Ode to Sparta: No Excuses!

by Carrie Adams

Frequently we hear from our athletes about why they run and what motivates them to sign up, show up and never give up.  Here is Joanna’s Story in her own words.

Last January I signed up for the Spartan Sprint. It was posted as a meet up for an online social group I belong to, and a few of us brave souls signed up. I'd never done anything like it before, and it sounded exciting and challenging, something new and different to look forward to and work towards.

I trained for 8 months, including teaching myself to run for the first time, and learning to love it. Before I knew it I was doing 5K races. On the days I didn't run I was at the gym, swimming, climbing the rock wall or taking classes.  I lost 30 pounds and gained an enormous amount of confidence.

I finished the sprint in 1:57:26.6, 137 out of 275 overall and 51 out of 123 women in my heat.( I'm a 51 year old grandmother, so I'm thrilled with those numbers!) This year I plan to train even harder, and now that I have a better idea of what to expect, hope to complete more of the obstacles and do less burpees!

Doing the Sprint has changed my life in many ways. Several times in those two hours I thought I might be in over my head: Carrying the bucket of rocks up the mountain, jumping over the fire, or trudging through the woods not knowing what was next or how many more obstacles I had to complete. But crossing that finish line was better than anything I could ever have imagined, and months later I still feel the thrill when I think about it.  I tell everyone who will listen how much fun it was, and even though most of the time I get told that it doesn't sound like fun at all, I have talked a couple of friends into joining us next time!