Today, my friends, was the first time ever for me to take the DQ in an obstacle race – or in any race, for that matter.

Consider me humbled.

Before I get into my recap, let me start by saying this: I am in no way beating myself up over my decision to give in my belt today, nor do I have any regrets about doing so. Likewise, the result of this hasn’t left me unmotivated or downcast in anyway; if anything, I’m more motivated and enthusiastic and optimistic than before. Lessons were learned today, and where lessons can be learned there is always profit to be made, so I am just as enthusiastic as ever. It might feel weird, yes, but I still feel great.

Let’s just start with this: Conquer the Gauntlet was the race I’d been waiting for. Ever since Battlefrog shut down last year, I’ve been longing for a race to push my limits in the same way as those 10-mile courses used to. Spartan Races are good, sure, but the lack of mandatory completion of obstacles make it hard for anybody to feel as brutally taxed as they did when facing the intensive obstacles of Battlefrog. Savage Race is a sold middle-man – mandatory completion, but with obstacles not crazy difficult – but still not at BF levels. But Conquer the Gauntlet…it’s definitely got potential.

After a solid four hours of sleep, I woke up this morning and made the hour-and-a-half drive from College Station to Conroe, where I met up with my dad and headed into the race venue (the same location as the Terrain Race a few weeks ago), excited as ever to try my first ever CTG, which had been rumored to be the toughest OCR in business nowadays. I love myself a good challenge, and I was ready to go for it. I wanted a race that would make me consider handing in my band; that’s what Battlefrog used to do, and though I always managed to successfully complete the BF courses, I longed for that intensity again. My cardio and my strength weren’t as 100% — I had a few tests this past week and didn’t get time to train at all – but I was excited. I love trying new races.

After a shorter-than-normal warm-up, I hopped the wall into the starting corral and lined up next to various buddies from all over. Matt Willis, Van Tran, Mikhail Llauder, Jay Flores, Rich Smith, Greg Sexton, Kenneth Stanford, and those are but a few – they were all there, each of them excited to race. Matt Campione was there too, but unfortunately wouldn’t be joining us due to an injured elbow (or perhaps he was scared; I kid, I kid). We were given our elite belts, with promise that to cross the line with that belt signified disqualification. I smiled, knowing that there was no way I would cross the finish with that belt.