Tommy Williams: Bataan In My Eyes: The Cliff Notes

So I didn't train like I was supposed to. I hadn't messed with my ruck. I didn't use any GU shots or supplement drinks. I had never been farther than 12 miles and that sucked. I ran the first 3 miles without stopping and the rest of the way was a walk, run, shuffle, cuss til the end. My hamstring about popped out, my knee felt like someone hit it with a bat and I lost a toenail....So now I was going to set out on 26.2 miles of fun in the sun, up some hills and across a little sand. Great. Just freaking great.

I won't go into all the emotional stuff about the pre-race ceremony since Mike already went all Oprah on us and did that. I will say that just being there in the holding area had my heart pounding like I was on the round of 15 doing Fran. To say I was nervous was an understatement. My plan was.... OK, I didn't have a plan. I was just going to put one foot in front of the other and see how far that got me. I remember stopping at the first water station and everyone was laughing and talking. I think Brandon even dropped down and did 50 push ups while I was taking a leak. It was such an awesome sight to see, all those people out there in that beautiful desert sunrise trucking along quite nicely. I felt freaking great! 

The day before the race. Tommy in the center with his new hat on.

Because of the awful time of morning we had to get up and set out from the hotel my morning routine was thrown off and my stomach was telling me I better find a toilet and quick. I mentioned this to the guys and I remember Jason saying something like "You take forever." He was referring to my pre-WOD constitutional I take at the Box which sometimes takes longer than the actual WOD. I assured him I would make it quick, honestly I didn't have a choice in the matter. Stepping out of the port-o-John and I saw Heather, Clay and his cousin Brandon. I thought "What the hell?!, we've been running this whole time and they have a run/walk thing going and we are at the same pace!?"...oh well, I was still having a good time and trying not to think about the little pains that were starting to creep in.

The next eventful thing was "The Hill". Everything you've read about this so far is a lie, it's way freaking worse than anyone can express in words. We (Jason, Mike and Brandon) did a run, walk combo to the top. This probably took close to 2 hours. Looking back we probably should have just walked but we looked freakin hard as we ran past the walkers. At least until Brandon gave the signal and we got to walk again til it was time to run... I remember getting to the top and wanting to jump for joy, but instead I just took my pack off and bought a burger and slammed 6 cups of water. Other than the burger that had been my routine at every water stop, 6 cups of water and fill my water bottle. By now I was having lots of aches and pains. I remembered Levi the night before the the race saying that you know things are going to hurt so just expect it. Well things were hurtin, but I kept telling myself that it was OK because everything still worked....I wondered where Levi was.  Was he finished?  Did he win?  How the hell is he so freakin fast?  Where was "The Good Doctor"? Was Heather still with Clay and his cousin? I hope they're alright.....

Two American Heroes: A "Wounder Warrior" shaking the hand  of a Bataan Survivor.

From time to time we would see a Wounded Warrior missing a leg or an arm.  I would use that to deal with the pain because that guy would love to feel the pain I was feeling and I had nothing to complain about.  Seeing those guys made me question myself and made me feel like an inadequate American.  We tend to forget there is a war going on.  We get caught up in our jobs, hobbies, T.V. shows and all the other b.s. stuff WE Americans get to enjoy while there are men and women fighting and dying everyday.  Whether you agree with the war or not, it's happening and we have the choice to turn it off and go about our lives like the stupid, fat and happy people our society has become.  What a disgrace WE have become....But enough on that, we had a ruck to finish....

I knew if I was to fall behind my band of brothers I was doomed.  I just kept putting one foot in front of the other and pushed the pain further and further away.  

The last 3 miles were like a bad dream.  The wall was taunting us and the sun was doing its part to bake us to a crisp.  Mike was cramping bad.  Me and Jason were doing our best to make sure he didn't stop.  He's one of the strongest SOB's I know, and I knew he would finish, I just wasn't sure how long the last mile was gonna take us.  This whole time I never once put my ipod on. Mike and Jason had theirs on so every time we spoke they wouldn't hear me and I would yell and they would yell back.  At this point in the trip this was frustrating the hell outta both me and them... And then...there it was!  Tears of joy filled my eyes.  I wanted to sprint and in my mind I was, but I was in old man shuffle mode as we crossed the finish line.  The smile on my face was as big as Texas!

I'd just like to say thanks to you boys and Heather for allowing me to go on this lil journey with you guys.  Sorry I wasn't the team player you were looking for and missed out on all those "fun" training rucks.  If y'all wanna give it a go next year, I'm your Huckleberry...

Bataan...Heather Hofstetter...The Finish...

I took off from the med tent at mile 20 with the mindset to finish and in order to do that I thought it would be best to just walk for a little bit. Around mile 21 was where the “sand pit” started and people may see this as being unfortunate because I went from the med tent to the sand pit or they can think like I do and see it as God made me stop before it got worse. From mile 20 on I started praying. Along the route I did pray to keep everyone including myself safe, but at this point I was praying much harder. I prayed for the Lord to give me wings of an eagle, quick feet, and to get me to the finish line.

