In life, we are going to encounter hard times at some point. This means we must be prepared to endure pain and find solutions at any moment. We must develop the mental toughness of a warrior that will enable us to face and overcome any challenge or adversity life throws at us.
It’s a good quote, so I’ll start with it. Are they just empty words that sound fun on paper but actually have nothing to do with real life? It all depends on our approach, on the environment and good souls. The sooner we shake off gray reality, the sooner we see the sun after the storm. And this is often erratic …
Once I said to myself: enough stagnation, living under someone else’s dictation, striving to meet other expectations. In a nutshell, I started to listen to myself and be more assertive. Going out into the world meant losing the security buffer. Late but difficult. This one step forward meant that today I can take you to a story about a 24-hour adventure with fears, pain and triumphs experienced simultaneously. A story that will stay with me forever, and its burden will continue to rumble in my head for a long time.
Maybe a bit of theory – what is this H3X? In short, it’s all Hurricane Heat lengths in one: HH (4-hour hurricane), HH12HR (12-hour hurricane), and HH24HR (24-hour hurricane). Once, the longest Hurricane took place several times a year (all over the world), but for some time now, the longest one – is organized only once a year, in the form of an international event such as H3X in several countries at the same time. This is the only chance for today to get the last part of the Endurance Trifecta. Yes, Trifecta parts are also given also at Hurricanes. The other versions, HH and HH12HR, can be attacked during the calendar year wherever you want: in CEU, WEU, USA or other countries. Returning to the H3X rules: this event offers the option of a 4h and 12h retirement – with trophies appropriate for HH and HH12HR, or an attack on a full 24-hour hurricane. During HH there is no elimination, the tasks rely on individual and group challenges aimed at getting together and working together on entrusted goals. But on HH12HR or on HH24HR – points are collected or lost (depending on the task and Kryptei assessment), which in turn leads to promotion / finish or elimination. Therefore, after 4 hours, when you decide to go further towards HH12HR (+ 8h) and you do not score enough points, you are eliminated without anything (even previously earned trophies for HH). The same situation occurs after + 12h. If you choose HH24H (+ 12h), you give up the grants you have earned for HH12HR and take a conscious risk. If you complete, you become an H3X Finisher (HH24HR), but if you don’t reach the minimum score, you come back with nothing. In theory, because you actually come back with a baggage full of experience that you have absorbed during the murderous challenges, you come back with new friendships of wonderful people just like you are fixated on various strange things. In one sentence, the H3X only gives you the option to get one Endurance Trifecta part, the one you’re ready for.
After winning 16 Multitrifectas in 2019, including 6 Ultra at the head of the Ultra World Championship in Are, Sweden, the natural consequence of the next challenges was hitting the dark, unknown world of Spartan Endurance. I remember well how, on my way to registration in the morning, I passed groups of freaks dressed in black, doing all sorts of strange things, shouting out passwords I didn’t know yet. They usually ended their night struggles, and I envied them so much. I was moved with them many times. Oddly enough, I was already trying to identify myself with what they might be experiencing during the nightly events. One event in particular was imprinted in my mind, a beautiful thank you from DJ who played „We are the champions” by Queen at the very end of the coronation. I died, I have never experienced such emotions. Good, properly selected notes combined with the magic of the event have great power. This combination of impressions planted in my head a grain of black lust in a still unknown space. And so slowly a plan was born to fight for myrself in 2020. In winter Valmorel, I followed the 4-hour Hurricane like a spy from the land of rainwater, following the entire event. I wanted so much to be with them then. I knew my HH debut would be in Majorca in exactly a month. But after returning from France, I couldn’t stand it and signed up for the HH in Brno, Czech Republic. Then came the pandemic. We’ve all been blocked. Plans frozen. Bans and restrictions have become commonplace. 4 months of stagnation. Time flew by, governments slowly freed the borders. June came and Spartan Extreme Endurance CEU announced 6 local HHs in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. By throwing on the tape, I managed to take part in the HH Liberec, exactly on the first day of the border liberation. A memorable event where it was raining the entire event and the sun came out at the finish. A week later, Hungary’s first postcovid Spartan was announced, in Orfu. Of course, the first HH12HR this year also appeared. A memorable event, in terrible heat, where after warming up I wanted to run away. A month later I hit the HH in Pezinok, probably the toughest 4h-event so far. Another unique test took place in Andorra in September, the HH12HR has gone down in history as one of the most epic hurricanes. The rest of the scheduled events were canceled, and the calendar was inevitably getting closer to the biggest challenge – H3X.
