Spartan Team Chicked

I’ve been slacking for a couple days in terms of writing but it’s not due to laziness, in fact this has been one of the most active weekends of my life. I am writing all the posts at the same time but breaking them up for continuity and ease of archiving. Here goes the epic adventure of Spartan Beast 2011…

Friday started off like most days of the week. I had slept on the couch at my sister and brother-in-laws the night before, I talked briefly with them in the morning, played with my niece and headed off to school. It was all pretty standard, except I was brimming with excitement for the Spartan Beast had finally arrived. I squirmed all of class just waiting until it was time to head home to Killington.

Today was going to be the first time I met most of the Spartan Chicked Team in person. I had been emailing, Skyping, Facebooking, and pretty much using all other forms of digital communication to chat with these women but never met them face to face. As Team Manager, self proclaimed but earned over the weekend, I had been organizing uniforms with them and information for the camera crew which would follow us around for the next couple of days.

Up for an Adventure!

I feel at this time I have to give a little background how we became the Spartan Chicked Team. Carrie Adams aka Shawty Spartan came up with the idea to promote women in the world of obstacle racing. Her dream was/is to have an army of women at the start of each race. She contacted myself along with past death racers and other women involved in the Spartan Race organization. Along the way we picked up another eight women, who were motivated by the moment Carrie started. When she emailed me and invited me on the team, I was honored. I just hoped I would be able to keep up with the high caliber of athletes I would be racing with. I wanted to represent the brand and the movement in the best light possible. Truthfully, I did not want to disappoint these women who I, myself, look up to. The original team is extremely diverse, we represented 10 states, two countries, our youngest member is 21 and oldest is 44. All of us had different goals and motivations going into the race. I can now safely say all are rad chicks after spending the weekend with them! I thank Carrie everyday for coming up with this idea and including me into this group of women.

Just waiting

Back to Friday, I arrived home with little time before the beginning of packet pick-up at Outback Pizza. I went over with Sherry, first thing I said when she came to my house, “You are real!” Yes, another friend whom I talk to daily but had never actually met. We headed over to pick-up it was part a regular walk over to Outback and part like walking into a college reunion, where you try to pick everyone out from old photos. I loved meeting all the people I engage with everyday. It’s like in many ways obstacle racing has an underground following of racers who travel across the different series and have formed our own sub-culture. Everyone has a different story as to how they got into the sport, and come from diverse backgrounds. Also this was a mini Death Race reunion as many of the racers came back for the Beast. I spent more time giving and getting hugs, even met a few of you who read the blog, which I am eternally grateful for your continued support.

So not happy!

My time at Outback was however, cut short when I got a text Carrie saying they had car troubles and were stranded off the Taconic in Clinton Corners, NY. Team Manager kicked in and at 6:10pm I was headed down to Clinton Corners, NY to pick up Carrie, Katy, and Maurya. Along the way changing some team interview times and coordinating some other last minute team business. Settled Lisa Madden into her room from a distance, who I must say is to use her word, lovely. Can’t wait to ski with her in the winter. I cannot fully tell of what they did for the hours at the Park and Ride as then the ladies might have to kill me but by the time I got there at 9:30pm they had enjoyed a dance party and procured beverages. It’s kind of like Vegas, “What happens at the park and ride stays at the park and ride.”

Hydrating before the race

I had probably one of the best car rides with them. We laughed and laughed and well laughed some more. Before this Katy, honestly, kind of intimidated me. She is a super hardcore crossfitter and ex-marine, however in the car I learned that Katy should be a comedian, she might be one of the funniest people I know. We enjoyed some sing-a-longs along the way as well. We finally arrived at Killington around 12:20am. Alpha Team Leader aka Spartan Chicked Team Manager aka ME delivered the packages to Vermont safely. I helped the ladies settle in then got a few hours of sleep before our team interviews with the camera crew at 7:00am.

To be continued….