Photos submitted by Ashley Boynes-Shuck.
before. Many of the veterans had trained at
special gyms that specialized in preparing
athletes for the show’s obstacle course.
“Some people dedicate their lives to
this and some guys quit their jobs to train
specifically for this show,” he says. “They’ve
been here before and they know what they are
doing. I felt I was at a disadvantage.”
He was very nervous and didn’t sleep well
the night before the competition. Because
the episodes are filmed at night, Shuck spent
the next day in nervous anticipation of what
he would face, since details of the obstacle
course were not released until the last minute.
He read some of the letters his students had
written to try to find some extra motivation
before the competition began.
“I wanted to relax but I couldn’t,” S