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 Conquering the Challenge Within
SEAL Adventure Challenge Inspires and Tests Competitors
By Dawn Taylor
Always "trying to imagine a tougher test," Seal Adventure Challenge competitor, Karin Muller puts the 24-hour ordeal she just conquered into perspective. Karin, a National Geographic filmmaker and the first female to complete this daring event said, "It's when you give the very last 5 percent of what you have, that you discover new things about yourself...It makes everything else you do in life seem easier."
This perspective was echoed over and over by the haggard, weary warriors who completed the third Seal Adventure Challenge in Virginia Beach, VA March 4 - 5. Produced by Odyssey Adventure Racing and presented by sponsor Blackhawk Industries, the event tests the physical and mental limits of the competitors as they experience a 6 or 24-hour civilian sampling of what Navy Seals endure during their infamous "hell-week training."
They come for different reasons -- some to see what they're made of, others on a dare. Several were there to test their mettle before they enter SEAL Basic Underwater Demolition/BUDs training. Regardless of their purpose for being there, the 37 men and 2 women who competed came away with a common achievement. They had reached deep inside and discovered new boundaries within themselves.
Competitors were briefed in the early morning before they were put to the test. SEAL instructors discussed the importance of teamwork and perseverance. Former SEAL, John Rea, explained that it is not the size or fitness level of an individual that makes them successful in SEAL training, but a person's ability to "dig from deep inside." He shared that in his BUD/s class, only 12 out of 132 graduated -- those with the mental fortitude to push beyond their physical endurance.
 During the event, Navy SEAL instructors challenged competitors as they put them through a series of pool drills, which included treading water with their hands tied, underwater endurance tests, and brick carries. Between drills, competitors were commanded to do poolside push-ups and flutter kicks. A soft-sand run and the Navy's Physical Readiness Test (PRT) followed pool drills. Competitors were scored on a timed 3-mile run, and on the number of push-ups, pull-ups and sit-ups they could do within time parameters. Teammates shouted encouragement as individuals struggled, faces grimacing in pain, to get in "one more." The effect of the team morale pushed competitors to give more than they ever thought they could. A grueling log PT followed the PRT. SEAL instructor, Paul Wherries, warned competitors, "From now on we mean business&Mac226;...don't be a failure." The competitors soon found out what he meant. The log drill required teams to do overhead presses, curl-ups, sit-ups and lunges using 10-foot sections of telephone poles. As a "cool-down," competitors were led into the 40-degree ocean water and then ordered by shouting instructors to roll and crawl in the sand. If they weren't uncomfortable before their dip in the ocean, they were now -- each covered in cold, wet and very sandy shirts and trousers.
The competitors who signed up for the 6-hour session "graduated" at this point. Sandy Sanders, one of the two females, was finished for the day, but assured everyone she would be back for the next Challenge. During her 6-hour ordeal, she astonishingly surpassed most of the men in all physical aspects of the training and in displays of teamwork and leadership. Her teammates were driven by her confident encouragement and by the example she demonstrated in each discipline. The 24-hour competitors bid farewell to Sandy and the other three departing comrades with mixed emotions, as they faced a longer day of intense physical demands and a daring nighttime mission.
 The 3-mile run during the PRT was merely a warm-up for the 8-mile trail run that came next. The competitors, in their wet, sandy cloths, ran along swampy trails and into the cold darkness of the night. Only after the run, were they able to put on dry clothing -- just in time for the boat drill. After inflating their crafts, crews lifted their rubber boats overhead and carried them the quarter mile distance to the ocean. Instructors were treated to rides on top, feigning "wounded" status to demonstrate the additional hardship of the "wounded man carry." Silhouetted against the lights of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel and the stars in the clear black sky, the boat crews raced one another, pushing as hard as they could and chanting, "Stoke one, stroke two" in a surreal nighttime cadence. They knew the last crew to finish would receive some type of punishment. In this case, overhead presses with the heavy, water-laden boats. Signs of distention and exhaustion were showing in the slower boat crews as teammates griped to others, "Pull your weight&Mac226;...hurry up&Mac226;!"
A warm campfire awaited the competitors -- a brief repose from the cold, unyielding challenges of the day. As they stared blankly into the mesmerizing fire, war games coordinator, Mike Nolan, briefed the competitors on the mission to follow. Three downed pilots needed to be rescued from an unfriendly camp. With additional instructions from the other SEAL instructors, teams planned reconnaissance, communications and rescue. This was a heady assignment for the weary group, and an exercise that would take them until morning to complete.
 At daybreak, SEAL Adventure Challenge coordinator, LCDR Steve Simet debriefed the teams as they gathered to discuss what went well with their mission and what could have been done better. The competitors were rejuvenated by the warmth of the morning sun and by the knowledge that they had done what they set out to do. They had dug deep and pulled out their "last 5 percent." They discovered new aspects of their capabilities and a greater understanding of how they could overcome what they had previously considered limits.
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Odyssey founder and retired Navy SEAL warrant officer, Don Mann, originally started the SEAL Adventure Challenge as an informal training event for friends. The event captured the interest of Navy recruiters who were interested in a creative way to identify SEAL candidates. Although at this time, the event is not sponsored by the Navy, it does attract men who want to be considered for BUD/s training, as well as other adventurous individuals who are eager to escape their ordinary routines through bold and daring endurance competitions. Odyssey will present another SEAL Adventure Challenge in Virginia Beach, VA October 14 - 15, 2000. Additionally, a 4-week SEAL Training Academy will be offered in August 2001. The Academy will provide physical training; land navigation instruction, self-defense with World Champion Frank Cucci, weapons training, dive instruction and parachute training. For more information on the SEAL Adventure Challenge, the SEAL Training Academy, or any of Odyssey's other exciting events, visit the website at www.beastoftheeast.com or call 757.425.2445. |
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