or – How I prepare for wedding season.
Last Sunday, I ran in the innaugural Spartan Race at the Catamount Outdoor Family Center in Williston, Vt. The Spartan Race is a 5k with 12 great obstacles, like a fire jump, a barbed wire crawl, a vertical wall, a short swim, and what seemed like a 1/2 mile run uphill through a deep mud field. There were about 500 racers, a bunch of people in Spartan wear (seen 300?) a beer tent and band. This race is a qualifier for something called the Death Race – I’ve seen video, I’m not ready for that.
It was a beautiful spring day, I think the first we’ve had. If this had been a week earlier, it would have been snowing.
This guy has issues. He went easy on me, but others weren’t so lucky.
Emily McManamy at the Burlington Free Press took this photo of me making my first of two trips under the barbed wire. It really wasn’t that low. Check out more of her photographs from the race.
I made it – I won’t share my time. It was more about finishing anyway. I did beat some friends and that’s all that really matters, right?
Ryan, below, is the one who suggested that I run this race. Really, he made it so I couldn’t say no. You’d think he won the race with that smile on his face.
Andy Duback, another Vermont photographer, finished a bit ahead of me, but he’s taller and has a longer stride. That’s my excuse.
Did I mention the mud?
High in the sky » Rajan Chawla Photography[…] On Sunday, I photographed my 5th UVM College of Medicine Commencement at Ira Allen Chapel in Burlington. It was a beautiful day, probably the best I’ve seen. One of the things we do is to gather the 106 recently minted doctors on the steps of the chapel for a group photo, which requires that I use my loud voice and try to move 200-300 family members out of the way, and stand on top of this rickety ladder. There is one nice gentleman holding the ladder, and also a guy standing right underneath! Obviously not superstitious. Thanks to Andy Duback for this photograph. Also, I hate heights. This made me more nervous than the Spartan race. […]