Author: Russell

Russ Blatt has been racing in obstacle course races since 2013 and joined the New England Spahtens that same year. Since that time, he has gone from the New York Ginger outsider to the voice that many turn to within the group. In 2016, Russ created the award winning OCR Buddy, the first mobile calendar application for the entire OCR Community. Find it on Google Play and the App Store. He is honored and humbled to bring you "Playing in the Mud".
Posted on by — Leave a comment

Featured Review: Savage Race MD 2018

I had the opportunity to venture the 360 miles down to Savage Races Spring race two day event this past weekend at Hopkins Game Farm Kennedyville, Maryland. Location was easy to find, parking was plentiful and onsite for $10. At its farthest point the parking was about a five minute walk to the entrance/check in area. There was also a premium parking option for $20 and this got you within 100 feet or so of the entrance. Checking in was easy, with no large backups, and then you are directed through the merchandise tent to the festival area. The festival area was a perfect size for the approximate 3200 finishers and their spectators that were there throughout the day Saturday. However, it felt almost empty on Sunday with only about 650 finishers and respective spectators of the inaugural Blitz race. Looking around you had the start line, a small platinum rig, the awards stage with a DJ/emcee, and last obstacle/finish line at one end, then at the other end you had the port-o-johns, two BBQ vendors, a healthy/nutritional food truck, and a shaved ice vendor. To fill in the outer perimeter of the festival, in between these two ends, were the beer tent, an AIR FORCE table, Maryland National Guard table, a Maryland Air National Guard table, the Savage Syndicate tent, future race purchase tent, and a gear drop off tent. In the open area was found numerous round tables with chairs to sit at. The area was well thought out and funneled everyone’s attention to the far left in the direction of the start/finish and the DJ.

Our start time was at 10:20am, and we had three New England Spahtens make the journey to race. We were let in the starting corral about ten minutes early and they had a hype man get everyone ready for the race. After a warm-up, hyped out speech, and a 10 second countdown, we were sent off to tackle the course. The terrain is not what most from New England would expect, open flat fields, very few single tracks thru the woods. We ran for about half a mile before we encountered our first obstacle and never went that far in between after that. One thing this course does have that we do not is slow flowing river beads. These were used on several occasions. The full race clocked in at around 6.5 miles on my Garmin, just as advertised. Not too long and not too short.

The obstacles, thirty in all, were all well built and sturdy. We got to see many of the obstacles that were in Massachusetts last year including Shriveled Richard (HEHE), Big Cheese, Saw Tooth , Twirly Bird, and Davy Jones Locker among others. We also got to experience three new obstacles just introduced this year. Holy Sheets, literally a rolled up sheet traverse to four hanging balls. Pedal to the Medal, a tire drag with a twist, you lay on your back and using only your feet you “roll” in the tire. When done drag it back out to the line. And battering ram, which was the obstacle in the finishing area, and I find this obstacle is hard to explain, but as best as I may, you are suspended from a pipe via a handle and you need to shimmy down the length of pipe to make a transition to another handle and then do it all over again to a bell (which you could kick). After completion, this brought you to crossing the finish line to get your Savage race medal, which is a new design for this year, your finisher t-shirt, water, and a Trimino protein water.

We hung around for a while watching the start line, cheering on finishers, and generally listening to the music. We cleaned up, had our beer, three options were available with your participant ticket, Coors, and for a $1 up charge you could have a Blue Moon or Dos Equis. We left with smiles on our faces, knowing we were returning the next day to participate in the first of its kind race, the Savage Blitz.

When was the last time you got to do an inaugural race? When we arrived at the venue on Sunday we got to do just that. We were two of 640 participants in Savage Races new series called the Savage Blitz, a shortened version of their course. We arrived a little later than we did on Saturday, knowing that there would be less people. While getting ready we saw the top three males and the top female cross the finish line. After that, we finished getting ready and went out with our 10am start time. The Blitz race wound us around the venue in a new way than Saturday, much to my surprise, and it was fun doing some obstacles backwards from the previous day. It made you really have to wrap your head around the technique first, at least for me. The course was just over three miles by my Garmin, and it was perfect. This being what appears to be a gateway into the full Savage Race, most of the big daunting obstacles were missing, like Colossus and Davey Jones, but you did get to run by all of them and see what could have been. The three new obstacles were still on course and fun again.

Crossing the finish line for the second time in two days was amazing. Picked up our new Savage Blitz medal, Blitz specific finishers t-shirts, a water, more Trimino, and headed over to the Syndicate tent to pick up our huge (did I mention HUGE) Syndicate medal and state Axe pins. Grabbed our beers, watched some more people finish the race with huge smiles, cleaned up and made the seven hour ride home to Massachusetts.

