20 Days Until Bataan...Hard Work Pays Off...

Training partners: Heather Hofstetter, Mike Hoge, Jason Moseley,  Brandon Bonser.

The fruits of your labor. Sure is nice to see isn't it? The Good Book says to "Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise..." I interpret that to mean I need to get my rear end up in the morning and get going. According to this ancient proverb, it's wise to have a strong work ethic. Work your tail off and good things will happen to you.


I have had the privilege and pleasure to watch an "ant" work her butt off these last several months as we have prepared for Bataan. Heather Hofstetter, or "H2" as she has become known by her fellow Crossfitters, has put in an extraordinary amount of effort to prepare herself for this race. Heather is going the same route as her male training partners in that she is taking on this 26.2 mile desert race in the "heavy" division. She will carry a 35 pound ruck sack the entire way. This race is difficult for a man, and will be extremely difficult for a woman. Most women wouldn't even bother to try. 

Mike, Heather, Levi, and Brandon.

The Bataan Memorial Death March is widely considered one of the more difficult marathons in the world. Even the "light" category where you take on the desert course without a ruck is considered extremely difficult. To give you a little perspective; In 2011 there were 764 women that completed Bataan in the "light" category. There were only 73 women that entered the "heavy" division. Contrast that with the 1,435 women that completed the recently run Austin Marathon. Bataan is tough. No doubt about it. Heather however, has trained so hard that it is no longer a question of "Can she finish?" It's a question of "How fast will she finish?" She completed her final long training ruck this Saturday. A 21.32 mile ruck in 6 hours and 17 minutes. Heather has come quite a way. She has been working hard for a long time. You can click HERE to see her story yourself. 

I'd take H2 over Lebron anyday.

Too often we think that we must look to some well known or "successful" athlete, celebrity, or politician to model ourselves after. That's horse manure. There's good, strong, hardworking, moral, everyday folk in our community that we need to look to for a model as to how we should go about life. These are the ones we need to appreciate and admire. We just have to take the time to look for them. These last few months, Heather Hofstetter has reminded me what good old fashioned hard work and gritty effort looks like. Thank you Heather. You're going to kill it at Bataan.