Spartan Sprint

Sunday was the much anticipated Spartan Race. Heck yes, it was.

Sandwiched between two beautiful days, Sunday rained cats and dogs (not literally) which didn't exactly add to the experience, but certainly made things interesting. Hardwood Hills is well known for it's "difficult terrain" (home to the Canadian national mountain bike competition) and provided quite the challenge in and of itself. While 5km doesn't seem like much of a hike anymore, add a continuous cycle of hills, 15 random obsticles, and torrential downpour and you have yourself a race.

In and amongst the running and competitor dodging we had:

Rope ladders
Camouflage nets
Sandbags
Various walls of different sizes and materials
Spear tosses
Weight pulls
Confined spaces
And mud. Lots and lots (and lots) of hip deep, thick, squishy mud.

I'm not selling this race very well, but seriously: it was so much fun! Everyone was so excited to be there, helping each other along the way and sharing in the explitives ("Holy f*ck, did I just lose my shoe?") Someone was kind enough to unhook my hair from the barbed wire I was army crawling under, and in return I flicked a beatle off the girl in the mud in front of me. Nice, huh?

By the time we were through (1:04 for me, 1:13 for Orange... girls rule... sorry, had to say it) I was head-to-toe muck. The shoes were a write off but a quick rinse under the fire hose and I was ready for my close up!

If you get a chance, totally sign up for one of these events. Or, as my grandmother said in her email:

"Rather you than me in your choice of 'recreation' yesterday. In the same class as banging your head against a wall. It’s so nice when you can stop."