Indian Time - A Voice from the Eastern Door

Nikaiataa Skidders, Larry Lee Skidders and friends Bill North, Ed Bressette and Brian Vanderwalker, recently participated in one of the toughest obstacle races in the country, The Spartan Race in Killington, Vermont on Saturday, September 21, 2013. Created in 2005 by seven athletes and a Royal Marine, the race consist of four categories; Spartan Sprint, Super Spartan, Spartan Beast and the Ultra Best Marathon. The Spartan Race at Killington was also the site for the championship race with a prize of 500K for elite athletes. Spartan race participants can chose between four heats; Spartan Sprint run over 3 miles with 15 obstacles to face, Super Spartan run 8 miles and face 20 obstacles and the Spartan Beast where professional athletes compete for a first prize of $500,000.

Considered the “ultimate in obstacle racing over mud races, fun races, Olympic runs and bike races” the Spartan Race is designed to “test your resilience, strength, stamina, quick decision making skills and the ability to laugh in the face of adversity”. But most of all Spartan Races are designed to, “get you off the couch”. For as tough as the course is, 99% of participants complete the race.

Skidders and her friends spent just over 3 hours completing the race along with at least 800 other participants. Heats of 200 participants were set to go every 20 minutes. Participants racing for the money prize were timed and scored throughout the year as people can participant in Spartan races all over the United States and throughout the world.

The first obstacle for Team “Cheesecake” was to hike Killington Mountain measuring 4,241 feet high. Men and women competing for points and cash had to carry 60lbs of sand on their back while doing this. Nikaiataa said, “When we made it to the top I almost started to cry it was so emotional. I realized I was so happy and not from me making it to the top, but helping a teammate who has asthma make it to the top without her puffer.” Once on top of the mountain they had to descend to start a round of obstacles which included a rope pull of 90 lbs. up and to let it down without dropping it, a swing through monkey bars, dragging a cement block down a hill and back up, several wall climbs, a javelin throw that had to stick into a bale of hay, wall scaling where you couldn’t hold onto the top of the wall and your feet could not touch the ground, crawling through a tunnel, and finally a crawl under 50 yards of barbed wire into a pool of mud to climb out and climb a wall with rope.

This is where participants had to pull a 90 lb. block of cement up to the top and bring it back down without dropping it either way.

Nikaiataa Skidders saw all ages and all sizes of people take part in the Spartan Race. Not all participants in the Spartan race arrived in the same shape she and her teammates were in, she saw one man with one arm and another man with only one leg. When she became tired, she knew she could go on and finish, “I became more motivated when I saw these guys doing the race. I thought I can do this, I can finish”. What was most inspiring was how everyone on Team Cheesecake supported each other during the race and helped those on other teams as well. Many participants offered encouraging moral support to people they didn’t even know. The goal of the race is to participate and finish, and except for those participating for money, the entire experience was that of “camaraderie” and “teamwork”.

“If there is anything I can bring back home it is to never give up. I saw people of all sizes in this race. People in teams who wore the “Biggest Loser” t-shirt were there, overweight people, and older people who were determined to tackle this and finish the race”. Skidders said, “I really have to give thanks to Caveman Strong for all the crazy things we do there to get into shape; the prowler push (pushing weights on a football stand), the farmer’s carry (carrying bags of sand in bags), pull-ups and chin-ups, the bear crawl. The spirit of the Spartan Race reflects the spirit of Caveman Strong – get out there and do it in a supportive and healthy atmosphere”.