The red R in Japan
Last week we hopped across the Atlantic, now we hop over the Pacific to Japan, where regiment elite Daniel hiked atop Mt. Fuji!
Regiment elite tradition - showing off your R
It's been a long tradition among the team elites to bring your patch to some cool places. We've had Neil in Curacao, Kendall in Hawaii, Tim in Belize and much more. Today Regiment Elite John Lenkway (and attendant of the upcoming T3) snapped some awesome shots of his GORUCK and red R patch in Germany:
If you'd like to check out more of our team's adventures, check out our photos page!
A trail runner's guide to uphill running.
Consider this added to the ultrabeast article. Competitor once again delivers incredibly useful content on the different techniques and their pros/cons when it comes to running uphill. Give it a gander here.
Regiment Elite UltraBeast Athlete Highlight - Kendall Cooper
This week's athlete highlight covers Kendall Cooper, an amazing athlete who earned his red R last year and continues to strive to make improvements every day.
Hello! Tell us a little bit about yourself!
I’m Kendall Cooper. I discovered OCR/mud running in 2012 at Miami Spartan Super and have been an avid OCR athlete ever since. I’m a father of 3 daughters, an aspiring personal trainer, and a future American Ninja Warrior competitor.
What made you want to sign up for this event in the first place?
I followed the progress of several fellow OCR friends/athletes who attempted the course in 2014; a few completed it and many DNF. They inspired me to see if I could complete the course if I trained hard enough.
The stats for this event are grim. Only about 10% make it. What are you doing to ensure you fall in this rare percentile of finishers?
The combination of a clean diet, strenuous physical and mental endurance training, quality nutrient supplementation, and adequate rest/recovery time will see me through to the finish line. I train six days a week and concentrate on competing in the more demanding OCR/running events (rucks, longer OCR races, Regiment Elite/T3 events, etc.).
What is the biggest challenge you think you will face out on the course?
My biggest challenge will be pacing myself; going fast enough to finish but not so fast that I burn out/become too tired to keep going and DNF.
After this, what are your other goals?
I plan to repeat the UltraBeast in 2016 and earn a Spartan block; I will also train and try out for American Ninja Warrior.
The T3, so far
The T3 pre-game challenges and mind games are well under way. So far nine brave souls have registered for this event - mostly consisting of Regiment Elites. If you've just started following this event, here is a nice little summary of what they have been given so far:
Perks and dice
Challenge #1 - Jillian's Birthday Burpees
Challenge #2 - Beat the Heat
Challenge #3 - REGIMENT
If you think you have what it takes, it's not too late to register. Do not think that since challenges have begun that the ship has already sailed and you'd be seen as a slacker. In fact, the more people who join, the more points get added on to the team's points pool. Good luck.
Carey Degon - The Death Race
Regiment Elite Carey Degon and Heidi Williams took on the last Spartan Death Race, and came out as changed individuals. Carey posted a short but sweet AAR about her experience, and it is nothing short of trans formative and inspiring!
The Final Death Race was truly about life. I went into this race not really feeling it in my heart or body. That soon changed once the race began as I started hiking through Joe's Mountain with my fellow Death Racers around 0300 Friday morning. The usual tasks began and the sun started rising. I remembered all the reasons about pushing myself and enjoying the beauty of nature around me...one of my favorite reasons for doing these events. Hiked up to the start of Bloodroot where we had to sit in the cold water...something about that makes me smile and invigorates me. A beautiful display of selflessness unfolded on that bridge making me proud of my fellow racers.
Then the games began. Clothes outside of underwear were removed as well as socks and shoes. We were to spend the next 24 hours 'naked' and barefoot, tied together in groups of 10 hiking about 32 miles through some nasty trails, elevation, and gravel roads. Team Awesome C (aka team 3) provided entertainment along the way helping the time pass much quicker.
