For the 2019 Death Race, we’re going to be represented by four different athletes! Our first featured athlete just recently completed her T3 and will also be the first to be under the spotlight! Welcome, Dawn!

Have you done an event of similar length and difficulty? It’s hard to say as this is my first Death Race and we don’t really know how long it’s going to last. I’ve done the Spartan Agoge, which is a qualifying event for the Death Race and took place in the same area. Based on reading about previous events, and not knowing exactly what will happen at this one, this will likely be the most difficult.

What do you think your strength is for this event? Your weakness? I think my strengths are that I’m willing to put up with a lot of crap, I love being outside, and I’m great with 80’s song lyrics. My weakness is absolutely going to be the weather and getting wet and cold in the mountains.

What brought you to this event? I’m always looking for the next thing, what’s more difficult, more miles, more weight? I want to see how far I can push my body and mind.

Who is your teammate: My teammate is Katherine Danko. We’ve never met in person, but we are FB friends and she’s such a strong person that I thought she’d be an amazing teammate.

Do you and your teammate have any unique strategies? Nope, just don’t quit and don’t get cut.

What has been your most difficult event leading up to this? I did the GORUCK Extortion 17 HTL last year. It was by far the most difficult event I’ve done. It’s a 24 hour event (Heavy), followed by a 12 hour event (Tough), followed by a 5 hour event (Light). We spent almost the entirety of the HTL doing PT and rucking in the sand at Jacksonville Beach, usually carrying a Zodiac and various slosh pipes. You have a few hours of break between each event, which makes it more difficult to go back and start again.

What is your ‘why’ for the Death Race? Well, I’m not getting any younger…j/k, I like doing things outside of my comfort zone. It’s fine to do stuff that you are good at, but you really find out who you are when faced with difficult tasks.

Do you have any other big events happening after the Death Race? I’m currently registered to run the Chicago Marathon in October and to ruck the GORUCK Jacksonville Star Course 50 miler in November. I’m looking at TPK Endurance 3 in Arizona in January 2020 and GORUCK Team Assessment in June 2020. I hope to do a couple Ironman 140.6 events in 2020 as well.