Happy new-ish year. It’s time to start thinking about race calendars and planning for the upcoming year. Below is a list of events that might be of interest to the PAX organized into three categories: Obstacle Course Races, Ultra Running Events, and Relay Races. Of note: bookmark the Savage Race on 5/13/17 and be on the lookout for upcoming details about it since this will be the featured spring event for Area 51. This doesn’t look great in WordPress, so I have it available in Excel if anyone would like a copy. Email me at kevin.r.mays@gmail.com if you want the file. I also sent this in to Comz HQ for publishing in the next newsletter.
| Obstacle Races | ||||
| Name | Date | Location | Description | Website |
| Spartan Sprint | 4/8/17-4/9/17 | Charlotte, NC | 4-5 miles distance with about 20 obstacles – mix of grip obstacles, heavy carries, mud | spartan.com |
| Savage Race | 5/13/2017 | Charlotte, NC | Approximately 6 miles with 25 obstacles – looks to be a hybrid of Spartan and American Ninja Warrior | savagerace.com |
| Warrior Dash | 6/3/2017 | Huntersville, NC | The gateway drug of obstacle racing – 5K distance, the heat is typically the hardest obstacle. F3 men can dominate this event. | warriordash.com |
| Spartan Super & Sprint Weekend | 7/29/2017-7/30/17 | Asheville, NC | 8-10 miles distance with about 25 obstacles – mix of grip obstacles, heavy carries, mud. Last year’s course stole souls and broke spirits | spartan.com |
| Spartan Beast & Sprint Weekend | 11/4/17-11/5/17 | Winnsboro, SC | 12-14 miles distance with about 30 obstacles – mix of grip obstacles, heavy carries, mud | spartan.com |
| Rugged Maniac | 5/20/2017 | Rockingham, NC | About 5K distance, obstacles appear to be more climbing/jumping in nature rather than strength focused in addition to mud | ruggedmaniac.com |
| Spartan Sprint | 9/23/17-9/24/17 | Fayetteville, NC | 4-5 miles distance with about 20 obstacles – mix of grip obstacles, heavy carries, mud | spartan.com |
| Bonefrog | 11/18/2017 | Concord, NC | 11 miles 50 obstacles, designed by Navy Seals to simulate their training – looks legit | bonefrogchallenge.com |
| Ultra Races | ||||
| Name | Date | Location | Description | Website |
| Frosty Foot 50K/30K/8K | 1/21/2017 | Almond, NC | 50K trail race in the mountains of western NC | footrxasheville.com |
| Salem Lakeshore Frosty 50K/25K | 1/21/2017 | Winston-Salem, NC | Looks like a big loop around a lake | twincitytc.org |
| Fat Ass 50K | 1/28/2017 | Ft Bragg, NC | No entry fees, but no awards or t-shirts | etinternet.net |
| Mill Stone 50K | 2/11/2017 | Ft Mill, SC | Three 10.5 mile loops on the ASC greenway | rockhillstriders.org |
| Mount Mitchell Challenge | 2/25/2017 | Black Mountain, NC | 40 miles of trails to the highest point on the East Coast | blackmountainmarathon.com |
| Fontandango Foot Race 50 Mile | 3/4/2017 | Fontana Dam, NC | Individual and Relay options available | footrxasheville.com |
| Peytons Wild & Wacky Ultra 50K | 3/11/2017 | Mt Pleasant, SC | Appears to be 10 laps of a 5K course, which sounds neither wild nor wacky | ultrasignup.com |
| Relay Races | ||||
| Name | Date | Location | Description | Website |
| Smokey Mountain Relay | 4/21/2017 | Brevard, NC | 206 mile relay similar to the BRR | smokymountainrelay.com |
| Palmetto 200 & 70 | 3/17/2017 | Charleston, SC | Explore the highways of South Carolina on foot when running and by van when not running | palmetto200.com |
| Blue Ridge Relay | 9/8/2017 | Asheville, NC | No descrition needed | blueridgerelay.com |
| Ragnar | 10/6/2017 | Ft Mill, SC | Run, Camp, Repeat | ragnarrelay.com |
| Tuna Run 200 | 10/20/2017 | Raleigh, NC | Run to the coast and eat fish | tunarun200.com |
| Colonial 200 & 70 | 5/5/2017 | Williamsburg, VA | More vineyards but less mountains than the BRR – probably people dressed up as minutemen | colonial200.com |
31 of South Charlotte’s finest escaped the fartsack hoping this post would match the backblast I posted from my first F3 workout. I linked the BB to a tweet earlier in the week (http://f3nation.com/2014/01/17/making-up-as-we-go/). Here’s what we did:
The Thang:
Launch and head towards the stairs to middle stair of the parking deck. At the top circle up for COP
SSH, run down the stairs, 5 burpees, back up the stairs and circle up.
