1800 hrs, 20 April 2012 Haspin Acres. Laurel Indiana. HH-011
Dispatches from the Storm Front.
Chasing a Storm can be a lot like chasing your tail. Organizing runners is akin to herding cat’s. Organizing Hurricane Heat Runners is like trying to herd cat’s while they are simultaneously trying to chase their tails, the wind, and each other. Andy Weinberg, Joe DeSena and Tommy Mac definitely know this, and boy do they love the chaos.
HH-011 fit right in with the Founders race as a whole. It was chaotic, dirty, wet and brutal. The Chaos started right in the beginning and lasted right to the end. Truth be told I have revised this blog many times. At each revision it morphed into personal observations and internal issues. That isn’t fair to those who participated in the HH or those who oversaw it. I believe it was a success. It was “fun” and as alway each person should have taken away something that will make them stay positive for a long time.
For me I tend to believe in the “Warrior Ethos” which is the benchmark of the HH.
“I will always put the Mission first.”
“I will never admit defeat.”
“I will never quit.”
“I will never leave a fallen comrade”
These aren’t just words. You don’t just say them. You either believe them and act accordingly or you don’t say them at all. In the small realm of the HH the “Mission” isn’t always apparent however there is always a primary directive in every HH which is also part of the ethos: Finish the HH, never accept defeat, never quit. Which brings us to the last part. “Never leave a fallen comrade.” This is where my blog has digressed numerous times. It comes down to this. A team is only as strong as its weakest link. Or in these cases its slowest member. Your job, as a team, is to encourage that person. I’m not going to go into my tangent rant again. Just do it, stay together as a team.
It was a little difficult in this HH to keep the teams separated. I’m not sure why but we seemed to be one massive swarm for the majority of the HH. That was actually ok although personally I am more of a small group person. It is easier for accountability, safety, and enjoyment. Oddly enough those are my primary goals when I do anything. Life is to short to get hurt while not having fun.
Going into details about what actually occurred during the HH isn’t really relevant. HH’ters got wet, got dirty, climbed ropes, sat in nasty disgusting water. And of course carried heavy objects and pushed the hell out of some ground. If you are reading this and want insight into what to expect from an HH I will tell you this. Show up on time, with a smile. Remember you chose to do this. Be positive; always. Leave your baggage at the door. Be a team player, sacrifice for your team. Chaos is an exponential factor: Like a fire, chaos builds with the more air you give it so shut your mouth and open your ears. Have fun. If you can’t have fun by laughing at the ridiculousness of the whole thing, this really isn’t for you. There are 3 types of fun. There’s the type of fun you have while doing something and its fun to talk about after. There’s fun that isn’t so much fun while your doing it but lots of fun talking about after. Then there is the last type of fun. Its not fun while your doing it and its not fun to talk about it after. Keep your head in the game long enough to have the first 2 types of fun. If your slipping into the third type. Stop, take a breath, reassess the situation. You might have missed something.
