Shared Suffering | Spartan Trifecta World Championships Day 2 | Ep. 26

Alright dude, we're recording. Alright, welcome to the Rising Tribe. I'm Jared and I'm Austin, and we are tired is what we are, dude. We are busted. But if you're watching the video, yeah, we've got a pretty sweet background here. We're overlooking— well, we're in the mountains and we're overlooking Sparta and like the entire valley, so It's pretty sweet. And, uh, today we finished the 10K. So say 10K, 10K in air quotes, because all the races are like, they're advertised as like a 5K, a 10K, and a 21K. But Spartan Races is notorious for, uh, having longer races than what is advertised. So yesterday's 5K was actually 5 miles, which was 8K, and today's 10K was 13.3 kilometers. It was just over 8 miles.

So yeah, we're tired. Uh, we took a nap today. We took a nap today. So right after the race was over, Jared looked at me and he's like, dude, let's just go home. I was like, yes please, I want to go take a nap. It's like that little— like the, the video, that girl's like, I'll take a nap right now, just crying. Uh, but we came home, showered up, And we were back here by— and showered by 3:45. So a little bit different because yesterday we were finished at, you know, we had just finished our race at 3:30 and we hung out in Sparta all day, whereas today we just prioritized recovery, sleeping, drinking a lot of water. We had dinner at this restaurant right down there. I got goat with french fries. The Greek salad out here is insane. Uh, feta cheese in that was amazing.

Yeah, yeah, I got the pork tenderloin and it was not as good, but the french fries were bomb and the salad was good, so I was pretty happy about that.

The only reason my energy is up right now is because this episode is brought to you by C4. C4, please sponsor us. But I was joking, this is hilarious, we didn't talk about this yesterday, but I got here and I was like, man, I wish they just had C4 in Europe. There's none here. I was like, there's no way we're gonna find C4 in Europe. And then we walked to the race and there was a C4 tent and it was like, tender mercies. But really, tonight, well, a little bit about the race today, dude. I like this race way better. Yeah. Because me and you talked about yesterday's race was so stop and go because there were a lot of one-lane areas for racers and it got really bunched up because it was such a short distance. Whereas today there were some long stretches of running. Me and you were running through towns and people were yelling bravo, bravo, and kids, local kids are shouting aru, aru at us. And it was so cool. Like, I think today we got a little bit more of a taste of this, this, the, the living here in, in Sparta. We ran through a church, um, had some awful penalty loops with 50-pound chains.

Well, to be clear, we didn't run through the church. Oh yeah, we ran, so we ran onto like church, like through the church gates, and then kind of like walked around the church, which is a beautiful church, but we did not go like storming through the church. Yeah, you know, but when— but like, yeah, we were running. We spent a lot of time running through town, which was, uh, which was really cool, just like people's houses.

Yeah. And, uh, you do not go to jail if you film the ruins of Sparta. Today we have some really cool video of just— I just wore my GoPro and we We ran through the ruins and it was— that, that to me is still one of the coolest parts after running through the city, is being able to run where these people lived. So I, I feel pretty sore tonight, but I expected this amount of soreness and I'm, I'm, I feel a little bit better than I thought I would be actually.

