The Yellow Brick Road Challenge...it was supposed to be this past Wednesday. The YBR is the granddaddy of challenges and the culmination of past challenges. We found out a couple weeks ago the Marine Corp would be using it on that date so we needed to reschedule. Our Yellow Brick Road is their E (endurance) course and it belongs to them so as far as rescheduling for Tuesday no big deal right? Well then last week it snowed...that threw off their schedule. So that meant we got rescheduled...again. Session 252 ran the YBR yesterday...it was a blast!
For those that don't know...the YBR is a 6+ mile course. The first three miles are obstacles and the last three is just a straight up run. And I when mean straight up I mean straight up...at least that how it starts. I'll come back to that in a minute.
A quick run down of the obstacles...a 6 foot wall to go over, a couple different windows to go through, down a bank on a rope, then up a rock face on a rope, then down another bank on a rope, then down another bank on a rope, then up yet another bank on a rope, then to a couple obstacles that have 6x6s attached to trees that you climb up and over (guys beware...use your chest to cross over the top, have you ever straddled a 6x6 with your feet not touching the ground?), then we have our first "slick" log that's about 5 feet off the ground. This log is parallel to the earth and if you don't hit it just right your body is going under it instead of over it and you're landing on your back. Then there's the bear pit, it's basically a small pond under some teepee looking logs...have I mentioned yet that it was 28 degrees when we started? Then we come to great cargo net...climb up one side on the net, reach the top, grab the other side over the top and flip yourself over to land on your back...that was cool! Then there's a couple different sets of walls that you have to wind yourself through in a serpentine type run. Then a set of 5 parallel, slick logs that start off about 3 feet off the ground and they are about 3 feet apart, the ground slowly drops off as you move further into the obstacle, watch out for the last one. Then there are a couple more 6x6 walls to climb up and over. This is the only place that I heard where someone got hurt. Last I heard they completed the challenge and then went to the hospital to be checked out. Good job to whoever that was and I hope you recover quickly!!
After the climb over the 6x6s there's another parallel log to clear. It's 4.5 feet or so off the ground. I jumped it first and cleared it. My running partner this morning, Steve...well let's just say he doesn't have much of a vertical jump...Sorry Steve, but I'm glad you didn't get hurt! Then there's the low crawl under barbwire...again, another small pond. That pretty much finishes it up for the first three miles.
Remember the straight up run? Welcome to "Cardiac Hill." I will say, at least for Georgia, the law would probably not allow you to run radar on this section of the roadway because of the steep grade and it's not a very short hill either. From there it's a nice little run through the countryside, with a few rolling hills here and there back to where we started just outside the Academy.
Everyone was glad to have completed this last challenge. Just 9 weeks ago it seemed like it was so far away it would never get here. I heard it in several voices afterwards..."Hey!!, we did it, we finished it!!!" But at the same time I heard some voice inflections saying "hey, it's over, we're done, we don't have that to look forward to anymore, our time here is almost up." I'm not really sure how to describe it other than it was a joyous celebration, but also a somber reminder that our time here is almost over. Don't get me wrong...I am definitely ready to get out of here, but at the same time I'm going to miss a lot of the people that I have gotten to know and have come to call friends. I wish them all great success in whatever they choose to do in their life and in their career!!
The coming Monday and Tuesday will finish up our classes with finals and whatever presentations some of us may have left to complete. Wednesday and Thursday will be various administrative functions, graduation practice, etc. Then Friday morning at 10am Graduation ceremonies will begin. By noontime I should be on the road headed back to my babies.
I'll probably check back in with you one last time on Thursday, but till then...Be Safe!