Mentally, there was one decision. I go. Practically, due to the tightening restrictions in individual countries, I made the registration a week before the event. Of course, I signed up for the HH24HR right away so that I wouldn’t be able to withdraw during the H3X. I know my demons, they can effectively mess with my head. Two weeks before the event, we got the obligatory equipment. I knew it would not be easy. A load of 20 kg, 2 full bricks and a 50 liter sand bag suggested that we would carry around 50 kg on our back. And it was so. The backpack, after weighing on the registration spot, showed 35 kg, and the sandbag was about 20 kg. How many of us showed up at the start? Exactly 33. Everyone determined to fight for themselves and their goal. Fearful of what would happen, I looked at the others. Each of them had a spark in their eyes, a desire to fight.
HH
It struck 2 am. Full moon, clear skies, stars. And we are standing in silence by the lake in Domasa, arranged in 3 rows, waiting for the storm. Each of us probably had a storm of thoughts, what will happen in the next few hours, will it be hard, will it be possible to finish? Me too. I had been anxious for a week, and the accumulation continued. Failed to sleep before the event. Strong people stood around me, ready to face the unknown. Some I know, they are harpagans. Yet they too experienced the same. Nobody was ready for what might come. We started with a warm-up, nothing new. Squats, lunges, burpees, crunches interspersed with the ethos of a warrior. The load was on the side, but not for long. Typically, at the beginning of each hurricane, the gear list is verified. And this time it was the same, but whatever, blindfolded. It’s not easy, but we’re going smoothly. The time has come for some international challenges. We started with a 15 minute plank with backpacks. Yes, with 35kg on the back. I wanted to win very much at least one of the tasks for Slovakia. It fell on the plank, I endured the full fifteen minutes. Every last five was scored, so I scored 10 points. The next tasks are a squat with a backpack in the front and a military press – i.e. a backpack over your head. It was already hard here. After a 5-minute break, we split into 3 teams, take out the bricks, fasten them on the calves and cover our eyes. With all the gear, i.e. a backpack and a sandbag, we position ourselves goose behind the leader who had his eyes open and we set off into the unknown. It is night and blindfolded eyes increase the feeling of uncertainty. The leader is guiding us shouting left / right. We follow it step by step. Down into the swamp, into the water, then up, avoiding the obstacles on the ground. Trust is essential here. It was one of those tasks that makes teamwork quite good. Unfortunately, the weight on the back did not help, it weighed more and more on the back, and the journey was longer. A brick fell off someone, someone knocked the ball down – unnecessary breaks complicating the task. We have come to the start. A moment of break, bricks in the backpack and we set off for another international challenge. We are still in 3 teams, but Hajni invited representatives of Slovakia to one of them, including me. Task on time, we all wait in the plank position until one of us passes through all of us, alternately up and down, dragging his sandbag behind him. The fun continues until each of us completes the run. Done. We’re flying to the next job. Arranged in a circle every 3 meters, we have to move our backpack and sandbag motionlessly. We get a little lost as a team, but what brings us back so well if not burpees? We finish the task, although our backpacks and sandbags look like they did after the war. We go to the last task, in the same teams, we are to use 2 meters of rope and weave a net that will last as long as possible. We are lucky again to have Pavel on the team. His experience scores points and his network is born out of nothing. Thanks. I salute you, you are a true leader. This is how we end the first stage of H3X. Eight people leave for their trophies, and we have a small restock for another 8 hours of battle.
