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U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta: Elect Donald Trump to end decades of failed policies

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<p>&#8220;Aroo! Aroo! Aroo!&#8221;</p><p>Those were the last words I heard at the starting line of the Spartan Sprint on Sept. 24. Held at the Citizens Bank Park Stadium in Philadelphia, it seemed like the perfect &#8220;next step&#8221; for me after running <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/local/583612/beyond-the-byline-conquering-the-warrior-dash-with-a-purpose" target="_blank">the Warrior Dash last month</a>.</p><p>Little did I know, I would be pushed to my physical limit.</p><p>Spartan Races are similar to the Warrior Dash &#8212; races vary in length and have different numbers of obstacles.</p><p>I signed up for the Spartan Race before I ran the Warrior Dash and had no idea what I was getting myself into. A few people told me to wait until I finished the Warrior Dash, but I can be stubborn, and I never back down from a challenge.</p><p>The Warrior Dash actually helped me prepare for the Spartan Race. The Dash humbled me in terms of my cardiovascular health, and I made it my goal to turn that weakness into a strength.</p><p>Not long after I signed up for the Spartan Race, I learned that for every obstacle not completed, participants must do 30 burpees. Burpees can be kind of hard to explain, but they&#8217;re called &#8220;the devil&#8217;s exercise&#8221; for a reason &#8212; they&#8217;re not fun to do.</p><p>The only saving grace for me was that I signed up for the shortest of the Spartan Race &#8212; three miles and approximately 20 obstacles.</p><p>I spent a month jogging, lifting and doing anything I could to get myself ready. Thanks to a jogging route that took me through Kingston and into Kirby Park, I felt confident at the starting line of a race that would be on concrete instead of dirt and grass.</p><p>The race started out easy enough with the first obstacle requiring 20 pushups in a locker room. The course then took me through the stands, into the bleachers and through almost every nook and cranny of the park.</p><p>Soon enough, I found myself lugging a 40-pound bag of sand on my shoulders as I climbed the stadium&#8217;s stairs. Then, I carried two large jugs of water in each hand as I went through the stadium, and climbed over several walls.</p><p>One particular obstacle &#8212; the Hercules hoist &#8212; was especially humbling. I had to pull a rope attached to a bag of sand over a bar until the sand reached the top &#8212; if the sand slammed to the ground, it was a 30-burpee penalty.</p><p>Like a typical tough guy, I yanked on the rope expecting to breeze through the obstacle. I was startled when it didn&#8217;t budge. It was a lot heavier than anticipated. I struggled to get the bag halfway up, and my arms were beyond the point of exhaustion. I held onto the rope to keep the bag from slamming to the ground and refused to stop trying.</p><p>Thankfully, a fellow Spartan helped me get the bag to the top.</p><p>Unfortunately, I still found myself doing a respectable amount of burpees. An obstacle called the spear throw made me its first victim when I was unable to throw a spear and stick it into a target. Another was the dreaded rope climb, but since I never climbed rope before in my life, I figured I wouldn&#8217;t get past it.</p><p>At the end of the day, I had done 65 burpees.</p><p>Getting to that finish line was a sweet feeling. Nothing about the course was easy, and I found myself asking, &#8220;What did I get myself into?&#8221; by the time I was halfway done.</p><p>Draping that finisher medal over my neck helped solidify the reason I started doing the races &#8212; to prove I can. I love getting support from my friends and family, but at the end of the day, my mission was to prove to myself I&#8217;m capable of doing what I&#8217;ve never done before.</p><p>On my finisher medal is a piece of the Trifecta medal. The other two pieces have to be earned by competing in the other two longer, more strenuous races within a calendar year.</p><p>My goal is to earn a Trifecta medal next year.</p><p>Aroo! Aroo! Aroo!</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Travis Kellar strikes a pose after finishing a Spartan Sprint Race at Citizens Bank Park Stadium in Philadelphia on Sept. 24.</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_14494713_10157509500250066_3834955238109429619_n.jpg</photo0><caption0>Travis Kellar strikes a pose after finishing a Spartan Sprint Race at Citizens Bank Park Stadium in Philadelphia on Sept. 24.</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Travis Kellar</p><p>tkellar@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Travis Kellar at 570-991-6389 or on Twitter @TLNews</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Beyond the Byline: Conquering a Spartan Race