After Toughest Chicago in 2024, I was looking forward to racing Infinity last year. Then I lost two guides to broken feet race week and couldn’t find even a second guide. While I had a tremendous amount of fun volunteering and listening to Clinton’s EST banter for hours, I missed being out there last year. So I was looking forward to racing this year.
After Shane and Mike joined the guide team, logistics were finalized and we all met up at the new venue. After making it on course, we were met with a lot of “crawling” obstacles at the start, including barbed wire, electrical, and gas. It also included some very deep mud mile pits and a confining tipping point (I was told it wasn’t being tipped enough at first). Later on we had walls and water obstacles (including a very deep “creek crossing”).
As I was leaving for the race, I had felt a minor pain in my left knee. I think somewhere between the extra stretches to get out of the deep pits and over the inverted wall, I tweaked it. By about mile 5, I was limping a little and it just got worse. The last 3 – 4K was a real struggle. Even with all that, I still had the temporary thought of going out for a 5K loop to get the 3rd hex. But after coming to the more reasonable decision (for both short-term and long-term safety), I tapped out after the 15K loop. I really wish my knee hadn’t been an issue. We were doing a decent pace even with having to walk a lot (either because of lighting for safety or limping), and could have gotten at least 10K more in.
Even though I could only get in a single loop, it was still a lot of fun to be back out in the mud again. I am grateful to Scott, Shane, and Mike for all of their help, guiding, and keeping me safe. And I’m grateful to those who helped on the course, especially at the walls. Glad to see SundayFunday will be back for Chicago 2027. 🙂 Here’s to hoping that re-addition for 2027 is a good step towards US Toughests returning in the near future! <3 <3
“While the supposed smart ones are thinking, the crazy ones are doing.” – James Patterson / Howard Roughan
While I am not crazy, I will admit to doing things that others may consider crazy given my limited vision. But as I learned a long time ago, if you say yes to only the “safe” and “comfortable” opportunities, you miss out on so much of life. Spartan said this in a much more eloquent and much better illustrated way than I can. Look for one of the recent The Hard Way newsletters (last two – three weeks as of Labor Day weekend) to read it.
After last year’s Para World Championships in Orlando, we all waited to see where 2026’s race would be. And in Q1 2026, it was announced as Lahti, Finland. Thus began my first international game of “athlete Tetris”. For those of you who know me personally, you know that’s how I plan my entire year… always in flux until that final four-block straight piece drops in!
I already had support from the Cordani Family / Achilles, and help from Achilles Germany with a guide (Frederic). All the other pieces (race registrations, flights, AirBNB, nutrition, etc.) fell into place one by one, with the final piece being some great advice from an athlete friend.
As usual, I ran around the day before leaving, checking and quadruple checking that I had everything. So within five minutes of takeoff, I was dead to the world. The staff on the flight over and within Helsinki were wonderful. I had a brief concern that Finnish Passport Control would throw a flag on the play because Obstacle Course Racing apparently isn’t a common phrase. Thankfully, the staff member guiding me knew about all the events that go on in Lahti and was able to more suscinctly tell him it in Finnish. 😀
After that brief hold up, I met with Frederic at baggage claim. We made it to Lahti by train and then to the AirBNB by foot. After a quick trip to the market, I collapsed.
Not having traveled outside of the US since 2008, I had forgotten that European countries don’t use as many (or maybe any) artifical things. Let’s just leave it at my body did not adjust well that first day… And while I’ve laughed at seeing friends’ posts of ‘leaving for [foreign city] on Wednesday for a Sunday race’, I get it now. Had I arrived on Friday, Saturday’s race would have been really, really, really messy.
On Friday, after getting things “straightened out” with my body, we headed to the race venue mid-afternoon. After doing packet pickup and watching the kids race for a bit, we headed over to the Para group meet up. At that point, John told us about the test portion for Laser shooting, which I tried for a bit before the Para ceremony. There are some very cool photos from it on the Spartan Finland Facebook page, and hopefully more will get shared.
On Saturday, after getting nutrition and everything else set, we headed over to the venue. We dropped off packs and joined the group prior to race start.
While things went better than 2025, there were some of the same struggles with walls. That was extremely frustrating because of the work I had put in (including push ups, as recommended) and being able to get up onto the stage from the ground Friday night. My best guess is that there wasn’t a wide enough “lip” top for me to grip (think thin I versus abbreviated T). But I had also learned from the painful nutrition incident, and had all that in check (thanks to help from Frederic).
While I’m not going to go through every obstacle, there are three that I wanted to hilight. They are the three that could have easily broken me — and had the final one occurred in Orlando last year, it probably would have.