IW, run down the stairs, 5 burpees, back up the stairs and circle up.
Merkins, run down the stairs, 5 burpees, and plank to wait on the 6.
Stair suicides – Head over the stairs on the far right for stair suicides. Run up to the 2nd floor, 5 burpees, back to the bottom for 10 merkin, run up to 3rd floor, 5 burpees, etc.
Wall jumps – Line up on the street and sprint to the yellow line and back X 3. Only way to the line is jumping over a 5 foot wall
Run the deck – Head over to the entrance of the deck. Run up the deck, 5 burpees at the top of each ramp and 10 merkins at the bottom of each ramp. Go back and get the 6.
Take the stairs to the bottom level and line up at the bottom ramp. In and out planks IC Sprint to the top of the ramp to 3rd floor. Recover back down. Ski planks IC Sprint to the top of the ramp to 3rd floor. Recover back down. Low Plank Jacks IC Sprint to the top of the ramp to 3rd floor.
Mosey Over to the old launch parking lot and divide up in 5 lines. Split lines in half and 2 people walk 40 yards. Hair burn back and forth while resting pax does called exercise.
COT
Moleskin:
3 years ago I posted at Centurion as an FNG. The workout was tough, but interesting. Afterwards, the men circled up, counted off, told me I was an “FNG” then asked me to tell a little about myself. My response was the usual “Born and raised in Myrtle Beach, married my high school sweet heart, 2 kids, 2 dogs, gamecock and an accountant” the potential names started flowing. I heard, Spurrier, The boardwalk, Springmaid, The Boulevard, Pavilion, Shag, then my dear friend Jamboree says “Don’t they have a wax museum in Myrtle beach? How about Madame Tussauds.” The guys went nuts and yelled, “That’s it, Madame Tussauds.” 2 things raced through my mind (1) what in the heck just happened and (2) who is Madame Tussauds (I didn’t know how to spell it so even google wasn’t that helpful at first). That day at work I finally realized it was a wax museum. Then, my boss (Red Warrior from Metro) asked me my name and I embarrassingly responded “Madame Tussauds,” he sat back in his chair, shook his head and said “The best thing to do with a name like that is to own it” Since that moment, I’ve embraced being Madame T. Over the last 3 years, F3 has had a profound impact on my life, my family and my work. I’m happier, healthier and have a bunch of guys that I call friends that are like minded and good honest people. The early morning workouts help me sleep better, I’m less stressed about life and work, I’m a better leader at work, and better father and most of all a better husband to my M Amanda.
F3 workouts are free of charge; open to all men; held outdoors, rain or shine, heat or cold; and are led by men wo participate in the workout in a rotating fashion, with no training or certification necessary. All you need is an F3 name to change your life, so own it.
As for the workout…. Chelms form is still terrible.
As always, it was a pleasure leading the men in The Gloom.
Announcements:
Tutoring and Team Building/Weekend activities at AG Middle School. See Chelms to volunteer.
New Mud Run this year – Savage Race on 5/13. Start building your 4 man team.
3rd F on Friday at Panera, new Book called “In search for God knows what.”
19 Grown men showed up in the dark and got to work by 4’s and 13’s. This is how it went down.
Run to childcare parking lot to begin the 4:13’s.
