My Personal Journey
I would recommend you read the previous post: “Overcoming the Giants” which you can find here:
This is to help build up the ability to overcome life’s challenges, as well as provide an example from King David about how to respond when the odds seem against us.
That said, let me welcome you to this post, where I will discuss one of the biggest challenges I faced, and how I overcame it, and hope my story will encourage you to keep digging your heels in and keep going.
Without further ado, allow me to talk about my experiences and how I in a manner of speaking ‘slew the dragon.’
The Race and Injury
It was the 11th of October 2014. I was at Pippingford Park in Nutley, East Sussex about to take on the tough and gruelling Spartan Beast race.
By tough and grueling, I mean it is 20km with many obstacles.
Earlier in the year, I had taken part in two other races, the Spartan Sprint, and the Super Spartan, these races are 5km and 10km respectively. Completing all three was the requirement to obtain the Trifecta medal.
I had trained very hard over the year, working on a combination of running, grip strength, and upper body strength to successfully complete the obstacles and finish all the races in a good time.
What makes this even more challenging is that every obstacle you fail results in a forfeit of 30 burpees.
At about 1 pm or just a little over that time, after a motivational speech from Spartan Phil, the last of us set off in the final wave for the final Spartan race of the year in the UK.
Things were going really well at first. In fact, my own body and mind were invigorated that this was going to go well. I overcame the first couple of obstacles with no problem and that gave me more confidence to do well in this race.
After about 15-20 mins, my world came crashing down.
Going down an uneven path which was unavoidable for every and any racer that day, my foot rolled over. All my weight went down on my ankle, not only did I feel a huge amount of pain, but I heard something crack.
I sat down on a nearby rock to recover, one man even laying his hands on my legs and praying for healing.
After some time, I stood up and resumed the race.
At about the 1.5km mark, I was back in Event Village, where the race started and where the finish line was.
This however, was not to even be a pitstop for me, as a couple of obstacles awaited. I failed both. The marshal seeing my condition allowed me to do sit ups instead, which I managed to do. Once finished, they asked if I wanted to pull out. I gave it some consideration, but I politely declined.
In fact, I told him to tell me to keep going, he 100% respected my decision. Exiting Event Village, this was to be the last time I see it as the forests and open fields of Sussex required my attention.
Throughout the entire time on the race, I was in constant discomfort. I actually passed by another racer who was sat on the sidelines with a couple of marshals waiting for a pickup to come and collect them.
I thought of doing the same thing. What I was going through can only be described as unbearable. No one would have faulted me for it, but I chose to keep running the race.
As I reached the halfway point, mental and emotional fatigue settled in. I slowed to a walk and muttered what I call ‘giving up’ words.
Even then I still pushed onwards. I did manage to conquer some obstacles and even succeed on the spear throw, an obstacle I have never completed until that day. As I got on with the race and moved closer to the end, the negative thoughts and words were subsiding. As darkness fell, I emerged from the woodlands to Event Village, a very welcome sight.
After climbing up and down a wooden frame and leaping across a small sea of fire, I crossed the finish line in 5 hours and 15 minutes. Not surprisingly, I was one of the slowest finishers throughout the whole day.
Over time, despite seeing an improvement, I went to see a chiropractor at the suggestion of my sister after she saw me in a bit of discomfort. An x-ray was taken and the result showed that I had a hairline fracture that ran all the way through my ankle. So began my 1 year recovery period.
Throughout that year, I was on the lightest of exercises, doing mostly upper body strength, and very very slowly began reintroducing myself to running, by walking, fast walking, jogging and then running with the odd sprint here and there.
This could have been the time where I could have let it the whole ordeal get the better of me. Giving up obstacle racing, losing my passion for fitness, even letting it change who I am, but I remained focused and determined and understood that this was just another obstacle I was facing away from the racetrack.
Sometimes we all go through situations that seem time-consuming and lengthy, we could easily throw the towel in or walk away and allow it to beat us, but if you learn to be patient, trust the process, not overthink, and take one day at a time, I guarantee you, the result will not only come, but it will exceed expectations.
2 years later in October 2016, (wasn’t able to do any races in 2015). I was back on the race course, undertaking my arch nemesis, the Spartan Beast race once more. This time at Windsor Great Park. I successfully completed the race without incident, finishing in a time of 4:00:34.
A year after that I did it again for a third time, this time at Bagshot Park breaking my record of finishing in a time of 3:13:33.
Why have I chosen this challenge in particular to blog about? Why an obstacle race?
In a way, life is one big obstacle race. We face challenges in many areas of our lives, finances, work, relationships, dreams we want to accomplish.
The weight we are carrying feels cumbersome. But just imagine how Jesus felt when he carried the cross he was to be crucified on, he was weak, bleeding, exhausted, possibly starved and dehydrated. But he pushed through that, all because of his love for us.
Philippians 4:13 says: “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
This is a promise from God himself that he is with us through thick and thin. But also sometimes we have to go through trials and tests in order to get to our destination.
Perhaps you are in a dark season right now full of burdens and confusion, but one of the beautiful things about seasons is that they change. That is why over the year we have the cycle of spring, summer, autumn, and winter.
Don’t confuse your current season as something that will last a lifetime. It is changing for the better. God is bigger than any obstacles you are facing, any challenges you are up against. He conquered death itself, just think about how much more he can do for you and through you.
Stay positive, your dark seasons are nearing the end.
Just remember, none of us have ever failed a single obstacle in our lives, we’ve just come across ones we haven’t conquered yet.