Yeah, yeah, especially after we took, we took a nap for like 30 minutes, an hour, kind of just like not really being able to sleep super well, but, um, just able to like relax and rest. And after we got up, dude, like my ankles are a little bit sore from all the uneven, like all the rocks that we've been dodging and stuff. Um, but other than that, dude, it's really— oh dude, our traps hurt. Like, yes, don't understand why that is, but my traps are sore, like super sore. Um, and then dude, yeah, my hands are just shredded. Um, which is really unfortunate. So yeah, so I, I brought gloves Um, but the whole race today, like all the different monkey bars and ropes and all the things that we did, like I wasn't feeling like I was getting blisters or anything. Like my hands are feeling, you know, like my grip is getting spent, but like I felt like I didn't have any issues. And then the last set, or the second to last set of monkey bars, um, I kind of like swung off the last one and I felt my calluses rip right off. So I ripped, uh, I ripped 3 of them off, 2 on one hand one on the other. You can't quite see in the video, but, uh, no. And they didn't just like— they didn't just kind of like rip right at the callus, kind of like how, you know, like when you're lifting weights a lot, like sometimes you'll like tear at your calluses, you know, like chunks. No, like the skin from like, like an inch down my hand all the way through the callus just like ripped right off. So we are— we are in a little bit of pain. I tossed my gloves on as soon as, uh, as soon as we got off that one. But after that, we still had some more ropes, we still had some more like netting, and then one more set of monkey bars. And even with the gloves on, I was in so much pain, I slipped on one of the rings. And so I had to go do my penalty loop. But they bandaged me up pretty well at the medic tent. And afterwards, then they said tomorrow to come in before the race and they can bandage up the tears. And then I'll just wear gloves for all of the obstacles tomorrow.

And there's no way that you won't finish the race tomorrow.

Nah, dude.

Shout out to the French guy who broke his leg yesterday and was still there today.

Yeah, it's freaking insane. No, I'm pretty sure he broke it today.

Like, oh, he broke it.

I think he broke it on the race. Yeah, we passed this guy who's like hobbling with a stick and, uh, he, he's— yeah, he was clearly French, um, based on his accent. But he— we like kind of passing him and he's like, I broke my leg. And I was like— I mean, this is like maybe a kilometer into the freaking race. And I was like, wait, is he— was he being— was that guy back there being serious? Like, he broke his leg? Like, what? But I guess he did. I guess he finished.

My first ever Spartan Race that I went to was in Fort Carson, Colorado. And this was like when I was in high school with a buddy of mine named Tim Medina. And right before we started, they have these mud pits. Like, they don't really tear up the terrain here, but in other states, they'll take— in the United States, they'll take excavators and dig out the ground and fill it with water with a fire hose. There's a guy that jumped from one end of this ravine to the other, and instead of making it to the other side, he like scissored the wall and broke, broke his femur and just fell into the water.

Yeah, broke his femur.

Yeah, so there's some cool injuries from this, but I mean, I think you'll be all right. I think you're gonna finish it.

Like, like, oh yeah, yeah, we're gonna be all right.

There's nothing that could stop us, I think. Well, we talked about this a little bit. I I think if you broke a leg, you might be like, alright, I'm good.

Yeah, if I broke my leg on this course, I would get off the course.

What about the trifecta medal? Come on.

Okay, like, I mean, if we're like 19 kilometers into this thing, maybe I'll finish this.

What if you're 15 kilometers in?

Okay, well, we'll have to talk about it when we get there. But freaking, like, at least from where I'm sitting right now, dude, if I'm like 6 kilometers into 21 tomorrow and I break my leg, I don't think, I don't think I'm gonna hop on it.

We're gonna duct tape the leg together. If it's a compound fracture, I'll stop. Um, but if it's not, we have to go.

It's just like stress fractures.

Do not let me quit, uh, if I break my leg. But I'm excited for tomorrow because like, I, I think there is something to be said for like shared suffering. Me and you are not negative on this course, but you brought it up. We didn't talk about this on last night's episode, but there is something really powerful. And it's like a squirrel. Uh, there is something really powerful in shared suffering and team bonding. And it's like that experience I had with the farm experience, which a lot of people from my group are out here right now from that. But we're, we're homies forever because we did something hard together. Yeah, that's why me and you are homies, because like our missions were hard. Like, yeah, but it's cool to do these experiences together because it really forges who you are as a human. Um, so I, I'm, I'm stoked for tomorrow. I know it's going to be really, really hard. Excuse me. Um, but the best memories of my life have been when I've done something really difficult. Yeah.