This was one hell of a weekend! The full course was fun, and challenging at the same time. The Blitz course was great. Hopefully they will roll this out at all venues next year. Savage Race does a great job at paying attention to what racers want. Sam Abbitt, one of the cofounders of Savage, is very active on the Syndicate facebook page and is listening. I give both Races an A+, for fun factor and quality.
So New England where will you be on July 14t​ h​? I know where I will be, at Carter and Stevens Farm, running the Savage race. I hope to see you all there.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Playing in the Mud – Take Care of Yourself

We were all saddened when we learned of the death of Heather Foggo last week. Heather was running in the United Kingdom’s Mighty Deerstalker Race, which is a 10-mile off-road race in Scotland. Foggo, a nurse, was seen struggling one mile into the course and collapsed. Medical assistance was on scene within three minutes, as per the Mighty Deerstalker and she later passed away.

Foggo was an experienced obstacle course and mud runner. She was a nurse and therefore knew the human body well and would have known if she was not able to race that day. By getting to the starting line and beginning her race, all have assumed that she felt fine until she showed signs of collapse.

Foggo’s untimely passing reminds us that we are all fragile, no matter what we think and feel. We all go out on these racecourses and attempt to complete insane things. World’s Toughest Mudder had multiple people complete over 100 miles in the Las Vegas desert. Spartan Ultra Beasts have been well over 35 miles, including some of the most insane changes of elevation. There are these types of races all over, and we attempt them. Sometimes we fail, most of the times we succeed and to overcome these events is borderline insane.

Before and after the events, are the hours upon hours of training, running, climbing and preparation that we all do. This all brings stress upon the body. Our participation in the events are the result of hundreds of hours of preparing our bodies and minds. When we stop and sit back and think about what we have accomplished, we are proud and we should be. What some of you do, and I am not including myself here, is truly remarkable.

I am going to remind you here, today to listen to your body. You are a fragile piece of machinery and there are so many things that can happen and go wrong inside of you. You, and only you, are the only person that controls that body. It is up to you to decide when the time is right and the time is wrong to get to that starting line and completing races.

A few years ago, I was in Killington on Mile 10. A friend of mine was sitting on the floor. She was resting, looking out at the majesty of the Vermont Mountains. When we talked for a few minutes, she told me that she made it this far and she knew she had some medical issues and had to stop. She knew that was her time to let the rest of the day go. She was listening to her body inside and felt that if she went on, irreparable damage may have taken place. She may have sat back and thought that it was the wrong decision at some point, but as I see her posting photos of her with her young child, I know it was the right decision to make.

I have talked about breaking ribs at a Rugged Maniac a few years ago and finishing the race. I was near the end, and I was still able to breathe. I am not a doctor and I do not have a degree, but I felt I was okay to finish and that I would have medical attention within minutes. I did as soon I crossed the finish line.

There is nothing like crossing a finish line, whether you are a newbie at an inflatable race or the most elite of elite at a championship. That finish line signifies all of the hard work that you put in to get you there. Make sure you get yourself checked periodically. Do you really know about that supplement or that new exercise? Do you know if that twinge in your knee is just from the changing air pressure or something much worse? Do you really know why you have been short of breath?

In this whole universe, there is only one of you. You are unique and you mean something to yourself, your family and your friends. Listen to yourself. Listen to your body and please make sure that you always come home from every race that you start, no matter how much you have sacrificed to get there.

Take a moment to take a breath because you are epic and as always, keep playing in the mud.

 

 

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Playing in the Mud – Making the World a Better Place

Remember when you were younger and you thought that you could change the world. Everyone at some point imagined themselves winning some award to make them famous, maybe hitting a home run in the world series or countless other fantasies that we were the star of. In these fantasies and dreams, you were the star right? You went and changed the world, right? What happened since?

Very few of us get that chance to change the world in one swift action. At some point along the way, we realize it and those dreams fade. We get older, we get busy and things change in our minds. We get jaded. We get cynical and then the thought creeps in that “I can’t make a difference” so we stop trying.

I am here to remind you that you do change the world with everything that you do. There are many different ways that we, as human beings, affect others. Some of things that we do have a negative effect upon the world, but those of you that are reading this have the exact opposite effect on the rest of us. You are a positive force. You are light and you make the world a better place.

