In June 2007, I attended a meeting with my Forum. Afterward, over dinner, we decided as a group to compete in the annual 125km Canadian Death Race held in Grande Cache, Alberta. It had been an overarching theme in our group that we weren’t committed enough to our personal health. After a year and a half of listening to the same “let’s get healthy soon” spiel, I proposed the race idea. We agreed to participate in the August 2008 race, even though none of us had ever run more than a 10km race in our lives.
Approximately a week after our get-together, the uneasy e-mails started flying. Several Forum mates wondered if we should start with a 10k race or a half marathon instead of an adventurous “death race.” Admittedly, reviewing the event’s Web site didn’t help matters, especially after discovering that the waiver all racers are required to sign is called a “death warrant.” The race itself is marketed as “one of the worlds toughest adventure races.” The doubt was creeping into our Forum in a big way, but it only took one stinging e-mail from a member to snap us back in line. The heck with rational thoughts … we had an irrational goal!
To prepare for the race, we started questioning people who had participated in the past. In the process, we gained valuable insight into what was required for training The race is a relay event, and if one racer does not complete their portion in a certain time, the entire team is disqualified. The entire thing was contingent on teamwork and trust— two traits of our Forum.
As you can imagine, everyone in our Forum was extremely busy with work, family and personal commitments. With that in mind, we decided to train on our own time. Myself and another Forum member attended a training camp two months prior to the race in order to get experience on the course that we could pass on to the rest of our team. As a Forum, we were used to working as a team for a greater cause. Each and every one of us was determined not to let the others down. We had made a commitment to one another, and none of us wanted to be the weak link. Our goal was to complete the race in the allotted 24 hours, andwe would do it as a team.
When game day arrived, we were excited and equally as nervous. Thankfully, we had prepared and were ready to conquer the goal. Throughout the race, we cheered one another on and encouraged those running to prevail through the various stages of the 125km course. It was an arduous journey, but completely rewarding. We completed the race in 17 hours and 24 minutes, which put us in 77th place out of 182 teams. We did it!
The race itself was an amazing experience, and it felt good to do something so physically challenging. And yet, the biggest reward was the knowledge that our commitment to one another had been impenetrable. We were there for one another, and we knew then that we always would be. That’s the true mark of a Forum; that ability to support one another through personal and professional trials. It was this level of commitment that helped us reach our goal of completing this race.