At the top of one of the hills as the “sand pit” ended you could see some blue tents and some of the buildings. I turned to one of the girls walking beside me and told her, “well we can see it, that’s a good sign”. At this point my foot didn’t sink into the sand every time I took a step so I started my intervals back up. I remember passing mile 24 and it seemed like forever since I had seen another sign saying what mile we were on. I kept thinking maybe they skipped mile 25 and the next one I see will be mile 26, but that didn’t happen. The sign said mile 25 and this was some where around the “never ending” wall. I was a little angry and then I became even more angry when I saw those blue tents again, which turned out to be covers for playground structures…not the finish line. I sat down for a second in the very little shade that the wall was producing and took half of an EFS shot, drank some water, and then got back up and went back to it.

There were people sitting along the wall yelling at all the participants that we had one more mile to go and to stay strong. I noticed two other women who were also participating in the heavy division beside me and as I continued towards the finish it felt like we were playing tag. When I would run my intervals she would be behind me, but when I started walking she would quickly catch up and get ahead of me. This too irritated the hell out of me. At one point I really wanted to tell her to just go and she can have it, she can beat me that I didn’t care. But I didn’t say a word because honestly I did care, I wanted to finish and make a good time so I just kept going.

Heather right after the race. At this point she had just had her ruck weighed, and was heading to the finishers tent. Photo by Leigh Montgomery

As I passed the sign that read mile 26 I started to run. I had less than 400m to go and I wanted to get there as quickly as possible. I came up on a group of military men who were walking and were spread out to where I couldn’t get through. I tapped one on the shoulder and said excuse me, but he didn’t hear me so one of his buddies told him to move so I could get through. This happened a couple of times along the course and I was extremely relieved every time they moved over for me and didn’t give me any grief as I said thank you and ran passed. I could hear the crowd at this point and as I ran through the gate to go towards the finish I could see and hear Leigh Montgomery and Jennifer Moseley. As I got closer and passed by them I could then hear Levi. I could see Levi, Leigh, and Jennifer running with me along the fence and I listened as they told me to, “finish strong”, “come on baby”, “don’t stop Heather”, and to “keep going, you are almost there”. I looked towards the finish line and I saw Tommy standing there right passed line just smiling. I got closer and I could hear Mike and Jason, but I couldn’t see them. At this point I was full on running and gave it everything I had left. I crossed the finish line and Tommy gave me huge hug and told me he was so proud of me. Mike and Jason told me the same while they took my ruck off for me and weighed it, which came in close to 40 pounds. I finally saw Levi and hugged him as he told me once again that, “it wasn’t a matter of if I finished it was when I was going to finish”. 

Heather getting an "Atta Girl!!" finishing hug from Levi (in white shirt) Photo by Leigh Montgomery

I wasn’t emotional afterwards, but my head was hurting and I still didn’t feel like I was sweating so I told the guys about mile 20 and the condition I was in. The group had me sit in the shade under the huge tent at the finish where I met back up with Clay, Brandon B., Brandon D., and Srdj. They gave me Gatorade and water, took my shoes off so I’d get cooler, and threw a wet t-shirt on my head and shoulders to help get my body heat down. They really didn’t have to take care of me. They could have let some medic do it, but they didn’t. They helped more than they will ever know and I will forever be grateful to have such great friends like them. I had nothing left, physically or mentally, as I sat there drinking liquids and listening to everyone’s stories. I asked Leigh if she had talked to my mom and she told me that after she sent the text out that Clay and Brandon finished my mom wrote back, “She’s coming”. I asked my mom about this later and all she told me was that she “felt” me and knew that I was coming soon. After a while we took one last picture and headed towards the truck.

It brings tears to my eyes every time I look back at this moment where Levi, Leigh, and Jennifer were running with me to the finish and seeing Tommy across the finish line while hearing Mike and Jason cheering me on. I am extremely fortunate to be a part of such a wonderful community and family to have this support and love. Other than my father, Levi Montgomery, Mike Hoge, Tommy Williams, Brandon Bonser, Jason Moseley, Clay Pilkilton, Brandon Denham, and Srdjan Mirkovic are some of the most amazing men who I not only look up to, but who I am honored to know. Thank you gentlemen for allowing me to share this experience with you and for looking out for me along the way and at the end. To Brandon B., thank you so very much for taking the time to reserve all of our rooms and plan out the trip. Leigh Montgomery and Jennifer Moseley, thank you so much for supporting us and for being great friends.

Heather being escorted to the finisher's tent by the guys. Photo by Leigh Montgomery.

To all of the Bataan group who went this weekend, you may not have been with me every step of the way, but I knew you would be there waiting at the finish line. My final time was 8:43:21, which wasn’t what I was hoping for, but I survived the hardest obstacle I have ever experienced. Under the heavy category, those who carried 35 plus pounds on their backs, I placed 3^rd out of 11 women in my age group 20-29 and 136 out of 291 men and women. It is still sinking in what we just accomplished. There is no WOD in our CrossFit programming or training that we could put ourselves through around here that would fully prepare us for the Bataan Death March and the dry desert heat. Recounting our experience does not truly grasp what we endured during the Bataan Death March. This is something that you have to experience for yourself to fully understand just how difficult it is. I am grateful for all of our military men and women who face much worse on a daily basis in order to protect our country. Thank you all!

Heather Hofstetter - 24

Spring Branch, TX

“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint”.    – Isaiah 40:31

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”.  – Philippians 4:13

"We’re the Battling Bastards of Bataan. No mama, no papa, no Uncle Sam. No aunts, no uncles, no cousins, no nieces. No pills, no planes, no artillery pieces. And nobody gives a damn!”  - Frank Hewlett 1942