There have been more than a few memes/blogs going around Facebook as of late. The context is the quiet sufferer who feels, for what ever reason, that they don’t want to relate their story. Some feel they don’t have anything to add or that they aren’t “part” of the group. They feel that maybe they haven’t done what others have. I find this a little disheartening. If you are on the NE Spahtens team/group/twitter feed/facebook page/sideline or whatever I need to let you in on the big secret: YOU’RE A WIERDO! Plain and simple. We have podium finishers and people that finish dead last. In between those equally inspiring people is everyone else. So it doesn’t matter where you are, you’re with teammates. Therefore everyone should feel they have something to share. If you surround yourself with positive people you become positive and once you become positive there really is nothing you can’t over come.
In a post comment today I came across Tony’s post:
“Tony DeMauro: I have held off posting a lot of my thoughts in this forum as i really do not want to sound like a kiss ass…But what the hell… This ENTIRE community of the NE Spahtens has been almost overwhelmingly inspiring. I have done Warrior Dashes and Spartan Sprints and thought I was doing pretty well with a WHOLE lot of room for improvement. But after joining this group and seeing their posts and aspirations, and challenges, nevermind pics of their Medal Collections…I am pushing myself even harder to better myself. to have people STILL waiting at the finishing line at the 5 miler on Sunday (WELL after they had finished and the beer was flowing freely) just to cheer people coming across the line- might be a small act for some…But to someone like me who feels very new, and “off”, and even as far as to say a “Square peg in the round hole” at these things- THAT was a HUGE act of kindness and solidarity for a group to show. I felt a large sense of accomplishment finishing a 5 mile run. As it is something I never thought I would ever do let alone even TRY! Each race (3 mile, 4 mile, and 5 mile of the Wild Rover Series) I have watched and learned from how to land my feet to strides, to pacing, just from watching others and from the words they gave me as I started back up from a “walking break”…Not sure where this post is leading…Just wanted to express my gratitude for this group as everyone really DOES stand behind their commitment to being a “TEAM” not just a facebook group that sometimes gets together for things…They really are a community,and one that I am glad to quietly be a part of…”
Tony said it all perfectly. My hope is everyone feels they can share. Please at events say hello, come to the team tents or where ever we are gathering. It’s your tent if we have one. You did it, you made it happen. It’s hard knowing everyone from Facebook but no one bites unless asked to. We’re all just obstacle racers. How we finish or what we have accomplished wouldn’t be half as awesome, for me at least, if it weren’t for the Team. Inspire and pass it on.
The details of my life are quite inconsequential. Very well, where do I begin? My father was a relentlessly self-improving boulangerie owner from Belgium with low grade narcolepsy and a penchant for buggery. My mother was a fifteen year old French prostitute named Chloe with webbed feet. My father would womanize, he would drink, he would make outrageous claims like he invented the question mark. Some times he would accuse chestnuts of being lazy, the sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament. My childhood was typical, summers in Rangoon, luge lessons. In the spring we’d make meat helmets. When I was insolent I was placed in a burlap bag and beaten with reeds, pretty standard really. At the age of 12 I received my first scribe. At the age of fourteen, a Zoroastrian named Vilma ritualistically shaved my testicles. There really is nothing like a shorn scrotum, it’s breathtaking, I suggest you try it.
Hello. I just joined a few days ago. Nice to meet you all!
Despite the number of races I have done, both OCR and road, I still feel like a newbie at every one. In fact, actually still feel extremely awkward out there every time, but knowing I am part of this team and surrounded by them at every event, makes it doable. I am even that person that has been running and racing for about 4 years but still has trouble accepting being called a runner, because my pace has never been to the expectations that I ridiculously set for myself. This community reminds me that none of that matters, we are ALL racers, regardless of pace and out to conquer the same course whether Elite, fast, slow or at a walking pace. It’s about the whole journey and not how fast you make it go by. It’s the camaraderie, and knowing you have a gigantic team of people that share the same love of this crazy sport as you do, and that they will be around to pop out at the most important moments, to lend a hand, or shout some encouragement, that gets me to sign up every time.
If I never stepped out of my shell a bit and started going to events with Spahtens and saying hello, I can't say what kind of position I would be in today. You will never be the person you want to be always standing on the side. Unless of course you only enjoy life passing by.