This past Saturday morning, I awoke circa 4:30am, and sluggishly made my way to my car enroute to meet some fellow gym rats at a local parking lot. The 16 of us piled into 4 cars and embarked on a trip we all had been talking about for months on end. What lay ahead was a 5.2 mile all-terrain 36 obstacle course created by a former Marine designed to test the will, physical and mental toughness of those who chose to take the USMC Ultimate Challenge. Given this was my second time testing my might in the Mud Run, one might think that I would at least be smart enough to “train” for such an event. As beneficial as I knew this training would be come race day, I couldn’t help but be enticed by the warm weather around me and subsequent small skirts and high heels that more than captivated my attention every time I stepped outside. Cue the beach muscle workout.
As the race approached and I realized how many miles I hadn’t run in the weeks preceding, I began to grow more and more apprehensive of the task at hand. Couple my lack of actual training with the fact that I was running with a cult-esque group of alpha-males that donned self-proclaimed nicknames such as “Pinch,” “Hitman,” and my personal favorite, “Animal,” and I think it’s easy to comprehend how I began contemplating coming down with one of those 24 hour bugs.
Well I pride myself on having a bit more moxy than that, thus I manned up and prepared for one of the more miserable Saturday mornings I have been through in recent months. After all was said and done, my three teammates and I fared quite well, finishing 41st overall out of about 1500 teams.
Investors in the broader market right now are taking a similar stance to mine leading up to the race, as there are several forces in the market that should lead one to be a little apprehensive and potentially even come down with their own case of the 24 hour bug…
