50 degrees and rainy – probably not the ideal conditions for the Spartan Race. But, this is the hand that was dealt to participants from our Charlotte and Atlanta offices this past weekend, who participated in the Spartan Race! A total of 9 Protiviti Employees (+ a few friends and family) successfully completed the 5-mile, 20-obstacle challenge together. Congrats, team!
Having completed a similar challenge myself back in 2012, I naturally had some curiosities about all things training, race day and post race. In my personal experience, the only thing I haven’t completely blocked from my memory was the moment that I crossed the finish line and firmly stated, “Nope, never again”.
Fortunately, this group seems to be way stronger and more athletic than I and lived to tell their tale. I spoke with a few champions from Protiviti and got their take. Here’s what Sara (Charlotte, Human Resources), Nicholas (Atlanta, Senior Manager Technology Consulting) and Rachel (Charlotte, Risk & Compliance Consultant) had to say.
Protiviti Career: Alright, please enlighten me on how you trained for this event!
Sara: I kicked it up a notch in the gym but was mainly focused on increasing endurance by running longer distances. I was not prepared for the upper body strength the race required at all, but luckily my teammates were able to assist and push me through the obstacles if I needed it.
Nicholas: I ran 3-4 miles and 50 burpees, 100 push-ups and 30-50 pull ups daily.
Rachel: I do Orange Theory classes a few times a week and run outside, but nothing too strenuous! I wish I had done more pull-ups and upper-body conditioning to prepare.
Protiviti Career: What was your favorite obstacle?
Sara: My favorite (and I’m honestly not sure if this was even considered one of the obstacles) was a part with about 5 back-to-back mud hills you would go up and then back down into a big mud bath. On the first one, I slid into a teammate on accident and both of us went flying into the mud bath. I was laughing the entire rest of that obstacle and having so much fun!
Nicholas: The Uneven Monkey Bars. This was my first time being able to complete it and ringing the bell. This obstacle had very high failure rate and I was one of the lucky few to make it.
Rachel: The A Frame Cargo Net! It was really tall, maybe 25 feet or so, and had a great view from the top.
Protiviti Career: Least favorite?
Sara: My least favorite was carrying the bucket full of rocks, similar to this. There was no easy way to carry these bad boys. I think I had to stop about 6 times to set the bucket down before getting through the obstacle.
Nicholas: The Olympus. It was so muddy it was impossible to hold your feet on. You could use a partner to complete, but you had to go twice.
Rachel: Bucket Brigade again, it was incredibly muddy, and carrying a super heavy bucket full rocks up and down hills in those conditions felt nearly impossible.
Protiviti Career: What is one thing you learned from competing in the Spartan Race?
Sara: No matter how much harder I could have trained, I definitely think there were some obstacles that I still would not have been able to complete without the help of my teammates. I also learned that it feels great doing something out of your comfort zone that you usually wouldn’t do.
Nicholas: I learned that the weather is very unpredictable and you still have to press through! It was nice to see that throughout the course there were people helping each other to complete the obstacles and lending an extra hand or push to help throughout the race. I also learned that the Charlotte office has a good group of people willing to spend part of their weekend with us and that made all of the difference.
Rachel: I learned that there’s a great sense of bonding and camaraderie that comes from accomplishing something so challenging with your coworkers. Protiviti definitely has a team-oriented culture, and this really came through in sticking together out there, encouraging one-another and physically helping each other work through the different obstacles.
What a great accomplishment! Congratulations to all the Protiviti Spartan finishers from our Atlanta and Charlotte offices. With a team full of champions like you, it’s no wonder we have been recognized for our best people and culture.
-Cait
Want to read about more Protiviti champions? Check out our feature from last month where we interviewed some of our former collegiate athletes: Protiviti’s Top Ballers Share How Basketball Helped Them As Professionals
