Fairhaven resident Heather Lopes-Schultz after finishing the Spartan Killington Beast obstacle course on September 15 of this year. The 14 mile race up and down Killington Mountain also included 32 obstacles. “If you fail an obstacle it’s an automatic 30 burpee penalty. I did 90 burpees that day,” said Ms. Lopes-Schultz. Photo submitted.
By Beth David, Editor
Heather Lopes-Schultz has always been athletic. Even when not engaged in organized sports, she managed to work out. When she traveled around with her military husband, it was a challenge, but she figured out ways to keep in shape.
Then he started participating in Spartan races, extreme games that usually include rolling around in mud somewhere along an obstacle course.
“I thought he was nuts,” said Ms. Lopes-Schultz.
He said it was fun, and told her she might like it, too.
Somehow, he talked her into it.
And she beat him by more than 30 minutes.
“I said, ‘I actually kind of like that,’” she recalled. “I got hooked, so now I’m the extreme.”
Fairhaven resident Heather Lopes-Schultz on the obstacle course of the Spartan Greek Peak Winter Sprint in upstate New York this March. She placed fifth in her age group, qualifying her for the North American OCR (Obstacle Course Racing) Championships in August, and the OCR World Championships in October. Submitted photo.
She participates in as many races as she can, although at first she did not push herself too hard. She always ran the open heat, which means not the elite group, not for money, and not as heavily regulated.
“I’m running my own race,” she said.
In order to qualify for championship races, though, she would have to be in the top five in her age group.
“I never wanted to push myself hard enough to go to champions,” she said. “Because I didn’t think I’d be able to.”
But then a friend of hers did it, and so she decided to try it.
“So I pushed myself harder and harder and harder,” she said.
Her first race was the Spartan Sprint in 2015 on Killington Mountain in Vermont. At first, she did not think they were running up the mountain.
“The race was about four miles long and at the beginning we had some obstacles to go over and then a one-mile ‘death march’ up the mountain. It was horrible,” she wrote in an email. “It was so hard and steep…Once at the top you encountered more obstacles. There were rope climbs, monkey bars, sand bag carries, sandbag hoists, barbed wire crawls, walls to go over and so much more. I kept going and pushed through. I finished and was just amazed at what I had just done! After that day I was hooked!”
And that was a piece of cake compared to ths year’s trip to Killington for the “Spartan Killington Beast in September. The 14 mile race up and down the mountain also included 32 obstacles.
“If you fail an obstacle it’s an automatic 30 burpee penalty. I did 90 burpees that day,” said Ms. Lopes-Schultz.
A burpee is sort of a combination of a squat and a pushup and a jumping jack. It is a full-body
Fairhaven resident Heather Lopes-Schultz, 40, participates in the North American OCR (Obstacle Course Racing) Championships on August 11, 2018, at Stratton Mountain in Vermont. Submitted photo.
exercise that strengthens the whole body, and it is not for the couch potato. The penalty for missing obstacles is to do a number of burpees.
This year’s season started with the Spartan Greek Peak Sprint in upstate New York. She finished fifth in her age group, qualifying her to compete in the North American OCR (Obstacle Course Racing) in Vermont in August, and in the OCR World Championships in England this week.
“Now I get to fly to England and run two of the races over there,” said Ms. Lopes-Schultz. “So I’m excited and at the same time I’m scared out of my mind.”
Oh, but that makes it sound so easy. She was sick the weekend of the Greek Peak, so it hurt a little more than usual.
“Very cold and snowing I got ready and started the race. Slippery, cold, snow, muddy, failed a few obstacles so I was banging out burpees and just running as fast and best as I could, without breaking something,” she said in an email.
After she finished the Greek Peak, she saw that she was in third place in her age group, but it was still going on.
“I nearly died! By the end of the night, when all the runners had finished, I was bumped to fifth place,” she wrote.
But that was good enough to qualify for the championships.
“I never expected to qualify on my first race of the season! I was speechless.”
Fairhaven resident Heather Lopes-Schultz, 40, on the obstacle course of the Spartan Sprint she ran in May of this year in Rutland, Mass. She placed 10th in her age group. Submitted photo.
Each race is different, with different obstacles. Sometimes she knows what she will be up against, sometimes the obstacles are a complete surprise.
“Sometimes they black out the names so you don’t know,” she said. “So it’s aways a surprise.”
In England, there are many she has never done before.
“I’ve already seen a couple of them (online) and I’m already freaking,” she said.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous or even a bit scared! It’s going to be such an amazing experience!” she wrote. “I’m 40 years old and accomplishing goals I never thought I’d do…You’re never too old to live the life you want, live it to the fullest or achieve goals!”
She was carefully watching the weather for the races and it looked like it would be “miserable,” but that would not stop her.
It can be dangerous, she admitted, especially when it gets wet, people fall off obstacles, slip, get hurt.
“Actually, it’ll be fun,” she said.”
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