** NOTE: I want to make it very clear that I am not complaining about any of these. I expect challenging obstacles for a Worlds event. These are just three that gave me the most challenges.
(1) Barbed Wire Crawl Earlier this year, I was introduced to the “fun” of uphill barbed wire crawls in Atlanta. As this weekend was also the European Beast Championships, this one seemed both steeper and definitely longer than Atlanta. From what Frederic told me, it was 100 yards long (fifty wires), along with the fact that the wires came down a bit as it went up the hill. His continual encouragement and guiding helped to keep me safe as I worked through it.
(2) Sandbag Carry While I couldn’t see if, and honestly don’t remember every part of it, Tom’s description of Tom’s (Producer) Sandbag Carry for Atlanta Beast was a doozy. But I think the Sandbag Carry for Worlds was more challenging. Up, down, and all around lots and lots of bleachers. There is no way that I could have done this obstacle without so much detailed guiding help from Frederic as he helped to keep me safe.
(3) Ski Jump During the kids race, Frederic mentioned the ski jump. During the start of Beast races, the announcers mentioned the ski jump several times in both English and Finnish (including the TEHO promotions). Somehow, none of that fully registered with me as to what that entailed… Therefore, when we got to the ski jump, I had that ‘are you crazy?’ moment; and the immediate internal answer was ‘possibly… but ask me again at the top.’
While I won’t go through the entire climb, it was both a mental and physical 120 yard with 150 yd gain (per Frederic) climb. There were a couple of points where I had minor panic attacks related to potentially falling; but the worst was at about 65 – 70 yards. At that point, there clearly was no way out except getting to the top. What helped at that point was remembering the gratitude for so many (including Frederic) who had helped me through things I thought impossible at that time. Two very clear examples within Spartan branded events are EST in 2023 and Mt. Sparta in 2024.
Because I am not the “mountain goat” that many other athletes were, I did not make it up the ski jump in the sub three minute pace of the challenge winners. If I had to guess, I would say it was 30 – 40 minutes on the ski jump, if not more.
Also, while the spear throw was closer in Finland that it has been in any other race, I still did not hit the target. So I had to do the burpees that I had said I’d hoped to avoid (during the Friday intros).
As we got to the finish line, they held out the tape for us, which was a very cool experience. And about 5 – 10 minutes later, we all gathered as a group once the final Para (from Spain) finished. There were a couple of very cool media moments, which I hope get shared in the near future. After hanging out for a bit, it was time for awards — 2nd PWC, 2nd Delta (2nd PO5 Male).
As we were leaving the awards Saturday night, it began raining and continued for about eighteen hours straight. Because of that, I decided it wasn’t safe for me to race (especially having to face a slick surface for #2 and #3). I honestly was afraid of slipping off the ski jump and getting hurt. So for safety reasons, Spartan allowed to transfer my entry. This enabled Frederic to learn from another guide as they both raced with another Para (from Denmark).
As the group was getting ready to head out for the Sprint, I was informed of the Para “bypass” around the ski jump for wheelchair athletes. Honestly, even if that had been an option for all Paras on Sunday (to get to the penalty at the top), I still would not have raced. The thinking went — safety for my guide and myself, and respect for Spartan. In addition to keeping both of us safe, part of my gratitude towards so many within Spartan whom have helped me is not creating issues for them, which a fall off of slick ski jump definitely would have created.
So I stood by the fire jump as those who hadn’t left after PWC raced (about half the group). Even in the rain, it wasn’t a bad way to spend the time. 🙂 But it meant that my first Trifecta had eluded me yet again.
While the race portion was great, so was getting to meet and know a lot of the Paras / guides. I don’t know whom organized the group meet ups for dinner each night, but I’m grateful to whomever did. Although, I may have accepted temporary “adoption” by the British for a race weekend next year at one… 😛 😀
Even though the travel back (once landing in the US) was a challenge, I made it back safely, and with hardware. I am extremely grateful to everyone that made the weekend possible and successful. This includes the Cordani Family, Achilles International, Achilles Germany, Frederic, and many others. As I’ve mentioned above, the support from each of them enabled the trip and race to be a success!
While we expected to learn where PWC 2027 would be during the awards ceremony, nothing was said. So for now, we all wait…
Last year, Mother Nature threw a “temper tantrum”… all nine inches worth of it. 🙁 She wanted a “double-dip” for this year, but thankfully, the weather held off until after awards (minor sprinkles at times).
