The disclaimer and waiver for this event are easy enough to
understand. Lacking the legalese that is so common in modern-day sport, the
document has only three words: "I might die". After all, the event is called
The Death Race for a reason. It's mascot? Try a partially-dismembered plastic
skeleton hanging from a makeshift gallows.
Pushing The Limit –
Without the Wait
Joe DeSena, creator of the Death Race, grew bored with the
countless ultramarathons he had competed in, so he found a new way to push himself
to his limits. It's a need that's existed since the beginning of our species: to
develop a contest of endurance that challenges all aspects of a person. The
Death Race does just that, challenging both mind and body. The contest tests
the ability to adapt and react to surroundings and, most importantly, a
competitor's drive to survive. This 24-hour nightmare even offers onsite burial
in the event that you don't survive.
Preparation
Because the ground rules aren't announced ahead of time,
this is a race for which it's impossible to train and prepare. In fact, DeSena
advises contestants to quit before they even try. "Everything that can go wrong
will go wrong", he explains. " There's no light at the end of the tunnel. We're
basically holding your hand to help you quit. The same way life does, right?" This
is why The Death Race, which changes every year, is "equal parts barbed wire
and mind games." DeSena wants his competitors out of their elements and beyond
their comfort zones as they traverse mountains, ravines, rivers, and forests in
order to complete difficult tasks that range from survival to impractical. His
400-acre estate in Vermont's Green
Mountains affords all sorts of land and water formations that can make
racing a living hell, so DeSena hosts The Death Race there.
Participation is Surprisingly High
For 2009's race, DeSena did something that this self-made
entrepreneur rarely does in his professional life: he left the planning to
someone else. This decision came when he was challenged to complete his own
race by British Royal Marine Richard Lee. For DeSena, the appeal was that he
feels that anyone can finish the race. His belief is that, in life, lack of
commitment is the most common cause of failure.
The Complete Gamut of
Endurance: Mind, Body, and Soul
With the contest starting at 4 AM, competitors had 24 hours
to complete the race. They were allowed the clothes on their back, a bucket, a
backpack, a bike and an axe. Tasks included:
- Navigating
through razor wire
- Dislodging
and then carrying out a tree stump (saving DeSena from paying someone to
do it)
- Fording
a river to retrieve a single match
- Quartering
20 logs
- Climbing
a small mountain
- Reciting
the name of the American Presidents
- Assembling
Legos
- Swimming
across a lake
- Finding
an egg in the woods (which had to be cooked and eaten)
- Diving
into a lake to retrieve a bike chain to be able to ride a bike (a very
short mandatory distance)
- Gathering
a bucket of gravel to haul up a ravine
- Traversing
a labyrinth of pines and briars
 DeSena Doubly Disappointed
At 3:15 PM, Royal Marine Richard Lee and Second Lt. Tom
Worthington of the United States Marine Corps (whom Lee met in the labyrinth) completed
the race together, arm in arm. Only 27 minutes later, DeSena crossed the finish
line himself, taking third. Fifteen other participants finished, some arriving
well after midnight - over 18 hours after the initially departed. DeSena
verbally castigated what he referred to as disinterested and amateur race
designers. He was sickened that the Death Race had taken less than 12 hours for
the top three to complete. He also stated that they had "presented a challenge
unfit to be called The Death Race."
For 2010, when DeSena will take over as head course designer
and official, he says you can bet that no one will finish the race in less than
24 hours.
Resources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/07/sports/07deathrace.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
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