Spartan Race - Phoenix Stadium Recap
The Phoenix Spartan Stadium race was definitely one for the books. In 26 hours, we had traveled from Orange County, California to Phoenix Arizona, raced, and returned home safely much to the relief of our family members who thought we were all crazy. Despite arriving at the hotel around 1 am race day, hopes were high and the comaraderie and laughter from the drive the evening before set the tone for each wave of racers.
Georgis T., aka the Greek Stallion, kicked of the morning by galloping his way through the course and taking a solid first place in his age group. We are looking forward to seeing him crush more souls at the Anaheim Stadium race come the first week of August.
The husband and wife duo, Will and Carol, came to represent with Will completing his first Spartan Stadium race in preparation for Anaheim and Carol returning to Phoenix and taking 10th in her age division. Likewise the one, the only, the buff Johnson K. ran his first Stadium race giving him a good foundation for August.
The Professor (Tony M.) had a race free of penalties putting him in 5th which solidified Coach Nukes’ decision on making him a Hardkour Elite race team member. After 7 years in OCR and many repeated outstanding performances it is a well-deserved reward.
Every race needs a comeback; Michael C. is no exception. With Phoenix being his first race since recovering from a calf injury back in January, our fun sized “Full Size” (Michael C.) brought his “A” game to Phoenix snagging 5th in his age group.
Last to race was the coach himself. Justin N. completed a squeaky clean race placing him in 9th and, along with the other team members who placed top ten in their age group, qualified him for the Spartan West Virginia North American Championships.
All in all, it was a very worthwhile turn around trip. Five of our seven racers qualified for West Virginia’s Beast and we returned home free of injuries. The team continues with an intense training schedule as we are 3 weeks out from the Anaheim Stadium and 8 weeks out from West Virginia.
The HKP Team
#WEAREHARDKOUR
Photos by @annalieseallen_photos
