This is my last installment of Spotlight on a Spartan as I have come to the end of Spartan September. I love wrapping it up with this story from someone who I have had an opportunity to meet and get to know only over the last few months. We have tons of mutual friends in town but we had never met in person. Before the Diablo Grande Spartan, we started chatting online. Afterwards when we realized we were both crazy enough to have signed up for the Tahoe Spartan Beast we took our online relationship to the training field. Kristy and I have become training partners and good friends over dozens of miles together. This is her Spartan story.
Kristy is a 43-year-old mother of 3 children ages 15, 12, and 4! She’s a nurse who works per diem so she can plan her work schedule around her family’s busy schedule including a husband who works night shift. She says she has always been athletic with a strong competitive spirit. Her father instilled it in her from a very young age. Watching him and her sisters (6 of them!) play sports fueled her drive and made her want to do the same and be her very best. Kristy played many sports growing up but softball was her passion. She believes youth sports are so important for kids. “It teaches them to work hard not just for them but for their teammates. It teaches you to push yourself to higher limits, to play hard even when you’re tired, sick or hurt. So I’ve always loved the team mentality.”
Kristy says she was actually a little afraid to do her first Spartan. She was afraid of failing. But she decided to go for it and after her first, the Spartan Sprint at AT&T Park in 2014, she was hooked. It had everything she was looking for. “It was physical, mental and fun! I ran with an awesome team. The laughs were never-ending. I remember how proud of myself I was afterwards, that not only did I finish the race but I only failed on the spear throw. I felt strong and accomplished. That was the feeling I had been looking for since I stopped playing sports. I knew I would be doing this for as long as I could.”
Kristy believes it’s important to laugh along the way and often says “I actually pay for this torture!” She says “It’s hard. I’m not going to lie. It pushes you to dig deep. To push yourself harder than you thought possible. To be way out of your comfort zone. But you know what? I CAN DO IT! You can do it!” Kristy says there is no better feeling than to accomplish a goal you thought might be impossible; to push yourself almost to a breaking point and then realize “Hey, I didn’t break! I’m pretty dang tough!”
Kristy sees Spartan as a metaphor for life. “Pushing yourself, accomplishing your goals and not breaking. Sometimes you have to be uncomfortable for a while. Being able to be uncomfortable and not giving up is something you learn from these races that apply to our daily lives.”
For those who have never done a Spartan, Kristy says “Go for it!” She suggests getting a bunch of friends together and inspiring each other. “Laugh, complain but just get out there and push yourself! Then sit around afterwards enjoying some well-earned food and drinks and talk about your experiences.” Kristy says most people who attempt the Spartan will get the bug after that.
Spartan races also fuel Kristy’s love for humanity. She likes to see how perfect strangers happily stop to get other perfect strangers over obstacles and reach their goals. She says it’s uplifting. It’s a family full of kind and wonderful humans. She says you should “come join the family!”
Kristy has completed six Spartans to date and Saturday she will tackle the Beast. She says she’s scared but also very excited. She believes being scared and going towards what scares you, instead of running from it and living in doubt, is an important life skill. She loves the competitiveness, the personal push and the overall grit!
Finally, Kristy wants to share that she is “just a normal person.” She’s not out to break any records. She’s not even a runner. Her goal is to compete, to do HER very best and to finish! She says if she can do it, you can too!
Kristy Palfalvi, you are SPARTAN! #Aroo
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