4:13 #1-Warm up
Run back through school and down to the track.
4:13 #2-Run around the track and in each of the corners stop for exercises
4:13 #3-Partner up, run opposite ways around the track. when you meet up do called exercise, first back lead Mary.
Head over to the bleachers, stop for 1 rock per pair.
4:13 #4-Rocks and Running
4:13 #5-Rocks and Running Remix
4:13 #6-The finisher, we were at 2.87 miles so I considered making it three but decided to keep the theme going.
I had lots of options for workout themes this morning.
It has been an honor to serve as a site Q at Base Camp. Thanks everyone for your help in making this a great site.This is a solid bunch of guys and still one of my favorite workouts. Drano is stepping up to run things with Goonie. I trust the site is in good hands, but I promised I would be around to serve as quality control.
Holy Moley
Until next time!
• 13 men chose to not sleep in on MLK Day, and started the week right with a down-payment of burpees and other fun stuff.
The Thang:
After a quick and sort-of thorough disclaimer, we completed a long mosey around the school grounds and settled into COP at the parking lot below the launch site.
SSH x 20 IC
IW x20 IC
Low Slow Squat x20 IC
Mountain Climbers x20 IC
Partner Up. Size and speed did not matter
P1 runs to the playground for 10 pull-ups
P2 stays put for Flutter
Flapjack
P1 runs to the playground for 10 pull-ups
P2 stays put for LBCs
Flapjack
P1 runs to the playground for 10 pull-ups
P2 stays put for Freddie Mercury
PAX then lined up on the parking lot curb for some fun…
Round 1:
10 Merkins, Lung Walk to the middle of the lot, 5 burpees. Lung Walk the remaining half, 10 Merkins on the other side. Rinse and repeat on the return trip
Round 2:
10 Incline Merkins on the curb, Lung Walk to the middle of the lot, 4 burpees. Lung Walk the remaining half, 10 Incline Merkins on the other side. Rinse and repeat on the return trip
Round 3:
10 CDDs, Bear Crawl to the middle of the lot, 3 burpees. Bear Crawl the remaining half, 10 CDDs on the other side. Rinse and repeat on the return trip
Round 4:
10 CDDs, “Gorillaz” to the middle of the lot, 1 burpee. “Gorillaz” for the remaining half, 10 CDDs on the other side. Rinse and repeat on the return trip
Mosey to the school for some People’s Chair and more burpees.
Hold the chair position while 1 at a time, the PAX stepped out and completed 5 burpees each.
Mosey to the “upper” parking lot
3 gassers
5 burpees OYO
Done.
Moleskin:
Not sure what the PAX expected with the “duck” workout tweet courtesy of Poptart, but YHC was glad to see the regulars for my VQ at The Matrix. Not a lot of chatter this AM and the PAX was on it from the start. Tclaps to Paper Jam who rolled right in from his pre-run and didn’t miss a beat. Lots of hard work out there today by all with the usual crew of Header, Smokey, Joker and Chin Music up front. By far the crowd pleaser was the “Gorillaz” and Turkey Leg was even fast on those!. YHC heard the PAX yell something about being banning from YouTube to find such torture but alas that is not YHC’s creation. The M’s trainer gets credit for that abusive walk on all fours.
The People’s Burpee Chair was also a hit. Joker demonstrated some mad hops on his 5 burpees and the form police were definitely out for that called exercise. The PAX messed up and demonstrated that good form and high jumps is attainable in the gloom. No one disappointed there either. Some mumble chatter about the gassers and burpees at the end but YHC had to chew up the remaining few minutes without working any more shoulders into the mix. Welcome to FNG Bookie. Great job out there today and don’t let the Gorillaz, or any Draft Kings action keep you from posting again. Thanks to Poptart and Squid for the opportunity. Thanks to Squid for the solid take-out. Thanks to the entire PAX for pushing YHC this AM.
….Here’s what happened: Quick disclaimer and we’re headed towards Smoke for a warm-up COP.
