If you’ve been following my activities, you know that originally my plan for this year was a 3X Trifecta. However, when one of my friends invited me to come do a double Spartan Super weekend in Massachusetts, I couldn’t turn it down. 

Took about 6 and a half hours to get up to Mass Friday night. CT drivers are terrible and it was bumper to bumper for most of it.  We had heard the warnings of rain and lightning for the weekend, but didn’t think too much of it because it was nice out on Friday. 

Well Saturday at 6am Mother Nature rudely awakened us. It was pouring out. Like buckets. We got our gear on, had breakfast, then headed to the race site. Instead of the usual snow resort, this race was being held on a farm. We had heard there was no parking onsite, so when we got to the race location we noticed neighbors were basically selling parking spots. Found a place a little walk from the race site for only $5. Parked and headed to registration. 

Again, it’s still raining. Since it was in a farm, the “mud” was quite plentiful! Our start time was at 9am and waiting in the corral we were all cold and soaked and ready to start moving. The announcer got us fired up and we all took off. 

Now running through this slop was quite the adventure. We started the race off soaked and probably about half a mile in we were all also covered in a good amount of mud. I knew the conditions were going to play a huge factor in getting through the race and the obstacles. 

I’m not going to go over every obstacle since this was a double race weekend. Just going to talk about the highs and lows of the race for me. 

After doing a couple walls and the In and Outs, I arrived at the first real obstacle: rope climb. I was really worried because as I grabbed the rope, the water was pouring off of it. But using my FitFour gloves I was able to get a good solid grip up the rope. I didn’t climb as fast as I usually do because I wanted to make sure my grip held, but I was able to ring the bell. 

Herc Hoist followed. Grip was an issue. But the rain soaked sandbags was a bigger issue. The rain made the bags significantly heavier and I really struggled to get the bag to the top. My arms were burning but I pushed through it and brought the bag to the top. Almost dropped the bag on the way down, the rope slipped through my fingers, but I was able to recover. Would’ve been an awful fail if I would have had to do 30 burpees after all that work. 

Sandbag carry. Not a long one but quite tough with all the mud. I was doing a fair amount of slipping around. But it was only one sandbag so the weight wasn’t much of an issue. Didn’t have to put it down.

After running through the woods, Olympus was next. Of course it was drenched and also had a good amount of mud on it from previous racers. I wiped off my hands on the side and banged my shoes to get as much of the mud off. I knew I had to move quickly and I did. Leading with my right hand I went down the wall, feet up. Legs slipped in the middle but I was able to recover and ring the bell. Looked to my left and saw the burpee area was quite filled so it felt good conquering that obstacle. 

It was short lived. Twister was next. And it was a slippery mess. I have a fairly high rate of success with Twister but not today. Didn’t even make it to the first transition, I slipped off like the 3rd ring. Very disappointing. So I went over and did my 30 muddy burpees. 

Ran through the woods some more to the Spear Throw. I’ve been using a new throwing technique that uses my hips more, and I’ve had a lot of success. Haven’t missed since the Blue Mountain Super. Saturday was the same. Nailed the spear and moved on. 

Z Walls were next. Like every obstacle, they were drenched. With most grip obstacles, I lead with my right “strong” arm. Did the same with the Z wall. Hugged the wall as tight as I could and took my time. Wasn’t going to rush. Go to the bell and continued on. 

Rolling mud hills were pretty sloppy but by this point I was covered in mud so it didn’t matter. Dunk wall was quite deep, probably because of all the rain. 

Barbed wire was long and sloppy. Lots of rocks too, just waiting to bang your knee. Fun times! The wire was higher than normal so it was easier to get through. 

Bender followed and was VERY slippery. I can usually just climb up to the top using my arms. But today I had to plant my feet in between the bars while going up, because it felt like I was going to fall as I ascended. Took a little longer than normal, but I got up and over. 