HH12HR
We start traditionally with a warm-up. We take out bricks and a small pilates ball and start practicing squats, burpees, side planks, crunches. Time for an individual task. This is the hallmark of 12-hour hurricanes. We take a sandbag and hit the task. For 2.5 hours we have to cover as many loops as possible. The first one is 250m long and you have to walk it with a bearwalk, a monkey jump or a duck tramp (change every 30 minutes), of course with a sack, while the second is a 500m run with a load. Animal movment probably killed everyone, it was not an easy task. With these movements, running with a sack was relaxing. Got it? Ultimately, I get 29 points for this task with one drawback. A sip of water and the next task. This time without load for 60 minutes, we have to move on a 250m loop with burpees jumps. And attention! This task is awarded with negative points. I reacted to these words like a bull to a red cloth. Nobody’s gonna take my points. Finally it happened, the balance of points was 0 and I finished the most laps with Nelly. It was a tough fight, sweat was trickling and I was wondering when that hour ends. It passed with little success, although it drained all my strength. And they were needed before the next challenge. They called it a weighted march. And it was a group task. Divided into 2 teams, we were supposed to fit in 2 hours to return to the finish line as a whole team. With all the gear, i.e. the backpack and sandbag, 55 kg on the back, we follow Krypteia to the starting line of the march. Pavel’s team goes first. We follow them. Step by step, we walk as fast as we can uphill to the slope. The weight is so heavy that we rest almost every 5 steps. There is 1 km of climbing ahead of us, the area is muddy, it rained at night. Group task, we have to end up as a whole team at the same time, so we help each other by carrying sandbags or backpacks. It was so slippery and muddy in places that you’d want to grab some branches, unfortunate that they were blackberries full of thorns. Almost every of us now and then fell over. On the route, the snails were faster. After an hour we reach the top, but knowing the halfway point doesn’t help. For me, the descent is even more risky. We reach the finish line as the second team. When we lose our strength we get an additional task. 10 backpack push-ups, 10 sandbag presses and 20 backpack rucksacks. It was the peak of the possibilities. I fell mentally. We’re back in basecamp, no matter the losers. Most importantly, we survived. At the finish line, however, it turned out that one of Pavel’s teammates joined us. Thus, our team completed the task in its entirety. So ended part of the HH12HR. As a total wreckage of a human being, I had to decide if I would go any further. On the one hand, I had no choice, the registration was for 24 hours, on the other hand, I could leave with nothing. It was at this point that I wrote to some of you that there is a drama. That I am fed up. That the prospect of another 12 hours with a load and a fight with the unknown is too hard to bear. I needed support, one word of support. I looked at my friends, they also had doubts, but they decide to go. I decide to do the same. What will be, it will be according to the principle: „I will never quit”. We have 30 minutes to rest.