After a strong swim (about 4.5 minutes faster than my freshwater lake swims) and a decent T1 (glove issues), we headed out onto the bike.
Since the hills in Knoxville a couple years ago, I’ve done better with them (although I don’t know that I’ll ever be able to keep speed on a10%+ uphill grade like there…), so a couple of bridge climbs should be “OK”, right?
Well, then things went a fowl… apparently geese decidded to cross the road in the middle of our bike. Jonathan was able to control the bike as they “leisurely” crossed, and we continued on.
The pending weather also made things interesting on the bike. More than four years after the crash in TX, I still have issues with downhills into right turns. Combine that with 20+ mph crosswinds coming down the bridge at 25 – 30 mph, and I’m sure you can understand my momentary internal concern. But it was only momentary, as I knew Jonathan would help to keep me safe, and it all worked out.
After a decent T2, we headed out on the run. While the time does not reflect it, it was the most consistent run I’ve had throughout the season.
After finishing, I had a chance to talk with teammates while we waited for the Para awards. It was great to see so many on the podium after last year had “delayed” all of their hard work.
And on the topic of awards, I want to give a shout-out to the 89 year-old woman (she is a Presbyterian minister) who won her age group in Olympic Nationals. I hope to still be racing at that point in my life. 🙂
Thank you to Jonathan for all his help, support, and guiding throughout the weekend. Thank you to Dare2Tri and my parents for all their help and support throughout the weekend.
FYI, while Nationals would be the end of most people’s seasons, I still have a lot left before mine ends in December. While the majority of them will be running and OCR, I do have a couple of Triathlons on the calendar. 🙂
For those of you whom have followed my blog for a while, you’re well aware that I’ll try almost anything if it looks like fun. I’ve been very vocal that the Triathlon journey began because (from memory), I saw footage from the 2014 Chicago Triathlon and it looked like fun. Most of the time, the “chances” work out really well (OK, almost paddleboarding into sailboats was a “fail”… :D)
Over the last few years, I’ve had an interest in trying Mixed Relays. But before this year, they were always at a different event. It never worked logistically to go to that separate event and give them a try. However, with Mixed Relays (Adaptive and Regular) getting added to the Nationals weekend, I finally had an opportunity to do so.
As a side note before going forward, I believe it was for the 2017 season that USAT labeled guides as “equipment” in the official rules (I believe this reference has since been removed). The continued fun with that naturally spawned the correct team name which had 3 VIs — 3 Blind Mice and Eyece D!
After some nerve wracking logistics on the Adaptive Mixed Relays and ParaTriathlon Nationals gear checks, I thought we were all set. However, it took some extra time for our third “mouse” to appear… To a point where we were trying to figure out plans Z and the always popular XFD…
But once we were all gathered, it was time to go. It was an odd experience to be standing at the fence in full gear waiting to race — especially as I’ve been at or in the water for the prior 107 Triathlons. But after Coach Deb tagged me in, Jonathan and I headed to the water.
As we were climbing the stairs down to the water, I heard him say “that’s the last one”, which made me think we were going to be on flat land. Instead, what it meant was the steps had hit water level. It was quite the interesting way to start the swim…
After a lolipop-shaped swim and a solid T1, we headed out on the bike. I was nervous going into it because the U-turn was to the right instead of the normal left U-turns. I haven’t practiced right U-turns for a long time, as they never come up… But we made it through and back for the run.
After a normal T2, we headed out on a run with hills (over the bridge). As we were starting to head back, another Adaptive team’s “C” athlete was coming towards us. While I knew we weren’t going to beat them overall, I had to show team pride by ensuring that we didn’t get double-lapped (as I was the “B” athlete). Even though run is not my strongest, I was still able to ensure that I did not get passed. 🙂
After tagging Lizzie in, Jonathan and I watched and cheered on Lizzie and Adam (and their guides) racing. I’m told that we finished 4th in the Adaptive category! 🙂
It was a fun experience and something to build on in Iowa next year. 🙂 Thanks to the entire team for a great race and to Jonathan for guiding and all his help.
If you ever have a day that goes perfectly — from the second you wake up to the second you go to sleep — watch out for it to literally rain cats and dogs the next day. The reality is that something will not go accoring to plan for you today. Whether it’s something small (like your dog eats part of your breakfast while you’re looking at a text) or something huge (like someone t-boning you on the way to work), it’s going to happen. It’s how you deal with what happened and then how you readjust your Tetris for the day.
While it was going to be an early start and long day, I had everything planned out. Lombard > Chicago > Lake Forest > Vernon Hills in about 2.5 hours by public transportation so I could attend a Bears Training Camp event with Achilles Chicago.