We arrived at Area 51 in the pre dawn morning where we had to enter the leech infested pond to retrieve our water soaked bags and our shoes! Log moving and stacking (i.e. morning chores) began where I had the opportunity to walk with a bunch of other racers and get to learn more about them (definitely some awesome people out there!). And then we got to go to school...
Yes, this was my favorite part of the race. Built in an elaborate triangle we went through grades 1-6, including gym class and summer school. The first length involved an exercise (forward rolls, backward rolls, crawls, bear crawls, and cartwheels!) where we had a quick full submersion in a dirty nasty pond puddle, the number of times based on what grade we were in. After that we crawled to class where we 'studied' for the final exam before we performed the same exercise as the first length back to the teacher to show what we had learned. Hearing the words 'Congratulations you have graduated' was awesome especially coming from a fantastic individual I've had the privilege of racing with.
And then the heavy hell and race began in what would become my unfolding. We got to work for Peak Races upon graduating doing manual labor carrying 30% of our body weight, in the form of a rock, in addition to our gear up and around the trail. This meant that my pack weighed upwards of 110lbs that I had to carry around the mountain through some tortuous mud and crazy inclines. I lost my rock in the mud, broke my trekking pole, found my rock and finally succumbed to hypothermia during this job (clearly I'm meant to be in management!). Only two laps completed as the storms and wind set in. I couldn't get my body temp up enough to be productive and finally found my breaking point.
I pushed myself to my limits, embraced them, shattered them, and then found new ones. Never have so many thoughts of quitting run through my mind during a race. Fantastic job by the RDs and staff for putting on a race that could put me through that hell and still be smiling most of the time.
I'm glad to have shared the course with some great people, glad I got to know some of them more than just a FB face and glad of the new people I got to meet. They truly are some unique and crazy awesome individuals.
Congrats to the finishers, the DNQs, and all the other who attempted this final race. An extra special thanks to the support crews for taking me in and warming me up before I finally went to medical. I'm glad I came and I left happy. Now if someone can teach this Floridian how to endure cold weather it would be appreciated :)
How to properly carb load before a race
Ah yes, the pre-race carb loading session. We've covered that in our Ultrabeast article, but not into the level of depth that some of you may be interested in looking at. Well, Lifehacker is at it again with an article about carb-loading and the times that your legitimately need to carb-load before an event. In the article you'll find out who actually needs to carb-load, how to properly do it, and how to listen to the signs that your body gives you. It's well worth your time if you frequently run in events that last longer than 90 minutes, so give it a read here.
Regiment Elite UltraBeast Athlete Highlight - Andrew Pragel
Another Friday, another highlight! This week we feature a Regiment Elite looking for redemption in this year's UltraBeast.
Hello! Tell us a little bit about yourself!
I grew up in Buffalo NY. I am 29 years old. I have lived in Orlando a little less than two years ago. I am an energy efficiency consultant and sell commercial LED lighting and controls. I have always been pretty active playing a variety of sports when I was younger including indoor and outdoor soccer and basketball and golf. I played golf in high school and rugby in college. I am a thrill seeker and love adventure. I have been skydiving, hang gliding and scuba diving and like to face new challenges. I did my first obstacle course race in 2007 the men's health urbanathalon in NYC and have been hooked on it ever since
What made you want to sign up for this event in the first place?
I struggled through my first spartan sprint in Charlotte NC which inspired me to do the trifecta. Once I did the trifecta I wanted to conquer the next challenges in spartan ladder including a 12 hr hurricane heat and the ultrabeast.
The stats for this event are grim. Only about 10% make it. What are you doing to ensure you fall in this rare percentile of finishers?
Every time I train I am trying to push myself to my limits both physically and mentally. I injured myself last year so I have been conscious of stretching and maintaining my flexibility and added in 2-3 days of yoga per week. Also training in high heat and rough conditions to prepare myself. Working my muscle endurance and grip strength and doing as many sets on the stair climber as possible.
What is the biggest challenge you think you will face out on the course?
