Appeal of 'Unknown' Draws Officer to Obstacle Race

1^st Lt. Benjamin Connor will take part in the Spartan Race in Pittsfield, VT in June.  The race is in the Vermont wilderness and includes obstacles. Connor tells Patch why he chose the race:

I have always been physically fit and motivated by stressful and austere challenges. As a high school athlete I ran Varsity track and cross-country, so I have always enjoyed running.

I became a Marine Infantry Officer due in part to service to my country and the inherent mental and physical challenges of the job itself. While I have ran and hiked all over the southwest I have never participated in any named or sanctioned event so this will be my first official race. Last April, while in Afghanistan, I decided I wanted to run a race and began looking online for extreme race-like events and I found www.peakraces.com. 

As I was thumbing around I found a list of their top 100 most difficult races in the world where Tour de France topped that list. Since I do not enjoy bike riding I skipped to race number two on the list which is the Spartan Death Race. I read what little information they gave about it and decided that was the one for me. After registration I talked to my father-in-law and asked if he'd like to go for it too and he accepted. He is also the oldest person running the race at age 55.

The appeal for this race is the unknown, the uncertainty of what physical obstacles we will encounter. I have read previous years blogs and the events range from chopping cords of wood to digging tree roots out of the ground and carrying them for several miles. I envision a race which will require me to carry too much weight too far in a time constrained environment and that for me is just what I am looking for.