SSH x 15 + IW x 15 + MC x 16 = 46 (Total) Burpees x 5 OYO
Mosey to Firebirds, partner-up (SPEED MATTERS!) for a 2-Lap ‘Catch Me If You Can’. Partner 1- Gets a 20-yd lead and if caught takes a 20-Burpee Penalty. Rest of the Pax Merkins x 10, Inclines x 10, Lunges x 10, Flutters x 10 (Repeat until 6 is finished.)
Flapjack Partner / Chaser-Chasee. Pax doing Dips x 10, American Hammer x 10, Durkins x 10, Squats x 10. Waiting on the 6 with a little Plank-O-Rama.
Mosey to the back of Target for some speed-bump work. Keep it simple, Burpees x 3 at each speed bump down and back.
Mosey back to Smoke parking lot for COP. Did two “Round Robbins” of various called excercises while the caller runs the circle. Burpees x 5 OYO.
Line up at stop sign and AYG back to the COT.
Moleskin – I appreciate the PAX for showing up on the Q’s Birthday. I was able to work in 46 Burpees hopefully under the radar. The only exception was Van Pelt’s 66-Burpees, but he chose a really fast partner….Thin Mint. (That’s a tough lesson.) I probably should have taken the penalty because Morning After almost made me puke in the bushes. I think Heartbreaker and Buckey settled on a tie.
Joe Davis Run…….If you’re reading this…..you missed it.
BT
Only 3 chances left to make your likely first, and possibly last, post to SOFA WIB.
Counting down the greatest (relative term) hits from the past 18 months. Checking in at #3…
María María
Sundancer was proud of this one, and that pride caused him to put up a “complete it in 45 minutes and you can name it” challenge. One Eye was the first to do it, but you can’t name a workout that way. Too easy. So the naming went One Eye, who got his name from his hospital name’s resemblance to a certain cyclops from Monsters Inc., to another interpretation of his moniker. Governor Mark Sanford was a famous recent individual who thought with the little head instead of the big head, and his Argentinian mistress’ name was María. Extra credit points for Sundancer also disliking the Carlos Santana song by the same name.
The Thang
AYG half mile to the corner of Rea and Rea (just past the HT). Overachievers get burpees while waiting for the six. Partner up – size / speed / conversational skills / etc. all matter.
Forward run to first lit street light. Backwards run to next. 7 burpees.
Forward run to next lit street light. Backwards run to next. 10 merkins.
Forward run to next lit street light. Backwards run to next. 10 WW2 situps (you’re welcome).
At each side street, 5 Dumbocrats (equal opportunity suck).
Continue the sequence all the way to Hwy 51 and back to HT. AYG back to Olde Providence.
Generally cover 3.6ish miles, which includes about a mile of backward running, with “a crap ton” of all of the above. Suffice it to say, there are a lot of street lights along the way.
Likely a bit of OT involved, so plan accordingly. Good luck getting back in 45 minutes, but that’s the goal.
See you in the gloom.
It’s January and thus the green eye shade guys (Abacus, MT, and maybe a few more) are buried with tax returns and receipt boxes from people who don’t like order or numbers. MT led 31 strong thru torment to be described later (including hair burners that ruined any hopes of PR in the Joe Davis Run the next day). BB will be posted on April 16, 2017.
Swift will be going Time Based intervals for a few weeks. Up to you whether you program these workouts into your watch, pay close attention to your Lap time on your watch, or simply listen for the PAX around you to Start / Stop each interval.
The THANG:
A crew of Mecklenburg’s finest rolled into the Pineville PD parking lot this morning to put in some work. 12 other random dudes showed up too for a wild ride around the charming little town in the southwestern corner of the county. Whim and Daisy answered the 0500 bell for a 2.5 mi preview prerun.
Heres what went down:
Out of the PPD lot we took a right on 51, crossed the tracks, and hung a left behind the buildings for COP.
Imperial Walkers, SSH, Low slow squats, Merkins. All x15IC
We dodged some commuter traffic and crossed back over 51 at Johnston. We took a quick mosey loop around the downtown block together – noting the corner of Johnston and Childers St. as “the spot”. From 51, down Johnston to the rec center, it’s about half a mile. We alternated AYG/jog at each side street on the right, which totaled 3 hot, 3 cold.
