I met Julie and Matt on the course at my first Spartan event at Diablo Grande this past summer. We had joined up with the BRAVO Co. team and there were fourteen of us total in our group. The whole group ran together for the first half of the course. Because a couple of the people who had joined us wanted to go at a slower pace the whole group agreed to stay together. At some point it became a little problematic in that some people wanted to run, some wanted to walk and the heat of that day was becoming a factor. And several of us in the group had kids either at the finish line or at home. As a group we made the decision to split up and most of us with kids took off so we could get home before the day got too long.
Spotlight on a Spartan: Julie Stites
It was at the point that our group split that Julie and I connected. As we started to run we looked out for each other and we began to chat. We realized that our kids were the exact same ages and as moms in our 40’s racing with a bunch of youngsters, we instantly bonded.
Julie is 44-year-old wife, mother of two, nurse practitioner, daughter and aunt. She says those are the most important roles in her life. Her first Spartan event was the Sprint in Sacramento in November 2015. The Diablo Grande Super where we met was her second. Julie and I are running together this weekend at the Tahoe Beast and she said she is planning to Trifecta (completing one of each race distance in a calendar year) this year at the urging her daughter. How’s that for a role model?
Julie says she keeps signing up for Spartan “because it makes me push my limits and accomplish things I never thought I would ever accomplish. Ever! Rope climb, push-ups, horizontal wall, etc.” She says she gets a renewed belief in herself and her abilities with each new event. Julie says Spartan has changed the way she sees her body and her abilities.
Julie says about five years ago she was working nights in the Emergency Room and she was tired of being exhausted, lonely (she says she and her husband were like two ships passing in the night raising their kiddos), ashamed (drinking alcohol excessively) and she had lost her faith (partly due to financial collapse in 2009) in the system and herself.
She started making changes to her life and to her family’s life. Now she works days in a clinic (no weekends, nights or holidays), she and her husband have reconnected (they go on regular dates), she got sober and she and her husband have fought to rebuild their financial future. Julie says now life is “amazing.” Along the way her faith in God guided her and carried her.
Julie said that before these past couple of years she had been inconsistent with exercise her whole life. Now that she has set goals and found a support system that encourages her to reach them she has been able to reach fitness goals she never even considered. She says her life has been changed because she knows she can do things she didn’t think possible.
In Julie’s words “I am a Spartan. I have grit. I will get through whatever challenge I face.”
When I asked her what she would advise someone who has never done a Spartan she says she would tell someone “that you will rise to a level you never thought possible. But it is possible. You will know at the finish line” (the Spartan motto).
I agree with Julie that the person you are at the finish line is not the same person you were at the starting line.
Julie Stites, you are Spartan. #Aroo
Spotlight on a Spartan: Matt Andrus
I got to know Matt on the second half of the Spartan Super that day in Diablo Grande too. Matt is 37 years old and the father of two kids (3 1/2 and 1). He is a CrossFit coach.
Like me, Diablo Grande was Matt’s first Spartan and we will be running together again in Tahoe this weekend where he will complete both the Beast on Saturday and the Sprint on Sunday. He says he’s “gotta get my TRIFECTA!” Ok, so there’s something about us people who do these events. It’s not enough to sign up and say “one and done.” Rather, when someone suggests “Well, now you’ve got to Trifecta” you think to yourself, “Well yes, yes I do.”
Matt has a rich background in endurance sports, having completed about 15 triathlons, including the 2013 Ironman Lake Tahoe. He is also an avid GORUCK participant, with a dozen or so challenges up to and including the HCLS (Heavy, Challenge, Light, Scavenger) completed over the course of three days in November 2015. Obviously Matt is “comfortable being uncomfortable.” He said he had heard from so many people that Spartan was a great challenge and that it was right up his alley, and finally he could not refuse the opportunity to try it out with BRAVO Co. this past summer.
Matt says the race met and exceeded his expectations in so many ways. He knew going in that, by working with a team, he would make incredible new friends and deepen the bonds he had with existing friends, and he said that was certainly the case. What he did not expect was to see SO MANY people racing alongside him, both on other teams and as individuals, who were glowing with the excitement of this incredible challenge. “Spartan has clearly captured the magic of getting outside, getting dirty, working hard, and achieving something incredible and brought it to the masses.”
Matt believes the races are designed so well to allow people of all fitness levels, from “just-off-the-couch” athletes to professionals. There’s really something for everyone and everyone gets to play together. Matt thinks that is what draws him most to these events. “As someone who has dedicated his life to making other people live longer, healthier, more active lives, I applaud and happily associate myself with Spartan as a wonderful means to that end.”
Matt says when he coaches clients for fitness, he likes to focus on the reality of why we work so hard in the gym. For him (as it is for this author), it is not about rippling abs, bulging biceps, or fitting into a size zero dress. Although fine goals, he acknowledges they are fleeting. He trains people to live long, healthy lives. “That means having FUN whenever possible, laughing, smiling, singing, dancing, running, jumping, climbing over things, picking things up and putting them down, sweating, and working. All of this creates a mindset and a lifestyle of being active for the rest of your life. It means that when you are old and grey, you can get up out of bed, get dressed, sit down, stand back up, carry things, put the groceries away, walk up the stairs, and play with your great-grandchildren without any help. And that you can inspire the next generation to get out and live their lives the same way!”
Matt believes Spartan has the same ethos. “Get out, be active, challenge yourself, brag a little, and inspire someone else to do the same.”
Matt would tell someone who has never done a Spartan to give it a try. “Choose the event that is right for you, find some friends to help you along, and make sure you are prepared in mind and body. Smile, laugh, get dirty, love your life.”
Matt Andrus, you are Spartan! #Aroo
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