Spartan Beast 21k & Rabbit/Filming Duty, Santa Margarita, California, March 12th & 13th, 2022
My first Spartan event, the Beast 21k race at Santa Margarita, California on March 12th, followed by rabbit/filming duty for the women’s elite 10k on March 13th, marked some big firsts for me:
my first obstacle-course race I’d trained for properly (I ran a Tough Mudder back in 2012, which was awesome, but I wasn’t anywhere close to the athlete I am now)
my first training block of interdisciplinary exercises, courtesy of my coach, and now-fellow Spartan, Kris Brown
my first time meeting Kris in person after working together for over 2 years, hard to think of a more fitting place and time to do so!
my first time being asked to serve rabbit/pacing/filming duty, a huge honor
my first paycheck for running for said privilege
my first back-to-back race day efforts
Plenty to work with, and all in the company of the amazing obstacle-course racing community, where I count many friends and teammates.
Getting a free entry into the open field was a generous move by Kris, and also hedged my bets as to what I could do at go-time.
Training consisted of OCR-specific workouts once a week and alternating days of maximum sets of three types of pull-ups (regular, chin-ups, and pegs via my beloved door-frame-hugging Iron Gym) and slow pull-ups, counting off 4 beats up, holding 4, then a slow release of 4, again hitting all three types.
Pull-ups have a reputation for being difficult because they are, a qualifier that is often attractive to me. I’ve done my best to get good at them, and putting even more emphasis on this exercise did great things for my grip strength, as well as my usual 3-4 days per week in the gym.
For gear I opted for my Chaski singlet by Rabbit, HOKA 3-inch shorts over running tights by REI (the elastic side pocket is perfect for gels), Drymax socks, Runderwear boxer briefs, and the HOKA Mafate Speed 3, a vicious product that has done great for me in competition and training every time: an outsole like a bed of nails, midsole cushioning that is equal parts supportive and propulsive, all in a package as light as I could ask for at this distance.
I’ve only had a Garmin Forerunner 235, and at 4 years old now it’s been through a lot, but sadly stopped working right at the start of the race. Garmin tech support has since helped me fix this issue, but I still found value in using the watch for timing when to take in nutrition.
I counted everything in my quiver as blessings. I needed all the support I could get since the event came at one of the most eventful times in my life: moving to a new apartment in Los Angeles on Tuesday March 8th, driving up to San Luis Obispo on Thursday March 10th for a pub run event the same night with HOKA, Running Warehouse, GU Energy Labs, and NATHAN Hydration, and race day on Saturday, March 12th.
A stacked deck for sure, but, of course, the friends, family, and teammates around me were critical points of positivity. They all backed me up well with the wide range of tasks and asks I had, I landed in my new place successfully, and packing consisted of throwing clothes and gear from boxes into travel bags.
The pub run was a huge success, and sharing it with teammates and friends I haven’t seen in too long made it a special night that put me in an ideal place mentally and physically.
I slept well, stayed productive in my duties into Friday, and had the added luxury of a 10:30 start time on game-day.
Normally I’m used to waking up at 3:00 a.m. to give myself the ease of plenty of lead time to put down a solid breakfast down, tend to biological needs, and get to the race without feeling rushed.
Feeling very well-rested, I made the beautiful drive out, gave myself plenty of time between arrival and go-time, and was soon staring down the start line.
My fellow runners and the MC put me in a great head space, and from the gun this sport is a blast.
It’s like being a video game character, or like interval training on trail spliced with boot camp.
There were plenty of surprises in the way of obstacles, and I loved coming into them sight unseen.
Kris sent me a ton of video tutorials to watch, which became an expanding rabbit hole I was happy to dive down.
But there were still a few that were new, which is its own sort of fun: stepping up and figuring out something difficult and thrilling, before sprinting off into the next barrier between you and the finish line.
Among the most useful guidance Kris gave me was:
The short vertical ropes on the multi-rig can be grabbed at the top where the carabiner connects to the rubber that holds the rope.
To grab the rope itself seems to require Honnold-level grip, and this tip got me through the obstacle with ease.
A slow obstacle always beats burpees.
