MudRunFun Magazine Aug. 2013 | Page 31

Racing is living! It is the time that I feel most alive. There is not a comparison to listening to the national anthem, and having that rush come over your body. The feeling that “it” is about to go down. There are warriors, men and women, on each side. They all want to win! The heart is pounding and all one can do is rely on their training. There is only one other thing that gives me that feeling. I have been a surfer since I was six years old. OCR is like surfing. It is you, against yourself, against nature. A surfer has to have the heart to push oneself over that ledge. In OCR, one has to have the heart to keep pushing when your mind says to stop. For me, I love to compete, but it is relative to the fun runner as well. There has to be a high level of will and determination to reach the end, but it is such a unique feeling of accomplishment when there. The finish line is another dimension in itself. We slap high fives, we celebrate with beer and bananas, and we have a unity that is unrivaled in anything I have ever seen. It is like we all have an understanding of each other now, because we all went through this same struggle and survived. We pushed our limits as humans and we are all now connected in this awesome way. There are no more problems, there are no racial divides, and there are no politics or religion. There is just the moment and we drink from this cup together. Joe Rivera, my great friend and mentor, introduced me to MRF and changed my life. I was honored to join MRF elite months later. My toughest competitors ar ????????????)???????????5I???????)???I?????????????????? ?????????Y???????????????)??????????????????????Q???????????????????????????????????????????????]?????)???????????????????????????????????]??????????????????????????????????)?????????????????????????????????)??????????????????????????????????????????????]?????????????????????)?????5I???????????????????????????????$???????e???????????????????????????????)????????????????????????????Q???M????????????????????????????Q???????%?e??????)?????]?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????)??????????????????????????????????????????]??????????????????????????????)?????$????????????????????????????????????????????5UIU9U8?????)Q???-??????????I???????5?????????)??0??I?????M?????5I?????Q???((