Spartan World Championships
It took several days to decompress from our trip to Tahoe for the 2019 Spartan World Championships. Don’t get me wrong, it was an amazing trip, probably my favorite to date with the Hardkour team, but I think it’s safe to say on behalf of the team, that it was the most challenging race many of us has ever done. We each crossed the finish line drained in every aspect, yet we returned home as stronger athletes and even closer teammates.
The road trip began with high spirits, snacks packed, and a departing time of 4am. Since we didn’t need to arrive at a specific time, the 9-hour drive took on a relaxed pace and was filled with frequent picturesque stops. Upon arriving in Tahoe, we were reminded that Orange County was a long way away due to the electric bear fence wrapping around the house that needed to be disarmed before entering. Pretty soon the HK racers had all arrived and the evening was spent in communing together.
Saturday morning found Coach Nukes at the race venue before dawn for an early send off of Papa Rod braving the notorious Ultra. A few hours later, Minh was sent off for the open wave of the Beast and around noon, Tony began the Spartan Trail 10k. Tony was the first of the three to finish and despite rolling both ankles, he took a solid 7th in the 40-49 men’s age group placing him 18th overall 261 trail runners. Rodrigo and Minh were still up on the mountain when winter weather rolled in which forced racers into safe zones and spectators down below inside. After being held for over an hour, the rain, sleet, and lightning finally subsided allowing racers to be released to finish the course. It was quite a relief to see Rodrigo and Minh cross the finish line in lieu the chaos of the weather and we couldn't be prouder of their grit dedication to complete the course.
Sunday morning, Georgis, John B., Rebekkah, Johnson, Annaliese, and Sarah (our championship racers) woke up to a dusting of snow and news that the race start time had been delayed 2 hours. And so we loaded up and drove to a nearby coffee shop to distract those racing and help manage nerves. When the time finally came Sarah Rich was first up for the day running having qualified for the elite women's wave. Shortly after came Annaliese and Rebekkah for the women’s 25-29 age group wave. Later, the men joined in the fun with Georgis our Greek Stallion and Meaty man Johnson representing Hardkour in the men’s 30-34 age group and the Mountain Goat John B. in the 35-39 age group wave.
That day, no one expected the toll the previous days weather would take on our bodies and souls. For the most part, all was smooth sailing till the new Championship obstacle “ape hanger” which required a drop into shallow freezing water. From then on, the cold set into the bones and running with numb legs and chattering teeth made for quite the mental game. Nearing mile 6, the course intensity increased and the double sandbag carry proved to be its own beast. The already heavy sandbags were soaked from the previous days rain and snow, and the fact that they had to be carried down and up the sides of a halfpipe caused it to later be said that it was a scene of carnage with bags strewn all over the path and the bodies carrying them sitting close beside looking incredibly defeated. But the true soul destroyer laid just around the corner. Upon much debate the Spartan course directors decided to keep the swim open and as a must complete obstacle. It was here that we later learned many racers cut their timing chip and walked off the course. But we have the name Hardkour for a reason and none of our athletes DNFed.
Needless to say, this made for an incredibly emotional finish line. We all crossed at different times but the sight was all the same eyes filling with tears of relief and the warm embraces of team mates. Everyone pushed through the challenge faced and conquered the course and Coach Nukes couldn’t be prouder. At the end of the day, we had 3 of our hardkour athlete elite finish 5th in their age group: Annaliese for the 25-29 females, Georgis for mens 30-35, and John B. for the mens 35-39.
Just like that, the weekend came to an end and not long after our last racer crossed the finish line, we found ourselves diving the long road home. We had become closer as a team having witnessed emotions that even the hardest training sessions had yet to surface. And although everyone felt physically, mentally, and emotionally destroyed, each athlete came out stronger and with a realization that we are all capable of far more than we anticipated. I know it’s been a few weeks but well done to all of my teammates for what you accomplished in Tahoe. And massive thank you to Coach Nukes for getting us all to Spartan World Championships.
The HKP Team
#WEAREHARDKOUR
Written by: Annaliese Allen
Photos by: Tony Maher and official Spartan Race photos
