Adventure racing mentality

I got an email from a friend and fellow ENDracer, Chase Christenson, yesterday.  Chase is on team Aborted Unicorns along with Max Whittaker and will be defending his title as Overall END-SPAR champ again this year.  He and Max have been the fastest team in any category to clear the course at both previous editions of the event.

He recently participated in the iceman triathlon and i remember wondering why he so far back in the field..... i reasoned that maybe he was getting soft as he aged.  Nope.  Blisters.  Here's his account and a little insight into what makes a good adventure race mentality (especially for the really tough races!).  Chase writes -

the blister

I sent you two pictures of one of my feet. I received similar sized blisters on both of my heels during the END Iceman Triathlon.  Thankfully, the blister on my right foot popped during the race and I had a blood/puss filled sock. 

The blisters became painful and large somewhere around the halfway mark during the ski section. I mostly blame the lack of snow throughout the season for the blisters. I had tried out my new ski boots only once (we didn't have much snow). During that trial run I got a blister on my left heel, which I attributed to poor choice in socks. Come race day, I had my sock layering down and I was ready to go. Or so I thought.The pain was pretty awful during the ski, but I managed to hobble in,I knew the bike would be OK because feet don't more around as much while biking.
I put on my running shoes after the bike and almost tapped out right there. I looked around at the race course, looked at the warming hut filled with cookies and soup. I decided to give it a shot and stop if the pain was too much. My jog quickly turned into a walk through the snow about 1mile away from the TA. I watched other runners pass me, Iturned around more than once to go back. At one point I even startedmaking a B-line towards the warming hut, trudging through the snow. 

Then I asked myself a few questions; What would Andy say? What wouldMax call me? What if this happened to me during an adventure race? Ihad to go on.

Bravo Chase.  ENDracing approves.

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