We planked at community center lot to regroup and stumbled upon a women’s fitness group in full swing. The lady in charge invited us to join, to which we quickly counter-offered inviting them to join us. After some awkward bodily noises and smells, we dipped out to track around lake for a hot CMIYC partner lap. 7 HR merkins.
We did some mary in rec center lot- probably too close to the fitness group for comfort (theirs, not ours).
Headed back up Johnston alternating the sprint/jog at each side street on the left. Regroup at “the spot”.
We partnered back up for some hot laps around downtown, with P1 running the lap and P2 doing the called exercise.
Indian run back to the lot. Quick AYG out and back in the PPD parking lot.
Moleskinny:
Temps were +/-35 degrees warmer this Monday than last week. Guys were getting after it in a workout that leaned heavier on the running.
Nemo and Whim lit up the streets heading down Johnston to the lake. Nemo never let off the gas all morning. Being 15 has its perks. Thin Mint was more methodical in his lurking and smoked everyone down the stretch.
If my math’s on, we had 2 “Respects” out there this morning. Marlin was crushing it and didn’t let Nemo get too far out of sight. One-and-Done may need a rename. He’s back. Strong effort coming off the Berlin marathon, my man.
Pulp Fiction has never seen Pulp Fiction. Too many one-liners in that movie to count. Pretty sure I’m on probation of some sort – otherwise I’d risk my online credentials with some good Sam Jackson quotes. Sound off in the comments with your fave.
Banana Boat was up front all morning. He doesn’t know if he was named after sunscreen or a man-thong. Can you help?
Private Benjamin has one of the longer names out there. Although, I can relate to being named after “your favorite movie.” Thanks, Splinter, wherever you are. Dude was getting after it this morning- strong as an ox.
Daisy quickly put an end to my thoughts of “relaxing for 30 minutes in the truck if no one shows up for the prerun”. Him and Whim got a couple bonus miles through P-town.
Dumpster Fire and Cheddar have a gold mine on their hands. If you’ve never posted at The Big House, come check it out. This AO has more unique territory than anywhere around- plus, I’d unanimously votebit “AO least likely to have your car broken into”.
Thanks for the opportunity to lead this morning. Enjoyed it thoroughly.
peace and luv,
HB
Warm-Up
Side-straddle hops x 20
Imperial walkers x 15
Mountain Climbers x 20
Sit-outs x 10
Partner Up
Round 1
Partner 1 – 20 swings
Partner 2 – 20 merkins
Flapjack
Partner 1 – 20 swings
Partner 2 – 19 merkins
Descend the ladder until 20 swings, 10 merkins for a total of 200 swings and 165 merkins
Walk to the outside classroom
Partner 1 – 20 Box jumps/step-ups
Partner 2 – 20 Goblet squats
Flapjack
Partner 1 – 20 Box jumps/step-ups
Partner 2 – 19 Goblet squats
Descend the ladder until 20 Box jumps/step-ups and 10 squats for a total of 200 jumps/step-ups and 165 squats.
Moleskine
What do you do when there are nine dudes and seven kettlebells? Throw out the Weinke and try to keep it simple. This is not what I planned. However, I think this workout was actually harder than my original design. Swings, Merkins, Jumps, Squats – 4 movements for a complete work-out. The conversation was kept a minimum and the group powered through the ladders. I saw nothing but hard work and good form. (Well, our squats could be better.) Kudos to the “runners” who showed up – Teddy, Fahvre (JD10K winner) and Gumbo. Escobar is all about the gear – a Foxhole and Fat Camp regular. Frehley, high off a Clemson win, led the crew in some extra credit pull-ups. One-Niner showed fine form after his JD PR. Great to see Snooki at Foxhole, great work keep coming back! And finally, thank you to Argonaut for leading the KB clinic and inviting me to lead the crew. It’s always an honor.
Announcements
Check Slack and Twitter for Kinetic Heights and Race/OCR calendars.