It’s game time.
One more sleep until we bring the biggest and best team Spartan Race has ever had. One more sleep until several of us also take on Tough Mudder (same weekend, *really*). One more sleep until the Hurricane Heat.
There really isn’t a lot left to say or do. You’re ready for this. You’ve got this. You may be confident that you’re trained and primed and raring to go, you may be petrified that you haven’t done enough and you’ll struggle.
Doesn’t matter. You’ve still got this.
Now it’s time to make the choice, mentally. Do you want to go into this scared, and full of doubt? Or do you want to go into this pumped and ready to kill that course? You can make the choice about how you feel on that start line.
Trust your body. Trust that 98% of all Sprint distance starters finish. Trust that when you get told to do 30 burpees, you can, and you will. Trust that you will be surrounded by the best support system you could ever wish for. This community was *made* for this, and you are a part of that.
During our team heat, someone will be the first off that course, someone will be the last off that course. They get the same t shirt, they get the same medal – but I guarantee you that the person finishing last gets the bigger self confidence boost, and the bigger reward to their life, long term. It’s like a prize for being last, that no one told you to expect.
First or last, you will finish.
No more talk about how slow you are. No more talk about how big you are, or how scared you are, or how injured you are, or how unprepared you are. You will still step up to that line tomorrow, and you will run the same race as everyone else, and you will earn that damned medal, like everyone else. It will have even more meaning to you, because you earned it over 3 hours, instead of 1 – or you dragged your obese ass over an 8′ wall, instead of your 2% body fat ass … You will earn it all the more. Injury will slow you down, make you adapt and over come – but that finishers medal will be earned. The obstacles will be overcome.
As Spartan says … You will know at the finish line.
As Mens Warehouse says … I guarantee it.
Good luck DJ!!
Can't wait to see you out there!
D.J. And you'll be the BEST Sprint finisher on one leg that you possibly can be. Kill that hop. Own the hop.
Best quote: "I guarantee you that the person finishing last gets the bigger self confidence boost, and the bigger reward to their life, long term. It’s like a prize for being last, that no one told you to expect."
This is true… my first race event of any kind was a 10k in May, where I placed 400th out of 403, walking far more of the course than I ran. Until March I hadn't run any further since high school 35 years ago than J-walking across Fifth Avenue a couple of times. Just finishing was a huge shot of confidence that I could spend the next three months training really hard and be in enough shape to tackle the race tomorrow. Thanks for the pick-me-up of this article just as the pre-race worries are hitting their peak.
I'll be there cheering your guys on! I'm bringing the eye of the tiger for Lana but I'm willing to bring extra if you need it haha
you managed to put into words what I've been trying to convey to every person I'm running with this year (they are all running for the first time). thank you. thank you. thank you!
Very motivational. Thanks!
Ok, from now until tomorrow afternoon, my knee doesn't hurt when I run 😛 I'll hop the course if I have to, like it's my profession!
you managed to put into words what I've been trying to convey to every person I'm running with this year (they are all running for the first time). thank you. thank you. thank you!
U speak like Leonidas. I feel like screaming a battle cry!
Thanks Paul! I needed that. I got this. I will finish. Everything else is all relative.
Psyched. The next 24 hours will be awesome.