Although it was a last minute thing, I was purposely quiet about my plans to venture into Spartan Territory this past weekend. The plan was to complete a volunteer assignment, on course, during the San Jose Spartan Super. By doing so, I would get to race for free at a future event. I had tentatively signed up to race the following morning in the Sprint but figured I would decide this after examining as many of the obstacles as I could.

I was there an hour and a half early so I had a bit of time to look around. By the time my shift rolled around, I was pretty set that I would NOT be racing for I couldn’t see myself doing anything that I’d seen. Even the run looked daunting.

I quickly made friends with a few other Spartan Volunteers and was encouraged to “just do it.” It wouldn’t be easy but I was told that I could get help along the way. And of course, there was the burpee option. By the end of my 9 hour shift, I had made plans to return the following morning. I walked out towards the field where I’d parked my car hours earlier to find I was in complete darkness. My headlamp was IN my car and my cell phone offered very little hope of a brighter situation. What’s more, there was no cell signal for miles and miles. Did I mention that the San Jose Spartan Race is in no way near San Jose?! [Read more…]