You raise money for charities. You do Rucksgiving. You run special events with people not as fortunate. You donate your time, clothes and money. You are kind to other people and animals. You are a good friend. You call a friend out of nowhere to say hello. You are a good mother or father. You help someone when they least expect it. You help people learn how to overcome obstacles. You pick up garbage on a course. You reach out with your hand and say “let me help you”. You encourage. You say thank you. You say you are welcome. You smile. You laugh and every step you take, you leave a path of goodness behind you.

See how simple it can be? That dream of a child is not gone. It is right here in all of us. We are not cynical and forgetting what we were thinking of. The thoughts may have changed and how we wanted to go about them may be different, but they are still there.

When I was younger, I thought I would change the world. That thought stopped young for a variety of reasons. I realized that I could make a small difference to certain people along the way. A smile changed people. A joke, a laugh and an encouraging word were all the difference to some people.

That is one of the reasons I started writing these postings. After one or two, people messaged me and commented that it meant something. Speaking from the heart to people and letting them know that their own concerns, neuroses, issues and problems were not unique to them. People think, at time, that they are alone in the world in dealing with anything. Just by writing a few hundred words every week, I have reminded anyone who reads these words that they are not alone, they have something in common with others and that there are always others that can help. So I add writing this weekly post to my list of how I am changing the world, one paragraph at a time.

Making the world a better place is easy and most of you do it already. This week, I want to challenge you all to find one small new way to make the world better. In the past, I have asked you to reach out to an old friend because old acquaintances should NOT be forgot. I have asked you to take down your “walls of problems” one brick at a time instead of running into it head on. Today, it is make the world a better place.

Call a friend. Make someone smile. Help someone across the street. Bring food to someone sick or who just gave birth. Check in on the elderly (especially during this upcoming “storm” in the northeast). Do a special walk, run, race, ruck for charity. Anything. Do something to make the world a better place and you will soon realize that by reaching out to help others, you are only improving your own self, soul and quality of life.

I will see you all soon. Keep reading. Keep being epic and keep playing in the mud. Lastly, thank you all for making me a better person and for helping make my world a better place.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Playing in the Mud – Family

The other day, I was talking to a friend of mine that I have not seen since last September. We were having a talk about our lives and changes that are going on in hers. Changes are happening and I had no idea. While we are not the closest of friends, we had a pretty good heart-to-heart talk as I had gone through what she is going though now. As our conversation ended, she said to me “Family isn’t always those that share your blood.” My reply was, “I have the topic for my next column”.

Many of us are part of obstacle course teams. We train with them. We travel to races with them. We race with them and we eat everything in sight after races with them. They are teammates and the more you spend time with them you realize that they are much more than just friends, they are family.

One of the definitions of the word family is “a group of peoples regarded as deriving from a common stock” and there is also “a group of people united by a certain common affiliation”. That is perfect in terms of obstacle course racing.   The people I race with and the people that I go to battle with are my family, the New England Spahtens. Our common stock is the insanity that we put ourselves through on a race-course. Our common affiliation is more than the shirts on our back; it is our love for being on the course and the desire to keep playing in the mud.

I have been with the Spahtens and been racing with team members since 2013. Since I have started with OCR Buddy, I have gotten to know members of many teams/groups. The Crazy Mudder Muckers, Lone Star Spartans, Battle Races, Team Avery’s Army, Spartan 4-0, Colorado Obstacle Racers, UK Solo Mudders and the OCR Wrongens are a few that I have gotten to get to know and become affiliated with in one way or another. I see the family theme run through each group. I have seen posts asking for help within each group and the team member responses. If you do not believe how people in the OCR Community reach out to one another, just look at how many profile photos have changed to the logo of the Colorado Obstacle Racing team supporting them after their tragedy. People care about one another and they show it in so many ways. This whole sport is one big family.

Back to my Spahtens and being family. In my short few years, I have seen almost everything from his family.   I have seen family that has faced divorce, family separation, loss of jobs, relocations, illness, death and almost everything else we can face as human beings. The dozens, if not hundreds of people that have stepped up to offer their hand in support, gave their time, opened their wallet and sat and let people cry on their shoulders. I have also seen engagements, children being born, people being married, promotions and the fun positive things we enjoy in life. The people and responses are the same. In both cases, the responses are filled with love and you do not just get that from crawling through barbed wire with someone. You get it from being family. Personally, I couldn’t count the number of people reached out to me when my twins were born, when I had illness in my family and those who just message me and check in regularly. It is a family that we are part of.

