Having completed many Spartan races, things need a little spice once in a while. After completing my first Ultra Beast in the Great Garden State, I noticed that my piece of the pie looked a bit lonely. A black wedge just doesn’t look right amongst the blues, reds, and greens of the Spartan World. I decided to start the journey to completing the proper Endurance Trifecta. With that in mind, I signed up for the Boston Hurricane Heat HH-088. Having never done a Hurricane Heat, I went into the event with little knowledge. Here is what I learned.

Read The Emails

You will get an email with some requirements, information, and some links. Read the emails, they are sent to you for a reason. Don’t skim over them thinking it is standard fare. If you think you read it, read it again. When it says “There is no bag check during most Hurricane Heat events since they typically take place when the Festival Village is closed to the public. We highly recommend leaving your belongings in your vehicle until after the event.” they mean it. Thank you good samaritan, for watching our stuff!

Spartan Hurricane Heat Facebook Group
What Is A Hurricane Heat? Or The HH12HR?

The Warrior Ethos

Know this, it will be drilled into your head. The Warrior Ethos is a code of conduct that is stressed heavily in the Hurricane Heat event.

• I will always place the mission first.
• I will never accept defeat.
• I will never quit.
• I will never leave a fallen comrade.

Gear List

https://youtu.be/Td8GrKQyQi4

Don’t over think your gear. For each Hurricane Heat there will be a video posted with the requirements for YOUR specific Hurrican Heat. Do not go into this thing thinking that the list from another event will be similar to yours. Our list was very specific, standard gear and a rock. Not a big rock, not a small rock, a rock. Don’t ask questions, just bring it. Also, don’t speculate as to what your non-standard items will be used for. My friend and I spent a good amount of time trying to find versatile rocks to bring. We looked for rocks that could be used for digging, smashing, cutting, banging, clunking, climbing… but not throwing. Guess what we had to do.

General Items you will need for MOST HH

• All athletes MUST wear a black shirt.
• Headlamp
• Black Sharpie Marker
• 2 Chemlights
• Camelback, backpack, ruck, purse, whatever you want to call it. You must be able to carry your own water supply.
• 4 Salt/electrolyte packets.
• 2-4 energy gel shots or energy bars, whichever flavor you prefer.

Don’t Ask Questions

Take this for what it’s worth; if they tell you not to ask questions, don’t. Take the Gump approach. “To do whatever you tell me drill sergant” If they say jump, just jump… don’t worry about how high. If it isn’t high enough, they will instruct you to jump higher.

Don’t ask what an 8-count bodybuilder is. If you don’t know, just follow everyone else…

You Are Not You Anymore

You are not you. If they say jump, you ALL jump together, as one unit. If one person is punished for being late (4:00PM is not 3:50PM), you should take it upon yourself to stand by your teammates, or roll with them if you were HH-088.

If there is a competition and your team wins (Good Job Team Thunder!) and you pick the punishment for the other team (like the pushups I picked for everyone to do), then do it with them. You start, suffer, and finish together. That was 36 total pushups.

Have Fun

This is why you signed up in the first place. Embrace the suck, you are alive. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it. There is a light at the end of the tunnel; and some dog tags, a shirt, and a piece of the pie. The end of the event will leave you wanting more… so don’t half ass it.

We became a unit; Sam, Ryan with an R, Jeff, Cori, James, Zepher, Emma, Brian, etc. Get to know the people you are standing next to. How many dogs, cats, kids, etc. Again, you are not you. You, collectively, form one. One unit, one band, one line, one pushup, one family. Stay in touch with these people, find them on social media and reminisce about the time you vomited because your Krypteia had you rolling for 1/4 mile.

Author: Joe DiFiglia

Fitness and sport enthusiast. Spartan Race Junky. I have been a martial artist since the age of 4 and addicted to anything challenging. Years of Martial Arts training provides the ability to keep going when my body really wants to quit.