The Big Hooyah

This passed weekend was the running of The Big Hooyah, located in Goochland, VA.  TBH is put on by former Navy SEAL John McGuire and the folks at SEAL Team Physical Training.  TBH was a timed event, and you could sign up as an individual or as a three-person team.  My wife and I signed up, and asked to have a third person added...we were lucky enough to have someone who had lost her teammates (and decided to run the event anyway...) waiting at the registration desk.  Teamwork is a huge component of not only the Navy SEAL teams but also with John's organization, and this is something my wife and I look for when we run these events.  We enjoy completing the obstacles, as well as the camaraderie and team work, and sense of accomplishment that you get.  Another thing that we look for is support for charitable organizations, and TBH supports the Navy SEAL Foundation and One Team One Fight.  Also, some folks from Enduring Warrior were there, running in t-shirts with one carrying a cake.  (NOTE:  He finished with the cake intact!)

So, regardless of what happened or how we did, we knew we were at the event for the right reasons.  Also, our teammate let us know that she'd lost 40+ lbs since the beginning of the year, and like many folks I've met before, running this event (or another like it) was a goal for her.  Not only that, but she later told us that she'd only run at most 4 miles, on the road, before this event...so this was something of a PBR for her, and she did great.  My wife also did an amazing job on the course, as this was longer than she'd ever run, as well.  Not only that, she did better on many of the obstacles than she'd done before, AND she had a lot of fun!

Venue
Venue is always a concern with events such as these...how do I easily get into and out of the venue, and what kind of access do emergency vehicles need?  The weather really held up nicely through the week; even though there was some rain during the week, it wasn't so much that it made the venue unusable.  For the most part, the signage could have been a bit better...upon entering the area, we saw a sign telling instructors to go one way, and participants another.  Further on, we saw what we thought were signs for parking...it turns out (we learned later, about 15 min into the event) that they were actually signs for the course.  We followed other folks who were similarly lost, and eventually made it to the parking location.  The confusion might have had something to do with us being one of the early group and not having anyone to follow, per se.

Overall, the venue was nice and open, with plenty of room to move around, mingle, and lay in the sun after you'd completed the event.

Organization
The event was very well organized, starting and stopping at an open picnic area right next to the parking area.  This not only meant that everything was centrally organized, but ingress and egress were easy.  There were a couple of obstacles right there at the venue, so we all got to look at them, develop strategies, and hope that we remembered those strategies by the time we got to the obstacle!

There were plenty of restroom facilities, and at the end of the event, there was a firetruck to spray mud off of folks who felt that they needed that, and food and drinks available.

The course had plenty of water stops, as well as electrolyte replacement ("goo") packs available.  Some folks might think that that sort of thing isn't necessary for an event of this length, but if you haven't trained on rolling hills and varied terrain, you might consider partaking in what's offered.  I followed the same hydration strategy I used when running the Marine Corps Marathon in '88 and '89...mix water and Gatorade.  TBH had a lot of running on wooded trails, but also a lot of other muscles were used for things like swimming, carrying weights, etc.  More than once I saw folks stop due to cramping, especially in the lower legs so for future events, we're planning to add the electrolyte replacement goo to our hydration strategy.

Course
The course was...well...pretty awesome.  The event was billed as "6+ miles", but it was a bit more than that, between 8 and 9 miles, I'd think.  The only reason that mattered was because this was an intermediate event for my wife to gauge how ready she is for the Mid-Atlantic Fall Tough Mudder next month.  I ran the spring event, and it was 12 miles, with very similar terrain, so this was a good gauge for her, so that she can see where she is and what she needs to do to get that orange headband.

The course was very well laid out and marked, with lots of blaze orange spray paint to mark not only the direction, but hazards (exposed roots, holes, etc.), as well.  I think that's really important and very beneficial for most of the folks running these events, because it is such a challenge.  When you see the folks who run and complete these events, you really have to sit down at one point and take stock...and wonder, what's my excuse for NOT doing something like this?  I didn't see the wounded warriors I usually see at other events, but this event had folks across the spectrum of ages and fitness levels.  It was truly amazing to see everyone out there giving their all; like the motto on the event t-shirt said, "All it takes is all you've got".

Obstacles
I really enjoyed the obstacles at this event because there was no attempt to copy another event.  For example, when we ran the Savage Race in July, it was kind of like running a mini-Tough Mudder. The obstacles at TBH were different from those that I've seen at other events.  We did bear crawls, reverse crab walks with a sandbag in our laps, and a bunch of other stuff that you don't see in a gym.

Perhaps the most unique thing about the obstacles was the use of KIMS (keep in memory) games.  There were three stations along the course where you had to answer a question, and depending on your answer (two were boolean, one you had to give an answer to the instructor), you were guided in one of two directions.  I don't know what happened to those who answered incorrectly...we answered correctly all three times, and were rewarded with a sign saying so further on down the course!  Also, the last event of the course was a puzzle!

One obstacle required you to pick up a PVC pipe that was capped on both ends and partially filled with water, and traverse a set of cones (set in a square).  It's not as easy as it sounds, as the pipe is maybe 7 or so feet long, which means if you tip in one direction, all the water goes there, and you lean to one side, throwing you off course and in danger of getting assigned 30 burpees for failure to complete the obstacle.

There was another obstacle that was pretty fun, and really reminded me of my training at Officer Candidate School and The Basic School.  This one was called the "Trail of Despair" and each person on your team picked up a sandbag (weighing maybe 40 lbs...the ones with holes weighed less), and started down a path.  The path was narrow, and became slippery...it was along some water, so everyone had to be careful.  Just when we thought that we were going to trudge along with our heads down, and just plow through to the end, we hit a deep culvert, with ropes hanging down the muddy slope on the opposite side.  This is where teamwork really came into play...we teamed up with an all-female team and added a young man who was running it as an individual, and got all of us...and our sandbags...up the slope.  My wife referred to this particular obstacle as "pure genius", and it was!

At the end of the course, just before the puzzle, were two sets of monkey bars.  The first had parallel sets of bars that went directly away from you, so this was kind a training event for the American Ninja Warrior.  Immediately after that was another set of monkey bars, with the bars set going right to left in front of you, but staggered in height.  At the beginning of the event, a lot of folks were looking at these two obstacles and planning their strategies...but as I was taught in the Marines, no plan survives enemy contact.  Let's just say that after getting all the way through the course and using muscles you've probably never used in your life, those plans you made when you were well rested were a distant memory.  Failure to complete either of these obstacles required you to run around a cone set about 75 yrds away.  Since this course is all about team work, if one team member doesn't complete the obstacle, we all do the punishment!

Overall, this was a fantastic event, and even though my wife's culminating goal is the Tough Mudder next month, she said without any equivocation or reservation that she would definitely run this event again next year.  For someone who doesn't like to run, that's truly a compliment!  If there was one word to sum up this event in comparison to others that I've run, it would have to be "unique".  This was truly a team-based event, and the course tested you not just as individuals, but as equal and contributing members of a team.

I'd like to thank John McGuire (who has an amazing story) and SEAL Team PT for putting the event on, and all the instructors and volunteers who can out to support the event!  There were truly some amazing folks out there on the course, including those running it.  Without the support of the "crew" and instructors, this event would not have been possible.  Thanks to everyone!  Hooyah!