8 foot wall was at the top of a hill. My standard technique is to run up to it, then jump straight up from the base and hook my fingers around the top. But the base was so muddy I couldn’t get much height with my jumps. After 4 failed attempts I really thought I was about to have to burpee penalty this wall. I saw several other “competitive” men getting help from each other and using the red women’s block. I wasn’t going to do that. I finally found a decent section that didn’t have a lot of mud. Was able to jump up and get my hands around the top. Pulled myself up and over. 

Bucket Brigade came up next. My least favorite obstacle. Decent amount of length with the carry. Again the mud was a big issue. Was slower going because it was hard to keep your footing. Had to put the bucket down many times. 

Atlas Carry was quite difficult with a wet Atlas ball. Took several tries to get it to my chest and pick it up. Also the plate drag that followed was in a swamp of mud. Ropes were covered so it was hard to grip and pull. Plus dragging the plate I was slipping on all the mud, so it took much longer. Actually had to drop it a time or two because my feet were slipping out from under me. 

Ran through some rows of corn then came up to the Multi rig. It consisted of about 5 rings, a long skinny bar, then 3 more rings. Wiped off my gloves on the side of a flag and started swinging. Could feel my grip was tenuous, but I was able to squeeze tighter and swing to the bar. Instead of swinging on the bar, I just kind of shimmied down it. Stopped for a second at the end then reached for the ring. Had good grip on them, so I was able to get through no issue to the bell. Gave the volunteer a high 5 and continued. 

Went through a stair climb, inverted wall, and 2 cargo nets. Last obstacle was the monkey bars, one of my favorite. But just like Twister it was super slick. Despite me taking my time to secure my hands I slipped off about halfway through. Failing an obstacle right before the fire jump is heartbreaking!! But it is what it is. Did my burpees and crossed the finish. Took 2 hours 16 minutes. Also this completed my 3X Trifecta!! 

Was pretty satisfied that even despite the torrential downpour I was able to get through the race with a good time, and minimal obstacle failures. Since it was still raining after the race, it made changing a joke. Men’s changing room was a swamp of muddy water. Because of this we left the race soon after finishing, wasn’t much fun hanging out in the rain. However we did have some of the homemade farm ice cream and it was amazing!! 

Sunday couldn’t have been more opposite. Clear skies. No clouds at all. Wasn’t very warm though, only about 50 degrees. However, it didn’t mean that Sunday’s race was easy. All the mud from the day before had dried and was now thick and sloppy. Picking up your feet was difficult and running through it was tough, often felt like I was exerting more energy trying to run and not moving much faster. 

Rope climb was still difficult. My hand started to loose their grip halfway up, but I was able to lock my feet, and use them to step up the rope. Herc Hoist was also a lot tougher. Think the rain had soaked in and added some extra weight. Had to really struggle with lifting that sandbag to the top. Saw much bigger men fail it because they didn’t secure their legs.

8 foot wall was again an issue. Took several tries to be able to get enough of a vertical leap to get high enough to pull myself over. I’m going to have to work on my box jumps and vertical leap. Atlas carry was a STRUGGLE. The ball was covered in mud and the ground was so slippery, several times when I tried to lift it, my feet slipped from under me. Plate drag was a nightmare. Mud soaked ropes and slippery plate tracks made an obstacle that is normally barely of a though, much more of a problem. 

But because there was no rain, it made the grip obstacles much easier. Flew through Olympus and Twister with no issues. Multi rig was again no problem. And I conquered the monkey bars with ease. Also my new technique with the spear throw is now 4/4 as I again nailed the target. 

So Sunday was my 1st Perfect race! 0 obstacle failures! Had come close at some Sprints, but to complete this at a Super felt amazing!! Big AROO to my boy Juan @zlos13 on IG who ran with me the whole race Sunday. His energy and motivation helped get me through several obstacles. 

I really appreciate all the kinda words and support everyone gives me on these posts. Feel free to comment, ask questions, or make any suggestions!! AROO!! 🤡👍🏽👍🏽