First night we also did “Murph” with our 40# packs on. The second night we did a 22 mile hike up and down a peak with about 3000′ elevation gain. I’d say out of the 50 hours 42 of it was spent moving, working, and exerting energy. It was the hardest 2 days I’ve encountered physically, and the mental side of it would have been much tougher if I had not been well prepared by college football coaches and various life experiences of overcoming adversity.

If I had to pick a favorite part of the weekend it would have to be the 22 mile hike from 9pm to 5;30 am on Saturday night. Not because the hike was particularly fun of scenic, although I did have some great hallucinations, but because of the lessons learned during that time. I learned more about teamwork and dealing with pain and discomfort that night than I had learned my previous years on this earth. I was chosen to lead a group of 6 men up and down the mountain. Within the 1st hour we were slowed by my buddy Rob, who had been peeing blood in the morning and was really struggling to keep up. I immediately unloaded the sandbag out of his pack and put it in mine, because I was better conditioned for long hikes and was feeling fine. For the next hour I had a 70# pack but it wasn’t an issue because I was more concerned about Rob’s health and didn’t have time to think about the weight. I was happy Rob was keeping up and feeling better. About 2 hrs into the hike another guy named Miles was falling behind and was complaining about bad blisters on his feet. Rob was feeling better so he took Miles’ pack. About 2.5 hrs in Larson had to stop because of blisters, he took off his shoes, bandaged up his heels, and put his pack back on. I asked him how he was doing and he replied, “they hurt real bad but I’ll be fine.” Larson didn’t ever complain again after that. Rob trudged on, probably more concerned with me and my 70# pack than he was with his own discomfort. I kept moving because there was nothing else to do, all I could think about was that I was glad I didn’t have blisters and that i wasn’t pissing blood, I could care less about the pack. There were probably two brief moments when I thought about how heavy my pack was, during those moments everything hurt, my shoulders ached, and I wanted to take the 2nd sandbag out. As long as I was focused on keeping my team moving, and worried about their well-being I was oblivious to the discomfort. Larson kept moving and didn’t complain for his own reasons, he was tough. Miles continued to talk about his blisters, and his flat feet and how he was in pain. He was the only guy in our group without a heavy pack on his back, yet he seemed to be in the most discomfort. I truly believe that just by vocalizing something, you affirm it and make it a reality. If I can talk about how good I feel, how nice the weather is at 3am, and how much I can’t wait to get to the beach and watch people surf while I do bear crawls, then I don’t give myself any room for negative or destructive thoughts. If I can focus so hard on the 5 other men in my group, their safety, well-being, and comfort, then my own discomfort becomes irrelevant and non-existent. The next day some guys were walking around with shoes off. Larson (non-complainer) had 2 huge, nasty blisters on his heels. Miles (complainer) had one small visible blister on his foot.