The reality of what happened was that I was left at the “annex” of OTC instead of the main entrance. There wasn’t a safe way for me to walk to the main part, either along the rails or outside in the dark. So it then became Lombard > Chicago >Vernon Hills. And then an accident and them not paying attention to traffic reports caused me to think I’d miss it (as I arrived in Vernon Hills about 30 minutes late).
But it all worked out, and it was an amazingly fun day. The moral of the story — when life gives you lemons, chuck them back at life and keep moving forward. Oh wait, that’s not the right saying… but it’s probably the right sentiment. 😀
I’m grateful for the Chicago Bears inviting Achilles Chicago to attend, and for Achilles Chicago extending an invite to me!
This is how chaotic my year has been. I completely forgot that one of my “stalker”s was lurking until they popped up pre-race. 😀 😀 Apparently I am now not only a Golden Retriever, but also the worst “one and done” athlete. 😀 I guess that the first caused the second, so…
As I’ve mentioned, the Napervills Sprint was my first public Triathlon in 2015. It was also supposed to be my “one and done” Triathlon. This year’s Naperville race was Tri #107 overall. Oops… I guess I missed that “and done” part. LOL
In prior years, the swim has always been a struggle. Not just from my swim stroke in the beginning, but from the overall flow. For the first year, we were at the front, but quickly got swum over by the elites who could legitimately do 45 – 60 second 100s. After that, we moved to the back, where the issues because more of us being used as flotation devices by other swimmers who were struggling. This year, they (RD/Andrea) set things up so we were starting 5 minutes before the elites. In theory, this should mean the elites wouldn’t catch us until about the very last part of the swim.
Also, going into the race, I was excited to see Max and his son out on the course again. It had been about 5 years since I had raced with them last (I believe in Goshen). So with the new swim setup, the four of us (me/Scott; Max/his son) headed into the water for an early start.
I am very glad that the swim start was changed. This year’s swim seemed much cleaner. No one tried to physically climb over us or use us as a personal flotation device, and the timing worked out perfectly. While I don’t have the exact point, I would guess the elites caught us at 325 – 330yd, meaning we had 50y or less of traffic. And all of those were experienced, strong swimmers, who could easily navigate around us.
After a slightly longer than usual T1 (I had to toss on a jacket in addition to a longer run in transition), we headed out on the bike. As in Pleasant Prairie, the chain acted up. While we lost some speed on the bike, it seemed like some of it settled down as we got further into the bike.
At some point in the bike, I asked Scott if he had seen Max. I remember him telling me that they were only on loop 1 as we were about 1/4 of the way through loop 2. So I was really surprised to see them headed out of T2 as we were racking the bike.
After a normal T2, we headed out on the run. Even though I knew there was absolutely, positively no way that I was catching them, it still helped to have a “rabbit”. I had some of the normal issues (more with breathing) I do on the run. But having that “rabbit” out there helped me to keep those rest periods as short as possible.
After the race, I was surprised to see another Dare2Tri teammate (Molly). I was further surprised to later learn that there was a fourth Para. The reason that it was so surprising is that typically I’m the only Para. It was wonderful to finally have a FULL Para podium (photo on IG @nocrappyexcuses)!
Thanks to so many who helped this race to be a success — including Coach Joe, Dave, Andrea, “Quiet Chris”, and others! Thanks to Scott for guiding and all his help / support throughout. It will be a VERY short turnaround before Adaptive Mixed Relays and ParaTriathlon Nationals. Hope to see a lot of you in Milwaukee!
Before I get into this blog, I want to first apologize for racing naked. Please keep your thoughts G rated; it’s not what you think. On the way to the airport, I realized that I had accidentally forgotten to repack the ink bag (I found the “emergency” bag only when unpacking.) It was extremely frustrating, as so many help me to be able to race — and you see their logos on my arms. I will make sure to have both “A” and “B” bags for all three races over the next few weeks…
As I mentioned last year, it was an entirely new experience to race in salt water. It was also an entirely new experience to get “thwarted” by sea life (the kelp tree during practice). This year was an opportunity to build on last year’s successes.
The weekend began with the Train2Race camp. After John helped to get bike issues resolved (a bent skewer, spacer height, and others), Frederick and I headed out for the triple brick workouts. Even though we lost about two while John worked on the bike, we still got in several decent bricks. It was great to have an opprtunity to get in “mid-aero” (helmet on Frederick’s back) and hammer the bike.