Uh, it's crazy how close you can, you can get to people when you do like hard things together. Um, and how you can have— you can have so many things like, or there can be so many things that you do not have in common like whatsoever. You could like barely know anything about another person. Um, but when you are put into a really difficult situation and the only way for you to get out of it is to work with each other, like there are bonds that are made, um, that are— that like can't be broken, which I think is pretty cool. Um, something I wanted— so I wanted to get your thoughts on. So there, there are some crazy people in this Spartan community. Like, so this is, this is my first ever Spartan race and trifecta. So I've now done 2 Spartan races. Tomorrow will be my 3rd. Who knows when we do another one? You did 3. You've done— this will be your 3rd trifecta this year and you've done a Beast.

It's been my 2nd. I did a trifecta in this year in 2024. I did a trifecta in Atlanta. This is my 2nd trifecta.

Oh, and then you're doing one in—

I did a trifecta in Atlanta. Then I went and did an ultra beast in Colorado. I did the farm experience at Joe's house, and then this is my second trifecta. And then in 21 days, I'm doing my third trifecta of the year in Arizona. And that was the one where last year I got Kaya roped into doing a beast with me, which she swears she'll never do one again, even though Kaya is really, really good. Really good at OCR, obstacle course running, right?

Yeah.

Uh, she's really good at it just because she's a freak athlete, and we actually had fun with her. Um, she's gonna do the 5K with me in Arizona, but on Saturday I'll do the, the Beast, the 20K, and then the morning of Sunday I'll do the 20— the 10K, and then Kaya will join me for the 5K as I hobble.

With her.

So that'd be good. She'll be 4 months, 3 and a half months postpartum from there. And so it's a great, it's a huge goal for her to go do a 5K. 5K is fun. And I would argue the 10K is also just fun. It's like, well, that was a really hard workout. 20K is like a beast, right? That's what I call the beast. Yeah. But I'm excited to do that. But so what are your thoughts? I've done 3 trifectas. Yeah.

Well, it's okay.

I'll do 3 trifectas.

Yeah, and well, what I'm thinking is, so, so for those who aren't familiar, there are, uh, there are basically an unlimited number of accolades and achievements that you can earn in the Spartan world. Um, and I'm convinced, like, if you want to learn how to build a cult, like, this is— oh yeah, this is how you do it. Because for every, like, achievement that you do, like, okay, you, you do your first Spartan Race, now you've done your first trifecta. You're like, okay, Now there are people who, uh, if you do 13—

she—

if she— sorry, if you do 13 trifectas in a calendar year, you are in a shield, and they send you— no joke— this big old metal shield. Like, that is an achievement.

And you have to do this one too.

Oh, and you have to do the world championship.

You have to do the Sparta one in order to earn the shield. Jeez. Uh, but—

and we've already met 2 or 3 people who will be getting their shields from this.

They're stoked.

Yeah.

And then in their 50s.

Yeah, they're, they're older.

What—

that one lady, she's 60. She said like she's going to be— yeah, seriously. But then on top of that, you've got like lifetime awards where like, yeah, once you've done 200 Spartan races, then what? I think someone said like you earn your spear or something. And then like, oh, I didn't know that. And then there are like several other achievements when you've hit like ridiculous number of races. And if you go on like Spartan's page, like on Instagram, you'll see their videos of like people who have done who knows how many different races, who have like all their different medals, especially people in like the elite categories who are like competitive racing or like in age groups, like their first place their second places. Like, they've got them up on walls, like, in whole rooms, just all the different medals and everything. Um, and it's— so, so the question I want to ask is, what do you think drives people to continue pushing themselves like that?

