On June 27 at 9 a.m., Concord’s Adam Barbrie embarked on a 36 1/2 hour journey doing whatever the Spartan Death Race organizers asked of him. Barbrie climbed mountains, moved boulders for steps, made fire and recited silly phrases in an attempt to earn a skull given to all finishers. Barbrie had no idea how long the race would last or what he’d have to do. All he wanted to do was finish. Unfortunately his quest to be one of the few to actually complete the challenge (which is not actually supposed to cause death) and receive that commemorative skull (valued at around $7) came up 30 hours short due to a knee injury. But he wasn’t alone as only 60 of the 250 entrants completed the 66-hour event spanning four days.
What was the most difficult part of the weekend?
Making the final decision to drop cause that was my decision. It took me about two hours to finally come to my senses and realize that my knee just wasn’t going to hold up because of how swollen it was.
What tool/equipment came in most handy?
My trekking poles. Going up and down mountains, going over 70 miles in the first 31 hours, the trekking poles definitely help to stabilize you and keep you moving forward. They definitely, absolutely helped.
How many hours did you stay awake? And how many did you sleep when you finished?
Well the adrenaline was pumping so I may have slept two and half, three hours that night, but then I didn’t fall asleep until I got back to my friend’s house at 4 o’clock Monday morning. I was awake for a good 80 hours and I actually didn’t even get a good night’s sleep until I came home.
Will you ever compete in another death race?
Next year. Next year is 2015, year of the time traveler and registration is already open. They’ve already got 120 people signed up. (Insiders: And you’re one of them?) I’m going to be, next time I get paid.
Was there ever a point where you actually thought you might die?
No, I didn’t think I was going to die at all. The whole point of this race is to toe the line, to see what you can put your body through to come out a better person. Not necessarily seeing the end result of getting the skull, but to know that you can always go further than you thought you could.
What was the longest task you had to complete? And what was it?
It’s hard to say what my longest one was. There were a couple of them that took me a little bit. We had to hike a mountain called Bloodroot that was an 18-mile loop and was one of the first challenges. That took me about five hours and then when I got back from that we had to make clothes out of our buckskin, we had to saw a log in half and then I had to hike to another remote location which was probably the thing that took me the second longest.
What body parts hurt the most the following day?
To be honest, I was a little sore in my legs but that went away pretty quick. I think the most painful thing right now is the giant blisters underneath my toenails, under my big toes. I haven’t been able to put my feet in shoes.
Any muscles/parts that you ended up relying on more than you expected to?
Definitely legs were a key. We did have to carry a little log up Bloodroot, but I just put that in my pack and I didn’t really feel the extra weight. So I want to just say it was the legs we used the most. We had time trials running up and down a mountain. I had a time cutoff I had to meet at 4 p.m. on Saturday, which I did and was one of the fastest to do it.
So did they have to make you stop?
They didn’t make me stop. I got to the top of Tweed River Drive where they had a mental challenge and it was at that point that I wasn’t sure how my knee would hold up. It had been hurting for hours and I just looked at one of the people I knew, Norm, and I said call the medics, I’m going down. And he looked at my knee and said ‘yeah, you’re done.’
If you could add one element to the death race, what would it be?
There’s really not much to add. These guys come up with some amazing stuff. Everything they come up with is going to test you physically, mentally, emotionally. There were times during that race where I completely broke down, where I was crying… That was one of my lowest moments.
If not for the injury, do you feel the training had prepared you?
Absolutely. If it wasn’t for my knee I definitely could have kept going.
Hidden Talent?
I’ve never really thought about it. To be honest I really don’t know. I’ve never really been asked that.
Guilty Pleasure?
Peanut M&M’s. I can eat those like it’s my job.