2016 was not a year of many races for me. I had not traveled much last year in my races and I did not get to many events outside of Long Island. When I stepped foot in Killington last year, I received hundreds of hugs from my family and the amount of love that I felt was second to none. People running by me on the course (and believe me, everyone passes me) stopped to say hello and chat while losing a few seconds of their time for me. This family is second to none for me and every time I see someone in something Spahten, I feel at home.

While I am a Spahten at heart and I talk about them, I do it for a reason. I am hoping that each and every one of you that are reading this feel how I do about your group. I hope that you love your group. I hope that you feel that you could not race without your group. I hope that you see a teammate and feel that the person looking back at you is your brother or sister.   I am hoping that you feel the love that I do.

Back to my friend, I saw her up at Killington in 2016. When she saw me, she ran over to me and jumped in my arms as if she was best friend from college. She isn’t from college. She isn’t even from five years ago. I met her a couple of years ago and I heave learned that she is a good person, with a good heart and would do anything and everything for her friends. To me, that is family.

Look at whom you affiliate with. Do they smile when they see you? Are they jumping in your arms and hugging you any and every time they see you? Will they help you at the obstacles, high five you when you succeed and heckle you when you fail? Good. That is your family and I hope you appreciate what they are to you. You will learn, if you have not learned yet, that these friendships will take you to places that you have never imagined. They will go far past any finish line and take you through life. Family isn’t those that you share your blood with, they are those you share your life with.

Love your team. Love your friends. Love your family. Until next time I see you, be epic and keep playing in the mud.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Playing in the Mud – Achieve Your Championship

This year, it was announced that there would be a United States OCR Championship to go along with a World Championship, two European Championships and countless other championships around the world. With these championships announced, people are starting to make plans. If you look around Facebook, particularly in the United States, people have started to post about plans. People are posting their OCRWC qualifying emails and all of their hotel and travel plans. What about the rest of us?

Most of us are not championship material.   Writers note: I know that a qualification for the US OCR Championships this year is a pulse and breathing, but you all understand what my point is overall. Most of us will never podium at a race or be in the first few that get the “Congratulations” email. So, what about the rest of us?

Goals. Let’s look at goals for a moment. Some people have the goal of winning, placing on the podium or qualifying for other races and championships. Others have the goal of time and beating past times. Then there are some like me and many others who have the goal of finishing. All are valid goals and from the people I know and talk to, more people have the goals that I have…finishing. So what are we to do?

We quit racing. No. That’s not serious. In fact, we push on and push forward and achieve our goals no matter what they are. As I have said repeatedly in the past, I am a sloth. I am not fast on any course, whether flat, mud, mountains, stadium. My goals are to finish any race I have started. I know what my limitations are and I know what I am capable of. Do you?

Goals are important to each and every one of us. We need something to look forward to and something to achieve. It is one of the reasons why we race. We go out there to test ourselves and see what we are capable of. We make ourselves uncomfortable to test our inner will. We want to overcome what we think cannot be done and we imagine the feeling we have when we have overcome the obstacles in front of us.

What is your goal? We all have them? Is it a 5k mud run? Is it a Tough Mudder? Savage Race? Endurance Run? Whatever it is, achieve it. My OCRWC is the Killington Beast in September. All along the way I have other races and even a tower climb mixed in. The Beast at Killington is my championship. That is my goal for the year. That is what I build to throughout the year. I start with a Beast in Jersey and race all along the way until I get to my championship. My goal is to get to that race, overcome it and collect a few medals and shirts along the way.

What are yours? Is your goal to finish a 5k, a 5-mile mud run, 10 mile race, a win, a podium or a championship. Go for them. Your goals start from within and they start with a statement. “I want to (fill in the blank)”. Once you announce your goal, it is out there for everyone to see and most importantly, for you to achieve.

After you announce it, live it. Spend your days and your time achieving your goal. Every time you set on a course, go into a gym, train on a trail, look toward your goal and achieve it. Believe in yourself and set a goal, overcome all obstacles and get to your championship. Whether your championship is finishing a race or the actual championship, achieve it.

Thanks for continuing to be the ones who want me to overcome, to achieve my goals and to wanting me to achieve my own championship. I hope I can help you push to achieve your goals and overcome any obstacles to achieve your championships. Until next time my friends, be epic and keep playing in the mud.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Playing in the Mud – The Beast Within

Prior to getting this column online, every Saturday morning the New England Spahtens had a post from me on their page. The posts were driven by something that had happened during the week. Their point was to motivate, inspire and push people to be their absolute best. I have to get back to that and reach down deep inside once again and push once again. I hope I can continue to do that with Playing in the Mud.

