HONOLULU (March 31, 2014) -- The 413th Contracting Support Brigade's Peacekeepers competed in a challenging Spartan Race for the second time, March 23.
They took on the 3.2 mile course, with 15 obstacles along the route, entirely within Aloha Stadium, normally used for football.
The team was comprised of 10-members from various Army and Air Force tenants and a civilian: Marlene Barretto, Lt. Col. Frankie Cruz, Staff Sgt. Arthur Dominguez, Capt. David Garrison, Sgt. 1st Class Rachel Harris, Master Sgt. April Johnson, Master Sgt. Larry Metcalf, Staff Sgt. Brandon Stinson, Capt. Jared Tharp and Capt. Kasandra Tharp.
The team competed amongst a crowd of more than 3,000 race participants.
"It was exciting to compete in this unique athletic event as a team of Soldiers and civilians," said Cruz. "Our team was extremely motivated. Anxiety was high, but overall confident, as this was our 2nd Spartan race in less than a year, and we would do well with our plan to stay together through all obstacles.
"If you haven't participated in a Spartan Race, you need to," Cruz continued, "because it is not about how fit you are, but really about overcoming challenges with your team and crossing the finish line together."
The Spartan Race was even more challenging than the last time. The entire course was held inside the football stadium. Not only were the racers challenged with difficult obstacles, but tackling the obstacle course while running up 1,500-plus steps was daunting even to the most extreme racers.
"This was a challenging course that was much more difficult than the normal 5K races I'm used to. I will never under estimate this type of race again," said first-time Spartan racer Dominguez.
Harris agreed.
"Although the course was challenging, all members stayed the course and never left anyone behind," Harris said. "One of our NCOs (noncommissioned officers) took the lead by keeping all team members moving, and another NCO helped bring up the rear by being the team motivator. All in all, great team work!"
Part of the attraction for coming together as a team to conduct the Spartan race again was its unique challenge -- the event being held at the notorious Pro Bowl stadium and the entire course being held inside. Being able to compete on the football turf of one of Oahu's landmarks was a daunting challenge the racers wanted to face, one they resolved to conquer and complete.
Barretto, a civilian member of the 413th and a regular team racer and supporter commented, "Another awesome adventure with fellow comrades! The Spartan sprint at the Aloha Stadium was challenging and had many obstacles that tested our strength. We pushed through and fought the exhaustion of the tire pull, low crawl, wall climbing, push-ups, rope climbing, and running up and down flights of stairs. However, nothing beats the feeling of sprinting to the finish line as a team."
Even with the mindset of stick together and have fun, the team had an impressive finish time of 1 hr and 1 minute and 37 seconds. The team crossed the finish line together and placed 41st out of the top 100 team finishers.
Metcalf remarked, "One of the better races I have done. The team was motivated and never gave up, a true team event. I was pleased with the course and the layout and how well everyone did. Great Job Team 'Peacekeepers.'"
"The Spartan race was a great team-building event," said Garrison. "I'm proud of all the military and civilians who volunteered to come out and participate on their day off. The team was highly motivated, worked together and finished strong. I'm looking forward to our next one."
Members and family of the 413th CSB plan to continue to team up and face demanding obstacles that challenge and build team cohesion inside and outside of work, bringing military and civilians together.
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