OCD FOR OCR

This was my first attempt at a Spartan Ultra and I was both excited and nervous. Real life prohibited my training for it, but I was ready both mentally and physically for everything Spartan would challenge me with, but it was Mother Nature, who would play the largest role in the outcome of my race any many others for this Ultra.

• Packet pickup and Festival Area:

Since it was my first Ultra, I wasn’t sure what to expect from packet pickup. We got to the venue where they were holding an Open House, Friday afternoon, after driving all day. The sun was shining, it was relatively warm, and picking up my packet was a breeze! We ventured out and utilized our time at the Open House. 

The festival area was set up beautifully. Again, the weather and conditions were planning a big surprise for race day, but at Open House, it was gorgeous. The Merch tent was huge! There was room to walk, shop, and browse. I considered buying the tall Spartan socks, but decided my short Injinjis would be fine for race day. Little did I know, that the 1-inch of accumulated rain estimates would be completely wrong! During the race, I longed for those tall socks many times, if for nothing else than warmth.

I practice and practiced on the open house vertical cargo obstacle. The cargo net itself, is not my challenge with this one. It is the shelf leading to it, that I have not been able to master yet. Still unsuccessful after a few dozen attempts, I threw in the towel and we headed back to get a good night’s rest.

• Race day emcee:

Rob Lyday is terrific at what he does! He isn’t over the top, he isn’t canned or store-bought, he is a real person who speaks my language. He knows what to say to get you pumped up, but doesn’t carry it over the top like some I’ve heard in my OCR career. He’s like Goldilocks and the Three Bears, just right.

• The Course:

We arrived dark and early for the race. It was chilly, misting, and I was as nervous as I had ever been for a race. Start times were a little delayed, waiting for all volunteers to be placed, but I didn’t mind too much. We were prepared with all our nutrition; EndurElite locked and loaded! Andy had promised to stay with me for the entire course, no matter the circumstance. He knew I had been unable to train and prepare for the race, and he was coaching me every step of the way. I did HAVE a well-organized training plan, but had spent the past 9 months dealing with my ailing parents. In August, I lost my dad to Parkinson’s Disease, and then 44 days later, my mom lost her battle with cancer. Life took precedence, I had struggled with the decision whether to even attempt the Ultra considering. I decided to go ahead and race, to honor their memory. Lap 1 was to be for my dad, and Lap 2 for my mom. It kept my mind focused when I was feeling lost. When I dressed for the race in the morning, I opted for the lighter of the two “outfits” I brought along. That was a huge mistake. The temps never reached the anticipated highs, and the rain certainly didn’t follow the weatherman’s predictions, either. I expected to be chilly and wet. What I ended up, was frozen and drenched. I have previously had issues with hypothermia (OCRWC 2015, Ohio) and knew I had to keep moving. The foot-deep mud and muck was impossible for me to run through, and I couldn’t keep my body temperature up to stay warm. I had a few breakdowns early on, and Andy was staying supportive and positive. I could tell I was holding him back a great deal, and my frustration with slippery, dripping obstacles continued. Obstacle set up was great, very well-spaced, usually doable for me, not that day.

I burpeed my way through most of the course; becoming more frustrated with myself at everyone. The terrain was brutal. Downhills eventually became slides; climbs were taking their toll on me. At the 8-foot wall, I slipped off and fell…HARD! Of course, this is the exact time, I find influential OCR individuals on course, Yancy Culp yelled, “Are you ok?!?” My answer, as I was flat on my back, “I’ll let ya know in a minute!”  I hit my back hard on the ground, my side and ribs were jacked up. I got up and kept on. Immediately my mind shot to last December 14th when my dad fell doing yard work. He injured his ribs; same side. He punctured a lung and from that day on he was never the same. My heart pretty much sank. I cried. A lot. The next burpee station turned out to be extremely painful. I continued. And the next burpee station, and the next…you get the picture… the pain was somewhat keeping me warm, though. And the tears I was crying, as I thought about my parents and the suffering, they endured, kept my face warm.

Thoughts were entering my mind, as I got progressively slower. After the dunk wall, I had that old-time feeling, flashbacks to Ohio after several rolling mud obstacles. I had brain freeze, big time. Climbing out of the dunk wall took me what seemed like a lifetime. Andy yelled, “Smile for the cameraman!” Ummm, NOPE. After missing the spear, I stood at the burpee zone. I couldn’t get my limbs to cooperate, no matter how much I tried. I looked up and saw a drenched vert cargo net with a shelf (AKA my nemesis), and a few other beauties, that I knew I was too frozen to endure. When Andy saw my purple lips, he understood my decision to walk off. I knew that if I attempted to finish the rest of the burpee brigade, I’d be in trouble. No medal. No victory. I threw on my Dryrobe and tried to help other frozen UltraBeasters warm up when they finished. I made several trips to the Medical Tent to get Mylar blankets for finishers, who much appreciated the effort.

• The Bling:

Well, spoiler alert, I didn’t get any bling. I have longed for that buckle for a while now. It will be mine, soon. It’s a pretty one. And when I do earn one, I will wear it every dang day!

• Overall Feelings and Event Rating:

I give this race 5 out of 5 stars.  If I am rating the weather and conditions, it’s a zero out of 5. Garfield Griffiths, is a master at his craft, and he always puts on one heck of a race. I sign up for as many of his races as possible. He and the Spartan A-Team are awesome!  I’ll be back! On a side note, I am already registered for next year’s Ultra and will be completing lap # 1 for dad and lap # 2 for mom!

Article Written by: Andy Sneller and Lori Danko.