After lunch and time with Team Zoot (thanks to them for all their support!), we headed out into the swim. As I mentioned in June, the open water swims (OWS) were frustrating me given the increases I’d seen in the pool. Eric helped to point out a couple of things for me, and hopefully I can catch up with Danny at some point soon to recreate the 2019 swim tether…
Day two of camp began with swim practice at the race site. This year, different “sea life” (aka Shark Deb) came into the practice swim. But even with the “interruption”, it was still a solid practice swim. After lunch, geting packets, and a course preview from the RD, we put the bike into transition and did a shake-out bike and run.
As I mentioned last year, the path along the marina is challenging at best. This year, “pedal carts” took over the trail, with us having to maneuver around about fifteen of them at one point. On the way back, people weren’t practicing common sense. After my guide told someone we were on their left twice and they moved left twice (only moving right when I yelled “on your left”), I’d had enough of trying to fight the gauntlet. The shake-out run went far better, with very minimal issues of people on bikes trying to swerve into the run lanes.
On race morning, one of my main focuses was making sure my bladder was empty. I know how odd that sounds, but after having lost about five minutes in T1 last year, it was definitely on my mind. After addressing that and ensuring transition was fully set up, we headed down to the beach for swim start.
The swim went just as well, if not better, than practice. I haven’t gone through all the numbers, but Eric yelled at me that I was on the podium as we ran off the beach into T1.
While there were umpteen turns this year, it was still a very strong bike. There was one point where someone was trying to ride left (blocking), but we made it around there. I did have a minor issue coming off the bike, where one of my cleats caught on the hanger and caused me to fall — but no serious injuries.
After a solid T2, I was hopeful for another decent run and the second year on the podium. But it wasn’t meat to be. Even with ice on my back and extra hydration (Liquid IV) in a bottle, the humidity took its toll of me. By mile two, it felt like running in water and it was hard for me to keep enough breath for more than a few hundred meters.
Even though I got pushed off the podium because of the run, it was still a great weekend and race. It was great to see old friends and make new ones. And while I still am not a soccer fan, it was fun to hang out and “hear” about half of the World Cup final with one of my friends.
While there were a lot of positives out of the trip, one huge negative was the continual absurdities from accessibility Agents in airports. I am still waiting for a formal, written apology from the LAX MOD for [Airline] after how they treated me at LAX.
Thank you to Dare2Tri for all of their help and support throughout the weekend. Thanks to Frederick for all their help and guiding throughout, and thanks to Erik for his help around the race.
Time for a brief break and then it’s on to a very busy August — all of my “A” races will be next month (2 Nationals, 1 Worlds).
THANK YOU to Team Catapult for continuing to support my athletic training!
Their support will enable me to continue working with a local swim coach (Coach Joe of Experience Triathlon). I am extremely grateful for their continued support!
THANK YOU to the Para Guide Foundation for their generous support towards my new tandem!
I greatly appreciate all of their support over the last several years, and look forward to racing with Jonathan and Paul from Para Guide again later this year!
(Photo from Video; Video courtesy of ND Football staff)
Looking back on the first half of my 2026 season, it definitely hasn’t gone as I had planned it. None of bike challenges, wetsuit challenges, and DNF’ing a race were on my 2026 bingo card… And I’ll admit that some of those have been harder to deal with than others.
Even though it’s been frustrating at times, I will always keep moving forward and striving to improve. I think this was best crystalized in a statement I heard within the last week (paraphrased) — ‘I don’t look at it as if I won or lost; I look at it as if I won or learned from it.’ The latter part of their statement is what I’ve chosen to focus on in this blog.
Just a few of the lessons learned include focusing more on nutrition, going further than just having a plan Z on race weekend, and being willing to try new gear. On that last point, I hope to figure out the long-term wetsuit issue soon.
The overall sizing of the wetsuit is correct. I believe that going up a size would probably be too large and create drag. But from the two June triathlons, it seems that I need to find something different since it’s compressing my upper chest (near lungs) too much.
And even though there have been struggles the first half of the year, I am not giving up or packing it in. I have a long, important second half of the season, which includes all of my “A races”. What’s helped me to continue pushing through is the knowledge that the hard work pays off — which the header photo shows.
Prior to 2023, I’d had hundreds upon hundrds of snaps on different football fields. Up to that point, I had zero TDs and zero fumble recoveries. In that one camp, I accomplished both (along with a second TD the following year). While it took 17 years to get to that point, I didn’t give up — I kept going.
That’s how I choose to look at things overall. I will continue putting in the work, showing up at start lines, and know that the hard work pays off. Here’s to a strong second half of 2026!
