Over
the past 53 days I have been fortunate to have a lot of contact with veteran
& aspiring OCR’s, & have found that a consistent culture has emerged
from them that has been very inspiring & motivating. As I’ve mentioned a
few times in the past, I started this journey primarily to force myself to get
into shape & also to improve my writing skills, however what I did not
expect was to join such an inspirational group. Since day 1 I have received
messages from OCR’s on all platforms of social media that have ranged from
inspiring to supportive, life advise to training advice, & everything in
between!
Today
I look at some of the common character traits that I’ve noticed among OCR’s
that I’ve had the pleasure of interacting with thus far on this journey.
- Inspirational: some of
the stories that I’ve come across on this journey have been truly incredible.
Whether it’s US military veteran Earl Granville who had to get a leg amputated
after a roadside bomb in Afghanistan, but still competes Spartan races, or Tim
Morris, an adaptive athlete who still competes in Spartan Beast Races despite
being paralyzed from the waist down, there are a ton of incredibly inspiring
stories out there! All the inspiring stories however are not this
well-documented. A gentleman named John Mariani from the UK (@BeagleChap on Twitter)
reached out to me to let me know he will be running his 10th Tough
Mudder with his wife this fall who just had a baby & beat cancer during
pregnancy! Nearly daily in my Facebook feed I will read about an athlete that
has overcome some injury or obstacle in their life to successfully complete an
OCR. Over & over again I read stories of OCR’s who have gone through tragic
& challenging events in their life that I cannot even fathom, yet persevered
to be able to run a Tough Mudder, Spartan Race, or some other type of OCR. This
perseverance is so inspirational to me considering my major motivator is to get
off my lazy behind. When I’m having a day where I don’t feel like pushing
myself or going to the gym at all, I try to draw off the inspiration from my
fellow OCR’s.
- Positivity: the OCR community may be the most
positive group of individuals that I have every come across. Each Sunday
without fail I see posts from OCR’s who were not able to finish a race due to
injury, race conditions, or various other reasons, & so often I see
something along the lines of ‘can’t wait to get back out there & do it
again’ or ‘so today I signed up for my next race to try it again.’ This level
of positivity & ability to look at things from such a balanced perspective
is unheard of in today’s ‘woe-is-me’ society & has played a major role in helping
keep me positive through this journey, even when I have experienced temporary
setbacks. It is great to see OCR superstars like Amelia Boone who is working a
full-time job as a lawyer, yet still finds time for training, being an OCR
superstar, & being one of the most positive & uplifting posters on my
Twitter feed! To see that people going through so much more (did I mention
Amelia is rehabbing from a knee injury?) are remaining positive & having a
great time while training for OCR’s far more challenging than the one I’m attempting
helps keep me grounded & realize that this journey is one to enjoy not to
rush through.
- Supportive: the OCR community has also turned out
to be more supportive than I could have ever imagined. Each time I post to
social media, I am met with a group of supportive OCRs’ willing & eager to
help out despite never having met me. The number of people that have reached
out with advice on exercise, nutrition, supplements, or just to offer a
sounding board or a daily dose of motivation has been incredible. I have
learned that this is one of the most supportive groups of people around, &
I can’t wait to meet a group of them in person come race day on June 23rd!
Anytime I’ve had a question about nutrition, exercise, or motivation, I have
been able to reach out to fellow OCR’s either via DM or Private Message &
each time I am amazed that people are willing to help out & lend their two
cents. This blog is my attempt to give back to new OCR’s that may come along
after I have ran my race, & my hope is that they will be able to draw some form of motivation or advice from
my daily blabbering.
- Accountability: the OCR
community is a group that holds themselves accountable more than any I have
ever seen. Whether it is pushing through training or achieving goals they’ve
set for themselves elsewhere, I have found that the OCR community holds
themselves accountable to a standard that is far higher than the average
population. Becoming a part of the OCR community has allowed me to achieve a
level of accountability & consistency that I have not been able to achieve
in an exercise program in years. I believe there are a number of reasons that
I’ve been able to hold myself more accountable & be more consistent, some
of which include seeing what my fellow Spartans are doing, looking at how they
hold themselves accountable even when they don’t feel like training, through
the positive feedback & re-enforcement I get from my fellow OCR’s, &
finally due to a sense of accountability I feel towards the OCR community,
feeling like if I don’t complete my workout I will be letting the community
down. Combined, these factors have had a powerful influence on helping me hold
myself accountable to my training program & goals.
- Grit: perhaps the trait that OCR’s are best known for, they are a very gritty & mentally tough bunch. Running an OCR requires a boatload of mental fortitude in strength from the time you sign up for the race until the race is completed & they hand you that Finisher’s trophy. While I am always impressed at how OCR’s are able to tough through their races, perhaps what has been more amazing to me is to see the way OCR’s attack their daily lives with mental toughness & grit. I am following OCR’s from all walks of life, all with unique sets of circumstances & challenges, from having to work their training around their 80 hour a week job, their 4 kids, or their physical challenges, I see the same type of grit, mental toughness, & determination to get the job done in all of them. Whether it is the gritty & mentally tough that gravitate towards OCR’s, or whether OCR’s pull the grit out of competitors is a tough question to answer, however one thing I know for sure is that this is a tough bunch!
In
conclusion, since I began this journey 53 days ago, I have been consistently
blown away by how inspirational, positive, supportive, accountable, &
gritty the OCR community has been. Despite my complete lack of knowledge when
beginning this journey, the OCR community has welcomed me with open arms &
helped me along the way. To find a group of individuals so different in their
backgrounds, but so common in their goals & culture is an incredible trait
to find amongst any group of people, and something that corporations all around
the world are trying, mostly unsuccessfully, to instill in their people. I am
very grateful to have found this group of tough but loving individuals, &
cannot wait to celebrate a successful race with those OCR’s that find their way
to Toronto on June 23rd. Aroo!
100-Day Spartan
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