Last time I went to Florida for an obstacle race was in 2012. I took away more than a medal from a now defunct race series that weekend. A month later, while in Colorado, for a wedding I would end up spending a night in a hospital, being poked, tested and tested some more until we learned of an intestinal parasite that had been quietly living in me for a month. Lovely!

That was when I decided Florida was a place I would avoid like the plague when it came to racing in the future, which I have, until this coming weekend. In truth my trips to Florida have always included lots of sunscreen, heat rash, and normally feeling overheated most of the trip. Blame it on growing up in the northeastern US and being super pale skinned. But, after a few years in Utah, I am a bit more adjusted to sunny days and it’s time to give Florida another chance.

Florida is one of the hotbeds of our industry. Every major race series hits the state at least once or twice a season. Every weekend local fun mud runs or competitive obstacle races seem to be taking place. Missing out on Florida is missing out on a huge chunk of the industry. Recently, I was invited to come down and try out a Savage Race. It happened the best one for my schedule was in Florida.

For the past couple of weeks I have been thinking about that last trip to Florida. The trip was great, the people fun, it was only the after that left me in a not so pleasant place. More than the trip it made me think about the industry and the strides the races organizers and race companies have made since that summer of 2012. The industry as a whole has completely elevated, and many of the races that have been around since then have either grown, like Savage Race, or crumbled and disappeared from our landscape. The races out there today have to be better, because we all demand it.

So instead of dwelling on the past experiences in Florida, I am headed there on Thursday with a fresh set of eyes and open to all it has to offer. Excited to see what many have talked about for years in Savage Race.