Um, I, I think, I think that there's an aspect of, like, when, when you, when you get older when we get older, collectively, like when we get older, we lose that aspect of play, of getting out and going to the park and playing football with friends. And I think this taps into that again. It's kind of like how last night when we were looking at souvenirs, I wanted to get the Leonidas action figure, and that was like my 10-year-old or like, yeah, like 14-year-old when I'm back when I like Star Wars, like action figures and stuff like that coming out. I think that's what this race does. So there's like, there's like a multi-pronged answer. Like, it brings out that inner child again. Yeah, I think it also helps to have a community and friends. Dude, this is insane. Like, me and you are here, me and you are friends, and then we've got like, uh, people that I met from the farm experience or I'm friends with, and then I've got a person from my collective group that's here. It's like I know a lot of people that are already here that are already my friends, but then we're making new friends too.

Yeah. So like yesterday we ran into, uh, we, so yesterday during the 5K we ran, uh, we ran by this guy, he was wearing a really dope Schumacher. And so I was like, uh, as we walked by him, I was like, hey man, like, like nice Schumacher. And then I think we talked about it yesterday's debrief. The dude's name was Miles. And yeah, he's, this is his what, 14th race, 13th race. He's getting his shield. And then today on the race, we saw him and we were like, what's up, Miles? You know, and it's not like we're like exchanging numbers and gonna, you know, hang out later, but like, dude, like even, even the brief social connection that we make with people, I think it has an impact on us, right? On, on us. And like, you know, both parties when I say us, like that you can, even though we may never see these other people again, like some of them we will, like, like you're talking about friends that, you know, from other places of life coming here all in Greece doing this race, but like being able to just form a real, though temporary, connection with some people for just the course of a weekend. I think it's really important.

I can still remember conversations that I've had with racers on a course from Colorado. And I think when you are in that much pain, it just solidifies all the conversations and the memories. I've cried on the course talking about family with a guy. And he talked to me about how amazing it was to be a dad. And I don't even remember the guy's name. Yeah, but there's another guy from Colorado that I paced with for a good 8 miles, and him and I are still connected on Instagram now. So the other thing too is just the achievement thing. We've talked multiple times here about how they give you a third of the medal. I've got the medals here, so if you can see them, but like you've got the third of the medal and there's like a magnet with it. But Martin does— uh, Martin— Spartan does a really good job at marketing this, but they give you like little plates that you can put all 3 of your metal things in, all 3 pieces. I think there's— I think like getting a trophy is also really fun, and they're all completion medals. Like, none of us are competing right now for first, second, or third. It's just completion medal for doing something really hard. Yeah, so, you know, there's that, there's that argument that, you know, everybody shouldn't get a medal. And I'm like, well, everybody here that did something hard, I'm like, I think everybody— it's just fun. It's not so much the medal, it's just the memory or the anchor item. Because when you look at a medal, it's an anchor back to something that you did that was difficult. I talked to a lot of salesmen about that. He's like, when you have a breakout week, go buy yourself something that symbolizes that week. Yeah. So.

Well, in the, I can't remember where I heard it from, but the idea that your memories can pay dividends if you let them. Because you, like you make a memory, you have an experience with certain people and it's worth so much to you, right? Like it, in the moment, the experience is worth so much to you. But every time after that, that you think back and remember that experience, you get a dividend on it in the same way that you earn dividends in the stock market. Like, even though you bought the share for $100 and your dividend's $1 every quarter, like, over the course of time, you're still getting paid out for that experience, that one-time purchase way back when. And so I think having a, uh, in this case, like, a physical reminder, you know, that thing on the desk or the little plate— I think I'm gonna get one of the, the triangle plates. No, I don't need the fucking cone thing, but just the one for the, for the 3 medals, like, as a reminder, like, for me, what I'm thinking of is, dude, this was— this is an example of when, uh, I and us, you know, me and Austin, when we, uh, had an idea that we thought was just kind of like crazy, and then we said, why don't we just do it instead? And then we, then we, you know, jumped through the hoops and, and we did it. It's also an example of working really hard daily to get somewhere, because in order to get the ticket, we were doing the burpees every day. And that was the first time that I've done anything for school