The biggest challenge I think I will face is the mentality of trying to push myself but afraid of injury and repeating last years struggles. I tend to be too analytical with obstacles so I plan on attacking them head on. I think the biggest challenge will be mental in maintaining a good pace. Especially if I unexpectedly fail a few obstacles
After this, what are your other goals?
After this my goal is do all three levels of goruck challenge.
Regiment Elite UltraBeast Athlete Highlight - David Moore
This year, Team Regiment will be bringing a bunch of their team elites out to the Spartan Ultrabeast in both Killington and Tahoe. Every week we will be introducing these Regiment Elites to you one by one, and this week's elite will kick off with BattleFrog's own David Moore!
Hello! Tell us a little bit about yourself!
I’m David Moore and I’m the Creative Director at BattleFrog Series. I absolutely love OCR and running/endurance events in general. Since January of 2012, I’ve had the privilege to participate in 100 events across 18 states and three foreign countries (Bahamas, UK and Northern Ireland). I’ve run everything from 5K’s to a double marathon, local OCR’s all the way to World’s Toughest Mudder. My goal is to run a race in every state and continent at some point, including scratching off the Big 5 Marathon next year in South Africa!
What made you want to sign up for this event in the first place?
This year will actually be the fourth year I’ve participated in the Ultra Beast. I ran the first ever in Killington in 2012, having never run longer than a half marathon before, and DNF’ed. I went with a crew of friends and two were injured during the course of the first lap. Myself and a good friend, Michael Jacob, stuck with them until the first lap was over and we couldn’t make up the time in order to make the cutoffs on the second lap. In 2013 at the Vermont Ultra Beast, I beat the last cutoff by 30 minutes and lived on cloud nine for a year having overcome it and “redeemed” my DNF from a year earlier. At last year’s 2014 Ultra Beast in Vermont, I went in relatively confident but still nervous of the unknown. I was pacing really great, I think somewhere around the top 50, when I got to the sandbag carry. I was absolutely obliterated, as many others were, and took over an hour and a half to complete it. Needless to say, that practically killed the rest of my race and I missed the last cutoff by around 45 minutes if I recall. This year is all about “Redemption Round 2.” I’ll be running both the Tahoe and Vermont Ultra Beasts.
The stats for this event are grim. Only about 10% make it. What are you doing to ensure you fall in this rare percentile of finishers?
Perhaps one of the best ways I’ve been training this year is through the multiple BattleFrog Xtremes I’ve completed. BattleFrog Xtreme is a multi-lap race within BattleFrog where you attempt to complete as many laps of the 8K as you can within the allotted time. This year so far, I’ve completed four of them, averaging almost 26 miles per race. Before I get to either Killington or Tahoe, I will have run 6-7 Xtremes and had a lot of “simulated” practice. With each of those events having lasted 7+ hours with over 100 obstacles at each, I’ve been able to really test myself mentally and physically, along with continue to fine tune nutrition, techniques, etc. for such a long event. While I still need to work on some weaknesses, I feel more physically prepared than I did even in the year I finished.
What is the biggest challenge you think you will face out on the course?
Like most, I think the biggest challenge is dealing with fatigue, mentally and physically. In an event that long, you never know how your body is going to react or what can happen. One small misstep or lack of focus for a moment can be the difference between finishing and DNFing if you encounter an injury. That same fatigue/lack of focus can lead to failed obstacles which lead to burpees and you can’t afford to constantly make mistakes when seconds are so precious.
After this, what are your other goals?
1. Finish the year with 50 BattleFrog Xtreme stars.
2. Run 50+ miles at World’s Toughest Mudder (and be more prepared for a sandstorm this year instead of dropping from hypothermia).
Introducing the regiment store
Yay, stuff! Our team store has officially opened up for business. For now we've got flags and team stickers up for sale, with shirts and arm sleeves coming soon. If you'd like to show your support, head over to our store on the tabs above or by clicking here. Enjoy!