Warrior Dash World Championship 2014- Train Until Your Idols Become Your Rivals

Last year I set my sights on attending the Warrior Dash World Championship in California. To get to that goal, I set a number of smaller goals which I had to complete before I could allow myself to achieve my primary goal. First, I had to qualify at a local Warrior Dash by placing top 25.
February 1, 2014 was the Florida qualifier. I was injured, and hadn’t been able torun in months after a bad OCR injury which left me sidelined from November to February. While I thought I could still go out and finish top 25, that wasn’t good enough. I had to be top 3. I had challenged myself to exceed those expectations if I wanted to compete in California. Top 3 finishers received a free entry to the world championship. I sat out the Florida race and worked toward recovery.
July 26, I finally had the opportunity to compete at Warrior Dash for a chance at a top 3 spot. I rationalized that I was only good enough to be at the World Championship if I was among the best in the state- any state. I traveled to Michigan, my home state, to access my value as a competitor. I finished second, after being the leading woman for most of the race. I went off course with a group of guys, and by the time we made our way back, one girl had managed to work her way in front of me. I captured my top 3 finish, one of my biggest accomplishments. Not because it was a tough course, or because of the level of competition, but because at that moment, I knew I was going to California to compete with the best of the best.
I put in countless hours of hard work. I upped my running, knowing that at a Warrior Dash that speed and endurance were more valuable than strength and upper body. I psyched myself up, I wore myself down, and I nearly burned myself out. There were moments of pride, frustration, victory, defeat, but the only constant was my dedication. The most important thing for me was finding out how close I was to being among the ranks of women I have seen only in magazines and on TV. One of my favorite quotes is “Train until your idols become your rivals”, so that is what I set out to do.
The road to the Warrior Dash World Championship was long and covered in dust, and maybe hay, I am not sure what exactly that was. The course area sat within the valley of mountains. The scene I walked into was unlike anything I had ever seen or experienced. The air was so dry, the colors muted, and the competitors silent as we waited for the course instructions for the preview the night before the big race. As we were dismissed to explore the course, it became known to me that I was about to compete in one of the hardest races of my life.
  The morning of the race was cold and dark. We are bussed in from the parking area. Expectations are high and emotions held in check as we are dropped off at the location that will determine what we are made of as obstacle course racers. Shortly after daybreak the gun sounds for the men’s competitive race. In that moment my heart drops, and I know the next time I hear it will be for me. The women are corralled to the starting area. I look around and see only the fittest of women. Bodies I looked at and felt almost inadequate to be shirtless next to. There were familiar faces among them. Two women I recognize instantly, Rose Wetzel and Cassidy Watton as being top competitors. Two women from South Florida I had the pleasure of taking this journey with, Paola Reategui and Guadalupe Merlos. The magnitude of this race starts to sink in as the national anthem is played. The last words I hear is “on your marks”—and the gunshot sounds.
The first mile of the race was uphill. Just as you think you are completing the ascent, the course turned slightly and there is yet a longer treacherous climb ahead. I have never seen elite athletes walk especially in the first mile of a race, until now. There is a burning in my legs I can hardly describe, and beyond any kind of race discomfort I have ever encountered. After two quick back to back smaller plummets, the beast nestled within the course reveals itself. This mountain is twice as steep as the first, forcing athletes to use both hands and feet to navigate the rugged, torturous terrain. Each time I looked up thinking I had to be almost to the top, it appeared as though I hadn’t moved a bit.
When we hit the backside of that mountain I was ready to let it rip. I sailed down the mountainside without any control, waiting for gravity and inertia to face plant me into the barbed wire below. Would that have been painful, sure, but nothing in comparison to the hell the course had already put me through. Luckily, I slowed just in time to crawl through the first man made obstacle. Approaching the two mile there were more hills, and more obstacles. I don’t know if I have ever been happier to see an obstacle in my life, if only to give me temporary relief from the landscape.
The last mile was smooth in comparison to the rest but it was obstacle heavy not allowing much room to develop a steady pace. There was no pacing at any point in the race between the uphill crawls and the downhill sprints. I didn’t know where I was in the pack, my best guess was somewhere between 10 and 20, I was gaining places rapidly on the flatter ground. At the two mile mark I see Hunter McIntyre, arguably the best obstacle course racers in the world. He is running alongside me and sending words of encouragement and support to his girlfriend, Cassidy. That was the motivation I needed to dig deep. I never look back in a race, ever, but thanks to him, I knew who was behind me,I knew she was close,and I wasn't going to let her pass by me.
Just before the finish line there was a mud pit with the thickest mud I have ever been in. Each movement plunged me in a little deeper and weighed me down a little more. As I crawled my way out of the pit, I felt that my body was twice as heavy as when I started. The added weight of the mud combined with the muscle fatigue was a brutal combination, but I did it. I crossed the finish line knowing I left it all out there on the course. I had no idea where I finished, and at that point it didn’t really matter.

I received a Facebook message congratulating me on my 13th place finish. Yes, I found out on social media of all places even though I was there at the event in person. There is the proof of how quickly news travels. I would have loved to finish within the Top ten, like the ladies I spent the weekend with, Paola Reategui (10th) and Guadalupe Merlos (4th). They have motivated me to work harder, and next year, I will set higher goals and achieve more.
This journey would not have happened if not for the people in my life who got me to this moment. My family, my friends, teammates, and competitors, thank you for everything you have done for me. There were people who built me up and people who knocked me down. I needed both and I received it, and for that I am eternally thankful. Thank you to my gyms, Orangetheory Fitness (Clearwater and Westchase), Renaissance Park Health and Fitness center, and BeachBody programs like Insanity the Asylum- for preparing me for this event. This marks a high point in my life, and I couldn’t have done it without all of YOU.