Spartan Races

This month, I’ll complete my 7th Spartan race in a little over 2 years. As I look back to those first races, I can’t help but realize how much I’ve grown as a person and how much my life has changed for the better.

I was first introduced to the Spartan Races by my really good college friend, Nick. He was planning to fly in from Texas to run the South Carolina race, but at the last moment, he had to back out. So as I was driving to upstate South Carolina to run my first race solo, feelings of being super pumped, uncertainty, excitement, nervousness, you name it, took over as I had no idea what to expect.

That first race was one of the top highlights of my life. As I was running through the mountains during my first ever trip to Asheville, I couldn’t help but feel in the moment and the most alive I’ve felt in a while. There was this internal drive within me, something I still can’t explain, where I knew I was absolutely going to finish that race, despite the challenges and physical & mental fatigue. I feel this drive in every race that I run, and it’s something I look forward experiencing over and over. There’s a great sense of camaraderie that naturally occurs between your friends and with complete strangers eager to help you out. I also enjoy sharing the experience with my girlfriend Rachel as she competes in the races as well.

If there’s one lesson in life I find myself continuously experiencing, it’s that our minds tend to limit what our bodies can physically endure even before we push ourselves to try. Overcoming these limitations leads to some of the best experiences in our lives, and with the right preparation, practice and hard work, nothing is off-limit if you want it bad enough.