I was messaging with someone the other night. In fact, that night was the first time we ever messaged. I saw something she posted and it got my attention. The post was questioning her ability and her self-worth all in one post. Two sentences seemed to minimize her worth. Two sentences got my attention.

My response was simple and to the point, “You can do it”. It took a few minutes and before we were done, she believed in herself. There was something inside of her that needed to be reminded about her beast. We all have a beast within and within moments, her beast was alive.

Let’s be blunt, unless you are a pro or elite, we all question ourselves on a racecourse.   It sucks. We get to an obstacle and wonder if we can get past it. We get to a climb on a mountain wonder if we can overcome it. We get to a starting line and wonder if we will ever finish. Why do we keep wondering of we are good enough? What causes us to doubt and how can we overcome that fear? It is, the beast within.

I am not an elite, a pro, fast, or even consider myself anything special in the OCR community. In fact, I just hope to finish each and every race I enter. So, you can imagine how often I question myself out there and how many times I think about DNFing. I remember my first Killington Beast. Through that whole race I doubted myself. I kept pushing forward and kept walking. The water was cold. The burpees sucked and the darkness was haunting. But as I was sitting there through the third barbed wire crawl and looked at the dunk wall in the darkness I had enough. I could hear the Festival Area but I knew I was nowhere close.

I looked at one of my friends and she could see it in my eye and she said to me, “You going to be the beast or let the beast be you”. This one sentence reminded me that there was something deep inside of me that I had not yet tapped into. I decided it was time to be the beast within me. I reached down to something that was within.

When I had to recover from open-heart surgery, every day and every minute was a battle. The battle from within came from my desire and my need to overcome my past. My past had defined me before my surgery and I had to reach down to change my future.

What do you have to do? You have to reach down and find what you believe in. What do you believe in? What are the things that make you who you are? These things bring out the beast. You have experienced those moments and what have you believed in to overcome yourself. What did you do to prove yourself wrong? What did you do in that moment of doubt? Did you quit or did you remember? Did you walk away or did you decide to fight another day?   Did you take the path or did you look for the easy way out?

A beast doesn’t give up. A beast fights for itself. A beast believes. A beast faces doubt and destroys it. A beast is you.

Going back to my new friend. She didn’t give up. She overcame herself. She learned that there is a beast inside of her. I do not know what caused her beast to be born, but I have seen it in her messages since.

Once the beast is revived, it is hard to keep down. Once we have success, we want more. Once we know we can complete our goals, we raise the bar for ourselves. We can never step back, we only move forward.

Every step you take moves yourself closer to your goals. Don’t give up on yourself. I believe in you and I always will. Be yourself, be your best, be your beast. I cannot wait to look you all in the eyes and see your fire. Your beast is now born.

Until next time, be epic and keep playing in the mud.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Playing in the Mud – Monday Memory – Earn It

Today on Memory Monday, I go back to July 6.  The message is simple, Earn it.  I remind people that they are never alone on a race course.  They have all of their friends and teammates with them every step of the way.  People really do care about one another and when we can’t be at a race, the next best thing is our friend’s successes.

Back in July I reminded my friends to earn it and keep playing in the mud!

==============================

Earn it.

When you are on the course this weekend, earn it. Do not take it for granted. Enjoy each step, each obstacle, each climb, wall, mud pit and everything else you encounter. Look at the course in front of you and own it. Make it yours and attack it.

I tell you because there are people that are not out there. We are not out there because of timing, injury, finances, family and many other reasons. We are living through you, your race, your finish, your photos and your posts. We cannot wait to be proud of you, congratulate you for a job well done and to “like” your photos. We want to feel like we were part of your race, and while we may not be on the course physically, we ARE there. We are there in the back of your mind, never letting you fail.

We want you to kill it. We want to be proud of you. We want to hear of your triumphs and the stories. We want to know of the difficulties and of the failures. More importantly, we want to feel that a little part of us is there with you.

You may be saying to yourself, what are you talking about Russ. This is my point. There are many of us in my shoes. We want to be there, we are jealous that you are there and it kills us to not be able to race along side of you. So do this.

Do it for us. Attack the course with all of us with you. Every time you feel tired, remember that you have so many people giving you energy. Every time that you face a hill, we are pushing you up. When you are crawling through mud, we are pulling you through. If you want to quit, we are all yelling at you to DFQ. And when you realize that the finish line is right on front of you, we have all formed around that finish line to cheer your accomplishment.

