Thermopylae Race Review - Reagan - July 2015

The Thermopylae race is an annual event that occurs in June of every school year. It is a roughly 5k obstacle course that consists of various stations that competitors have to overcome. Some obstacles include mud pits, war machines, urpees, military crawl, skipping, hurdle type obstacles, hill runs, squats, elevated mountain climbers, and much more. The ultimate goal is to finish the race in the least amount of time with the greatest amount of mud possible! You parade your mud proudly as a badge of honour! I can hear our mother’s collective groan!

Each year the race has increased incrementally in size with 14 schools (over 800 athletes) adding to our numbers this year. Camaraderie is wide spread and infectious, opposing competitors encourage each other during weak periods either with a helping hand or a “you can do it”, even though they may be ready to collapse themselves! The race ends where it began amid the cheers of spectators. Participants record their times in hopes of achieving personal bests. Goals for each competitor vary, with some striving for record times, while others goals may be simply to complete the race. Whatever your goal may be you should feel pride in participating.

An award is given for fastest time recorded for both boys and girls. The times of all competitors for individual schools are compiled and then divided by the number of participants. The school with the best time is awarded the glorious Thermopylae Mud Tire Trophy to display proudly for the remainder of the year, until the next rivalry. 

The race was recorded this year with the use of a Go Pro. I was lucky enough to be the one chosen to sport the camera on my chest. Although I forgot to clean off the lens after the mud pits, we achieved some pretty good footage. During the run I pretty much forgot I was wearing it and was unaware how much encouragement I was giving other competitors, All this encouragement earned me the “Thermopy-Me” award, which is a new award, presented to the competitor with the most spirit.

So my advice to you is, don’t let the length intimidate you!

“If you can’t run, then walk; if you can’t walk, then crawl; and if you can’t crawl, your teammates will carry you!” A very wise man told me that --- Thanks Mr. Maher.

The feeling of fulfillment and accomplishment boosts your spirits and makes you feel like you can achieve whatever you set out to do! The mud is just an added benefit, and makes for some really great pictures.

Many thanks to our sponsors who made this event possible: Hylete, Momentum Watches, Orange Theory Fitness, Calgary Co-Op, Costco Beacon Hill, Safe Guard, Muscle Milk, Big Chief, Promixx, the Running Room, and many more!