am.

Max: Well no excuses not to then. See you there.

 

If you read between the lines it would go something like this:

Max: Holy crap, I’m scared out of my mind to do an obstacle race. I’m really not sure I can pull it off but I happen to be in the same locale as the one you’ve invited me to.

Chad: Suck it up, get yourself here. We’ll even give you a free entry.

Max: Ah crap, it’s free. I was really hoping that you weren’t going to give me a free entry so that I could bow out easier.

 

Chad is a bad-ass

 

This whole conversation took place during a car ride to Medford, OR the night before the race and at this point I promptly crapped my pants with nerves and didn’t sleep that night. An obstacle race was something I’d been looking into for awhile but way too afraid to actually sign up and do one. I always had the excuse that I had another running race that was more important and I obviously wasn’t at all trained for what I was about to do.

I’d done run out of excuses. I was on my way to Medford and would be about 10mi from the race location with a free entry waiting for me. Dang it, out of excuses.

 

Doing an obstacle race is in fact a very scary proposition when you’re a runner. We’re not exactly known for our upper body strength, resiliency, or durability. I like to think I’m a bit of an anomaly as I can take a beating but hey, I’m still a distance runner. It’s the fear of the unknown. If you’ve never done a running race before I could understand how that could be intimidating as well and I’ve written on the subject before here, but you know what you’re going to have to do; run. But in an obstacle race every time is like your first time. You never know what is going to be thrown at you around the next corner. Your first time is nerve wracking.  Are you going to have to pick up something twice your body weight, climb over a 20ft wall, swim through quicksand, or wrestle an 18ft python with just your bare hands. No, you won’t. That’s what I’m here to say.

 

He's being eaten by a python right NOW! (not really)

 

The way I got over the anxiety and figured out that I would be just fine during that first obstacle race was to realize that 4 million people did one last year and I don’t care who you are reading this right now, you’re fitter than at least half of them.

 

Second, I had seen the photos, if this guy could do it then I know I could.

His quote not mine: "I’m no athlete.  I have yet to still get the hang of this jogging thing." Good on you for gutting it out. 

 

I realized that they don’t make obstacles that people can’t do and shoot, even if you can’t do it you just go around and/or do a quick penalty exercise. That just wouldn’t be all that fun to fail at everything during the race. Yeah, I may not be the fastest but I would at least be able to waddle my way through with the goal of not having the rescue team drag me out of the freezing cold water/mud pit as I lay cramping in it. Yeah, I’m sandbagging right now, it wasn’t that bad but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t scared out of my mind and it also means that you too can get through an obstacle race as a runner. And as a runner you’re almost guaranteed to be faster than 90% of the Cross Fitters. You may take twice as long to do an obstacle but they’ll be walking the last half of the course in oxygen debt while you run them down. Sorry Cross Fitters. Just don’t let him catch you at the post party. Keep running.

 

   ==> 

 From This                         to                            This 

So, if you’re a runner and you’ve been thinking “hmm, what’s all this mud wrastlin with runnin” all about. Sure, you can be intimidated but don’t let that stop you from a new experience and a ton of fun. I love the scene, culture, people, whatever at running races and it’s been just as welcoming and awesome of an experience at all the obstacle races too. One of the cool things is the diversity of people at these. It’s not just a bunch of us skinny runners comparing our mile splits, but huge Cross Fitters that could crush you like a walnut, wiry climbers that could snap your head off with a pinch of their fingers, and other just general bad-ass people looking for a new challenge that are all sharing in the competition, mud, and challenge of a good obstacle race. It’s pretty cool.  #AtlasRace Go find one at www.Atlasrace.com

I've never seen these guys at a running race and they happen to be great guys.

 

My buddy Matt Murphy from down under. 

 

Lots of different backgrounds here. 

 

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1 comment(s)
mgleiser
Well, as obstacle course racer going into Ultra training for the firs time, I can say that the fear is mutual...
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