You are never alone on a course. Even if you look round and do not see another soul, you are never alone. You have so many people along with you. We are there for you. We are your biggest fans and we cannot wait to see your finishing medal around your neck.

Thank you my friends for racing. You continue to inspire me to be a better person and you always remind me that I am never alone.

Earn it. Kill it. Have fun with it. Tell us all about it,we cannot wait.

Thank you for keep reading. I cannot wait to be inspired by you all!

 

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Playing in the Mud – DFQ

This is from two years ago today, on the 20th Anniversary of My open-heart surgery.

Sometimes you don’t need a large lead-in to a memory.  This needs none.  All the emotions I felt two years ago I still feel today.

February 8, 1995, a 24 year-old kid closed his eyes not knowing if they would ever open again.  Twenty-two years later, I have life’s eyes wide open.

Don’t Ever Quit

===============================
For those that have been following my installments know that today is the 20th anniversary of my open heart surgery and was always a target date in my mind.

Originally, I was told that the pulmonary valve that was installed in my heart would last twenty years. I was also told many things that I should be watching out for and paying attention to.

Well, 2015 is here and there are no issue. Yes, everyone is happy about that.

Twenty years ago, life changed on February 8th. It was the worst day of my life and also the best day. You see when you are dealt a garbage hand, you can do one of two things…quit or fight and go forward. I chose the second. It may have taken me some time to realize that I chose the second, but I did (I actually know the date I chose to fight…it was February 14, 1994). I chose to look my issue dead in the eyes and say that YOU WILL NOT BEAT ME. Those that knew me then know of the change that I had when I no longer quit on life. However, this is not about me. It is about all of you, the people reading this.

We are all at times dealt garbage. We have medical issues, family problems, alcohol problems, obstacles that we cannot overcome, injuries and the list can go on and on. How are you going to face it? Will you curl up in the fetal position and give up or will you look to your family, friends and internally and say, “This will not beat me” and when you do that, you define yourself.

You can look in the mirror and be proud of who you are and what you have and will accomplish. You can walk with your head held high and say that you believe that you will prevail over anything and there is nothing that you cannot overcome. When you believe it, there is nothing that can stop you.

I remember a phone call I received from a family member the day before my surgery. She was telling me that everything will be okay and I will beat it. I told her that I know I will. She asked me how I know and I told her that I know because I believe it.

The battle was not easy. The fight was the most difficult three months I ever had, but as I have told many of you over the past two decades, if I can get through that I can get through anything. I believe that all of you facing whatever you face can get through it and if you ever need a word of encouragement…find me and ask me. I will remind you how amazing you are and that you cannot be stopped.

Over the past two years, I have gotten involved in obstacle course racing and its environment. Each race to me is a battle and a battle that I always plan on overcoming no matter what. It was the same with my surgery. It will never matter how long a race will take me, I will finish. It has taken me twenty years to get to today and I plan on going many, many more. DFQ is a phrase from racing, meaning Don’t F*cking Quit. That is not about racing, it is about life.

Never quit life. Never quit on yourself. This isn’t about everyone else in your world, this is about you. Never, ever quit on yourself, your heart and your soul. If I had quit, I never would have met so many of you. I never would have seen so many of you get married and have families. I never would shared billions of laughs with you. I never would have crossed many finish lines and in particular, earned my first (of hopefully many) Spartan Trifectas and I never would have discovered the person that is standing in my kitchen, with a tear in my eye opening up to you encouraging you to never quit.

If I had quit all those years ago, I never would have lived and loved, found and lost many things in my life. I never would have found the Feline Four. I never would have tripped across this secret weapon in my life who is sitting upstairs watching the Grammys who somehow or another loves me for who I am with all my faults and loves even though I am impossible to live with and am the biggest pain in the ass. If I gave up and quit, I never would have be given the two angels sleeping upstairs that smile at me every day and give me unconditional love.

If I quit, I wouldn’t be here. DFQ.

840 million beats later, I still have so many more stories to tell.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Playing in the Mud – Taking Control

When I am out on an obstacle course, I always feel in control. I attempt the obstacles my way. I choose the speed that I run and when I run. I decide if and when I am going to help other people. My race. My decisions. My control.

We have all seen those people during a race (typically guys) who seem out of control. They are running downhill and seem to be going too fast or when they get to obstacles they seem to have no regard. I am not talking about the person who passes you and you say, “Wow, look at that guy” in amazement. I am talking about the guy who passes you and you say “Wow, look at that guy” waiting for the train wreck. It is all about control.

