Hello everyone, this is Ed Malaker from dED and BURYd, and today I want to tell you about a Spartan race Frank and I entered and completed on June 18th, 2023. The race took place in Bethel, NY, about an hour from my home in Carbondale, PA. While I realized the race was in Bethel when I signed up, I didn’t notice that it was at the original Woodstock site at Bethel Woods until much later. This site holds a lot of significance for me because my mom fought to protect it and forced them to downsize the project to preserve much of the area, including the field where the original stage was. You can read much about what she did on her website, The Woodstock Preservation Archives.
We also camped here many times throughout my life on the anniversary weekend in August when they used to have large gatherings before it became Bethel Woods. Since then, they’ve held anniversary gatherings on nearby properties, and we’ve attended several. We’ve even played on multiple occasions.
What is the Spartan Race?
A Spartan Race is a combination of a race plus an obstacle course. In this case, it was a 5K run with 20 obstacles, including climbing over walls, running through mud, climbing rope, carrying rock-filled buckets up and downhill, rolling under barbed wire, and more. Other races are even longer and contain harder obstacles. When you complete the race, you get a medal and 1/3 of another medal. Completing 3 races, or a Trifecta, wins you three pieces that fit together to create a complete second medal.
How Did It Start?
Frank and my sister Martie who you might remember as the keyboard player from our band, The Steel Knives, were the first to join the Spartan Race in September of 2022, as they had run many races before and knew about them. Nancy thought it would be a good idea for me to join to get better control over my health. So I did.
How Did It Turn Out?
I thought the race turned out great. It was Father’s Day, the weather was nice, and Nancy, my parents, my uncle, my son, and his girlfriend came to see us. After nine months of training, I lost about 45 pounds, got a lot stronger, and finished the race beating exactly 50% of the people that entered, completing most of the obstacles.
Frank and my sister said they had trouble getting motivated to train for the race and even thought about dropping out instead of having a bad performance. However, Frank ended up finishing second in his age group for the event we entered, and twice I failed at an obstacle, only to turn around and watch my sister complete it with ease.
What’s Next?
Before the race, I decided to run it again next year and try to beat my time. Frank and my sister were also motivated by their performance and will run again next year, with Frank hoping to win his age group. We might even go for the Trifecta next time, so stay tuned for more updates.
Pictures of the Race
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