HH24HR
There are 18 of us left. We hit the clearing with no additional weight. What a relief. We start again with a warm-up. Surprisingly, we stretch ourselves with yoga exercises, and finally lie on our backs, breathing our full breasts. Thank you for this moment. The strength is back. Great. Another 3 individual tasks are ahead of us. What to start with? Well, 3 hours of traveling the route in animal poses. More precisely: 200m with a crabwalk, another 400m is military crawling, ending with 400m running backwards, partly through the water. In Majorca, I showed that the crab is my horse ?. So shyly I started the fight for as many loops as possible. While the crab went agile, I ate my teeth while crawling, so much so that the passing snails had to hear a bunch of curses. By the way, I had someone to talk to, because I don’t know why, but there was no one on the way. This is how the first lap passed, on the second I caught up with the last of the first lap. Hajni incredulously congratulates the pace and motivates me to keep pushing „It’s your time.” Anyway, each of the leaders sets fire up. It’s nice and it boosts morale. I end up totally exhausted again 4 full laps and 125 meters. I received a negative point, probably for a linguistic misunderstanding of the instructions at the beginning. There is a beautiful purple sunset in the sky. We return to the base and wait for the next task. The score card shows the Memory chart. So there will be a memory task. But, of course, a bit more difficult. Within 150 minutes we have to reproduce 36 symbols that Stefan keeps 1.5 km from the base in a dark forest. So, a bit of a running task for some. The runners had it easier. After reaching Stefan, everyone had a minute to memorize as many symbols as possible, and after returning to base, before getting the drawing card, there were still 10 jump squats, 10 jumpers and 10 burpees. Believe me, going down to the push-up at the burpees was a miracle, my quadriceps were begging for mercy. Of course I didn’t run the entire route. I did 4 laps in total, memorizing a total of 32 symbols. It cost me 2 points. After a short break, we had a third task, strictly running. 10km on time. Oh, it was a torture, it was more of a walk than a run by me. Time 1:25 took me -5 points. It’s been 23:00. There are 3 hours left and we have completed all the scored tasks. And in my head I thought what else awaits us? After all, 3 hours is a long time. We didn’t have to wait a long time for an answer. To complete H3X, we first had to find a box with medals and T-shirts, then open 4 locks by completing 4 group tasks. Wasting no time, we opened lock No. 1, and there was a logic puzzle. We were probably already very tired, because we did not go the right way. After 30 minutes of staring at a piece of paper with numbers, one of us came up with the correct solution. Phew … I thought it would never happen. Unfortunately, I couldn’t help here, my brain shut down … We quickly got up to the second task. Tasks that turned out to be salt in the eye. 500 burpees. This number was terrifying, even if we wanted to do it as a team (it would be 28 pieces, that’s what they did in Austria), unfortunately it was clearly emphasized that everyone is supposed to do 500 burpees. It was the moment when time stood still and Hajni’s words rang in the ears like church bells. Fortunately, we had our Nelly in the team, who took on the leader of the group and led us to the finish. How long it took, I don’t know. One by one, painstakingly but ahead, we reached the last 10 pieces. Triumphantly, we counted to 10 aloud and congratulated each other on a really good job. Let me tell you that this quest was the embodiment of the entire ethos of the warrior. Every verse fit perfectly here. But time passed inevitably, and we still have 2 tasks ahead of us. What were we served? Emptying the sand bags. Phew… It was easy. But wait a minute – Katia shouted pointing to the sentence stuck on the trailer. Your task is to remember it and then repeat it from memory in the base together as a team. Pavel – an experienced beast – suggested that each of us should remember two words, which we will later repeat as a team, thus meeting the requirements of Kryptei. Can you believe we went back 4 times? Unfortunately, after 24 hours, exhaustion made itself felt, logical thinking did not exist, but no one was blamed for anyone. We kept repeating this politely until the entire poem was uttered to the word. These were important words. You already know them. I started my story with them and I will end with them. The Spartan Endurance events, in addition to the terrible physical and mental strain, also teach many things. Overcoming impossible tasks, humility before accepting help from others, and finally knowing that we are able to rise from the bottom by finding layers of unearthly strength. These are also new acquaintances and friendships. It was over. The H3X Final. 18 people reached the finish line. Not everyone has scored a minimum of 56 points to be awarded the HH24HR H3X Finisher title. However, 8 people gained experience that will stay with them for life and will give them a kick to continue working, perhaps to get what was just around the corner this time. Congratulations to each of the 33 H3X students, you are beasts. Thank you for every minute with you. Thank you to the entire Team headed by Hajni. It was an honor to participate and fight in Slovakia. I promise that hurricanes will stay in my repertoire for a long time. We will meet more than once. And the biggest dream for today is AGOGE, which is almost 2.5 times longer than the H3X. The biggest challenge, however, will be hunger… Because it was hard on H3X. We will see. Aroo!
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