Taking the time to catch my breath and consider the assignment is great guidance for any task, and it was certainly helpful during the race.
This was especially true with obstacles like the Twister, where grip and momentum are critical as the bars move under your weight.
This is a running event.
Even without the obstacles, the course profile was plenty challenging on its own. But being in a place where I feel like my running game is as sharp as it’s ever been definitely did the lion’s share of the work towards turning in the performance I did.
With all of that, I’m proud to have missed only two obstacles: the spear throw and the Hercules hoist.
The guidance I’d gotten was that the spear isn’t easy, and that practice would be helpful. I had every intention of getting to an OCR gym to throw at least one of these things before game day, but did not find time for it before stepping up to the moment of truth.
I remembered the major points, threw the rope over the fence to give plenty of range, then found the mid-way balance point of the handle and moved one hand’s-width back.
I reared back, breathed, and threw.
I hit the target, but the point didn’t stick.
To the burpees I went.
I took off again, got through the dips and climbs and more of these delicious obstacles, and wasn’t as concerned about the Hercules hoist as I should have been.
My focus on pull-ups helped plenty with everything else, but having this haymaker in the last 100 meters or so of the race was an inspired dose of checking what I had left in the tank.
I got that ungodly sack about mid-way up, held, and just didn’t have anything left to make it the rest of the way.
Participants get two tries, but I was resolved to just bang out the burpees and finish this monster. Major shoutout to volunteer and new power animal Hannah for an inspiring blend of humor and drill sergeant that pushed me through the last batch of suck wonderfully.
From there I took off for a pyramid made of ropes, scaled away, and sent the rest of what I had through the finish line.
I finished as strong as I could, and was elated to see my results soon after.
Second overall, and a win in my age bracket.
Even though I feel like I would’ve been pushed better among the elites, I’m proud of my performance, and am thoroughly hooked by the sport. I cannot wait to see what I can do next in this sport, and will share more on that soon.
But first, there was the matter of rabbit/filming duty the next day.
I’ve never stepped up to race-level efforts back-to-back like this, and was definitely a bit nervous about it. But my performances in new spaces have surprised me well so far.
Plus, I had huge advantages in the people I was working with, the Gator ATV that would be our co-pilot, as well as the fact that these top-tier athletes had obstacles in their way to slow down the pace and give me a breather.
Even so, I went to bed hobbling, then woke up slightly less sore to a morning in the low-30s. But everyone on staff provided a warm and helpful presence, and together we went over all the moving parts of production.
Steve Hammond, Head of the Spartan Pro Athlete Program, directed us to cover the story of the race as a whole, including as many athletes as possible while also keeping a digital eye on the leads.
Rabbiting involved holding a GoPro camera atop a gimbal while running alongside the lead women in the 10k. I’ve filmed a fair amount with my own GoPro on a chest strap, so the gimbal was new for me, but a fun and interesting new approach to take that worked out well.
Jack Bauer was an outstanding fellow-rabbit and partner for this mission, and he and I jumped on and off a Gator ATV piloted by the homie and first-class driver, Taylor.
The experience was one of the most adventurous ones I’ve had, ducking branches and diving down gullies and taking hills at a sprint on both feet and wheels, all while communicating with hand signals and voices to my partners, who amped up the fun factor through the roof.
The women we filmed turned in voracious performances across the board, and getting to ride alongside them was a privilege and a joy. I’m proud to say the final product is a diamond, and wish even more congratulations and high-5s to all the competitors we got to watch from such a unique and thrilling perspective.
Huge thanks and hugs to Kris, Steve, my fellow rabbits Jack, JP Donovan, our driver Taylor, and all the wonderful people on the Spartan media and logistics teams, as well as the heroes that are volunteers on course.
It was an honor to work with all of you, and I’m doubly-honored and excited to say I’ve been invited for rabbit duty at another Spartan event in the near future, which I’ll share more about soon.
I’m at my best when a lot is asked of me, and I’m grateful to keep giving more of myself to new challenges among some of the best people I know.
There’s much more to come, which is keeping me inspired and excited and thankful on all fronts. I hope the same feelings are finding everyone around me as well, be well and stay strong, everybody!
