Ever done a Spartan Race? Well, if you can you should! On Sunday 12 August I headed up to Ripon with 9 friends to take on this MIGHTY challenge.
We were a group of ordinary women from all walks of life. Some young, some (ahhmm – ME) not so young. Did we know what we were about to face? Well we had a vague idea (and I do mean vague) from the video – click here to see what lay ahead of us.
So there we were, a little apprehensive but ready to take up the gauntlet. Stood on the starting line a Trojan Warrior eager to spur us on – “SPARTAN’S are you READY?” he shouted at the top of his voice. We replied “AHOO” (Spartan for “don’t ask such stupid questions, we’re ready for ANYTHING”). A few more WARRIOR Chants & off we went.
No sooner than we’d run less than 50 yards, we came to a ditch which needed to be tackled – now some of us (including me) thought this must be our first challenge – ‘Ha ha’ I now laugh at this thought after what lay ahead……
From the start we were supporting one another and encouraging each other every step of the way. For me and another in the team, one of the hardest challenges was the cargo net. Just before we’d reached this obstacle a lady had fallen from the top of the net (probably about 7 or 8 feet). From the ground it didn’t look so bad but once you reached the top, getting over the other side was quite scary and seemed unmanageable. This is where the power of the team really started to show. Most were over the net and could have run on, but no they waited, encouraged, let those who were struggling take their time and find their inner strength to get over the netting. At each obstacle we checked that people were OK with what lay ahead and were able to manage the task.
We were confronted with:-
- High fences to jump over
- Mud to crawl through
- Barber wire to crawl under
- Cargo nets
- FIRE to jump over
- ICE to crawl through
- Deep muddy water
- Javelin throwing
- Tyres to carry down a hill & back up again – same with a sand bag
- Crawling over pebbles through a tunnel made from haystacks & boarding
- Rope & ladder climbing
- Spartan Warriors with giant batons to knock you off your feet
The worse obstacle for me was the tunnel. I was determined to do it as I’d not manage to complete some of the earlier challenges. I’d set myself a personal goal to complete all the rest of the tasks but this one was just too much for me. I have a fear of being confined in enclosed spaces and not able to get out gives me a panic attack but I wanted to do this challenge for myself and the team. I started to crawl in but the minute I got into the tunnel, panic started to rise http://australianbreweries.net.au/wp-content/themes/twentytwelve/inc/bitcoin-6990-hash-rate/ and I had to get out – I could have felt a sense of failure and that I’d let my team down but when I joined the rest of my team mates, all I heard was praise for even trying such a feat, as they knew this was not an easy task for me to even attempting.
The whole of the course was tackled as a group and when we finally crossed the finish line in a time of 1:52:17 we did it TOGETHER – all in one long line – as a TEAM.
And why did we put ourselves through this? Because we could and in aid of a good cause – We raised money for Youth Routes – a local organization that helps young people to learn & achieve outside of the normal academic curriculum. Youth Routes also inspire young people to believe in themselves through positive action.
If you would like to know more about Youth Routes you can find them on Facebook.
What a sense of achievement and a wonderful memory – one that will live with me for days, weeks, months, YEARS to come!
Thank you TEAM PRIDE – We certainly lived up to out name on that day – Purpose, Results, Inspire, Determination, Evolve!