What about in life? What about controlling life? I was recently talking to a friend and I wished the friend luck in a job interview. There were some back and forth and I finally said, “Just crush it like you do on the course”. The friend’s response was “You are right. I have to start taking control of my life”. How do you do that?   The answer is simple, you have to want to take control. Whether you ever actually get control or not can only start with the desire to control it.

There are many phrases that people will say to you. Take care of Number 1. Worry about yourself first. These phrases are all meant to have you focus on yourself first and put everything else behind you so that you can be the person in charge. However, I think these are wrong. When you want to take control, you can’t push yourself to the front and leave everything behind. You cannot ignore the rest of your life. You cannot ignore the parts of your life you are trying to control. No burying your head in the sand and hoping everything disappears. It is all about control.

We all are pulled in different ways. Family, spouses, kids, work, training, bills, house, apartment, car and so many other things are part of our life. These are also stressors and when we try to control our life, we are trying to minimize the stress we feel and trying to figure out how to get all these things in order.

First thing to realize is that stress comes from within. You and only you can decide how much stress that you feel and most of it is subconscious. Ever feel guilty? That comes from within. Ever feel like you are letting someone down? That comes from within. Ever feel like you best is not good enough? That also comes from within. There is nothing that anyone in the world can say or do to actually make you feel stress, it is one of those things that we do ourselves. So how does it stop? It is all about control.

I have said this before. I have a favorite saying. “You cannot run through a brick wall. But, if you take the wall apart one brick at a time you will be able to walk right past it.” If every stressor/problem/issue to control in your life is a brick, together they make a brick wall. If you try to attack all your problems at once, it is like running into a brick wall. It cannot be done successfully. You will only end up regretting it. However, if you attack one problem at a time and remove that brick, eventually there will no longer be a brick wall in front of you. It will be just a pile of bricks. You cannot solve all your issues and remove all your stressors at once. It takes time. You can control how you use your time and how you overcome stress. It is all about control.

Control your problems and control your stress. I know it isn’t easy. I know it seems impossible. One breath at a time, one step at a time and one problem at a time. Make a mental list of everything that you want to overcome and take them on one at a time. Take the easiest one first and remove that brick. Every brick removed will make you feel better and better. Repeat. Repeat and repeat. Soon you will see that your brick wall is just a pile that you can walk past. You have climbed walls. You have overcome all types of obstacles on a course and most of us have jumped fire. Imagine how easy it will be to walk through bricks.

Back to control. This is all in your hands and this is all up to you. Will you will allow these stressors to control you, or will you attack them head on and over come. When you are on a course, will you attack the obstacles or will you shy away. The choice is yours, but really…is it even a choice?

I never asked my friend how that interview went, but last time we talked my friend was happy, optimistic and excited. This friend will also be racing again real soon which we all know is the elixir to any stress or problem.   I know just from my friend’s tone of voice that things are getting under control.

Your problems are only as big as you allow them to be. Take control, over come them and be your own elixir. That will be the greatest obstacle course will ever conquer.

Until next time, be epic and keep playing in the mud!

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Playing in the Mud – Monday Memory – Make a Promise to Yourself…Live

The more things change, the more they stay the same. In this week Monday Memory, I look back at a post from August 20, 2016. It was about a month before the Killington Beast and I was at a crossroads in life. I needed to remember who I was and why I do what I do. I had many things happening in my life and I forgot to take care of me.

Funny thing is, like a circle, I am back right at the same point where I was when I wrote this. I remember where I was and how I felt. Re-reading this I can feel my emotions coming back and I actually had to stop a few times while reading the past article.

What I do, obstacle course racing is so important to my mind. It pushes me and after you read this memory, you will see why I will always continue to push you.

With that is mind, I give you today’s Monday Memory…Make a Promise to Yourself…Live.

Until the next time, be epic and Keep Playing in the Mud

August 20, 2016 – Make a Promise to Yourself, Live

Happy Weekend to everyone. Sorry, this may be long.

Believe it or not, most times I sit down to write I do not have an idea where I am going until I start typing and things just seem to flow. However, today is not one of those days. I knew all day what I wanted to tell you all about tonight and I hope…it sticks in your mind as some of it has stuck in mine.

Before that, whoever is heading to Runzilla tomorrow or hitting the course somewhere else, have a great time, be safe and crush it. You guys continue to inspire me and push me to be better, try harder and be on a path to success in anything I attempt. When I was younger, I didn’t always and I am lucky I changed.

