personofdoom

Yes and No. Before I got to St. Louis it was a no. The day I competed, my dad and I walked down to the course and looked over the obstacles. We then returned to our hotel and basically formulated a game plan from there.

Then, before you run, they walk us through each obstacle and show us a tester running it so we have an idea of what to expect, but we only get to try the obstacles during our run. No sooner.

Virtually 0 competitiveness and it's the greatest feeling on the planet!

It's all of us against the course, so we've got a great sense of solidarity. I'd never met most of the people I competed with, but we were all trading strategies and tactics the whole time like we were all best friends!

After I fell, I spent the rest of my time there (In the top 30 before being bumped out) cheering on other competitors and shouting advice on how to do certain obstacles. I proudly cheered for the guy who knocked me out of the running for the regional finals

It's a lot like any other athletic activity. You can try to rush, you can try to go slow, but the main thing is to think about it.

For an analogy, I'd say think of portal. Each obstacle is like a test chamber. You really have to see what is at your disposal and what you can do with it to complete your objective. Some are simple while others can be incredibly difficult

Charmander

Orange is my favorite color

Plus Mega Charizard X

Not to say I don't love Bulba and Squirt

For me, it was more the mental side of the training. Like many competitors, I spent time practicing parkour or freerunning, but what was the hardest for me was remaining calm. You get so hyped up and excited before you run, it's really easy to move just a bit too fast and lose it all. I basically had to train myself to remain calm.

If I had to choose a physical difficulty, It would have to be my upper body. After playing soccer for so many years my legs could handle anything but my arms are long and thin making some of the upper body work very strenuous. I focused on pullups and pushups varying my technique and style to work different parts of my arms and body in general