People ask me all the time why I do obstacle course racing and why I subject myself to the walls, barbed wire, mud, mountains and all the other obstacles that we attack. I never really had a public answer except for that it is fun, it keeps me active and pushes me to do thing and overcome things I never thought I’d be able to do. When I was younger, I never thought I would be doing things like this. Before I go to the past, let me stay in the present.

Over the past few weeks, I have referred to some things going on in my personal life. Basically, my dad is ill. For a while, we didn’t know if there was a tomorrow. I am comfortable talking about this because there is only one person who I know in this groups and that person already found out by walking in on a conversation I was having with my mom. He has heart issues, circulation and breathing issues. He also has an infection and to try to get him back to health they started him on dialysis. Over the past three days, there has been a really good improvement and the corner has been turned. The thoughts of figuring out a eulogy has changed to getting him his own iPad to keep him busy while in the hospital and rehab over the next few weeks.

This is a guy who worked for so many years, countless hours so my family’s life can be as good as it can be. I will always be forever grateful. But in that time, he also neglected his health, his diabetes and basically taking care of himself. He went from a man who at 69 years old STILL played softball with me every weekend to a man that needs help standing up. This makes me angry. It makes me angry because it was selfish of him to not take care of himself and to ignore obvious signs. But, it also inspires me. It inspires me to take care of myself. It inspires me to make sure I go to the doctor’s when I am supposed to and it inspires me to workout, exercise, eat well and be as good of a person as I can be. Every year, our cardiologist (yes, we share one) gives me certain tests to see if I am starting to exhibit any of the symptoms my dad had. I tell him that I don’t have the symptoms and I never will. While I have no idea because you cannot predict your body’s future, I am doing everything in my power to be sure that I take care of this body I live in. I realize that there is only one me and I have to do everything I can to make sure that I am as good as can be for my family, my kids, my friends and for me.

For a while, I was not training or exercising. I spent too much time with my dad or working on my app. But last week, I realized that to be the man I want to be, I had to get back up off my ass and get back into the world. I am not training for CMC or the Beast. I am training for me. I am training for my future and I am training for my life.

Your life will give you every opportunity to succeed. Your life will allow you to overcome anything that you put your mind to. Your life will let you take control. Your life will show you signs along the path and show you where to go. It is up to you to take it. My fraternity had a saying, “You can take the path or look for the ride”. Stop taking the ride. Take the path. Take your life back and succeed.

Now, going back to the past. In 1995, I had heart surgery. I was 24. I had to realize I had an issue drinking. I ate anything and everything and before my surgery I was 300 pounds. I had to lose about 50 before the surgery and I did. Here I am a 24-year-old kid in a hospital room with this old guy who I had never met.

That old guy, I think about every day of my life. His name was Victor Sintiago. I was recovering from my surgery and out of nowhere he said to me, “Kid, I gotta tell you something. I have been watching you all day, people coming in and out to see you and that’s great. Don’t forget it. Here I am, about to have a quadruple bypass and I am alone. No one is here.” I asked him why.

“I have had a good life. I am a jazz musician. I have lived my entire life in bars and clubs. I’ve been eating, drinking and womanizing my entire life and except for my time down in the Big Easy, I never really had somewhere that I called home until now because I’m sick.”

He said all that to me and I remember it like it was this afternoon in my dad’s hospital room.

“Son, live your life. Don’t let things get so out of control that you forget to live. Friends, family, love…(he paused) that is what is important. Take all that with you so that you never, ever have to end up like me…in a hospital bed, dying, all alone”. He asked me to promise him that I would follow his words and I promised. We said our goodbyes that night as we fell asleep as he was scheduled first in the morning. I was awake when he left and he never came back. I never knew what happened to Victor Sintiago…but he made a lifetime of an impression on me in five minutes.

I have never written that down and I have rarely shared that with anyone. I remember his words clearly and while I realized long ago how important they were, sometimes I forget how powerful they are.

I train and I race because I can. I go into my garage at 30 degrees or 90 degrees because I made promise to a guy on a hospital bed in 1995 and continue that promise to my wife, my kids and myself today.

While I love the medals and I love the shirts. I love the good times that I have and I love all of the battle buddies I have ever shared a race with or my Spahten friends I have seen before, during or after a race…I love crossing that finish line. It is not just a race that I am finishing. It is a life I am winning. It is a promise that I am keeping. It is proving to myself that while life may be fragile, the human spirit is not and I can overcome anything.

Make that promise to yourself. Take the words of a dying man and really take to heart what they mean. Those words have shaped the person you all know.

Now…you know why this is so important to me, now you know why I race and now you know why I will continue to push all of you every day I can.

Killington is soon. Let’s live that mountain.