McConnell readies for Death Race 2012

FREDERICK – It wasn’t that long ago that local flight nurse Sean McConnell was among a group of folks who were putting themselves through physical challenges that aren’t easy for others to comprehend.

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McConnell tackles the first task of last year’s death race. He and the other contestants had to lift rocks for 7 ½ hours. He estimated a total of 50,000 to 60,000 pounds of rocks. The group was in a circle with 13 rocks. IN the middle was a 120-pound water pipe, a hay bale and some larger rocks. “We had to work our way around the circle, then lift everything in the middle while wearing our packs,” McConnell said. “That was one rotation. They told us we had 150 rotations to do. We were only on 95 at 7 1/2."

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Twelve hours into last year’s death race, McConnell and the other contestants had to cut this log to exactly 36 inches in length, then drill their bib number in to the side of it with a hand drill that each had among their equipment.

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Sean McConnell

    In Death Race 2011, one team had to carry a hay bale up the side of a mountain for not meeting a prerace requirement. Race officials have been known to start the race several hours ahead of schedule, force competitors to carry stumps through barbed-wire  culverts to the top of a hill, eating raw food and carry equipment that turned out to not be necessary.
    McConnell liked it so much that he wants to try it again in June.  The event will be in Pittsfield, Vermont, June 15.
    “I have been staying generally active and plan on starting a training schedule this month,” he said. “Just trail runs, mountain biking and hiking so far. I just feel like I can do better. I gave it my all last year, but I feel like I can just do better. It’s more personal this year. I allowed myself to be beaten last year by non-other than me.”
    McConnell survived 18 hours in his first venture and was 12th out of 180 people when he decided he’d had enough.
    McConnell plans to increase his training as race day gets closer.
    “ I hope to be at my best a few weeks before the race and fine tune the training along the way to how my body is feeling,” he said. “I will continue to include the trail running, weights and core strengthening. This year, I will really focus more on longer training days. The race had a lot of  long tasks, so I want to be more prepared for those types of challenges.
    One thing McConnell plans to change in his routine is to slow his pace down and to use a race buddy.
    McConnell isn’t sure how much of an advantage – if any – he’ll have based on what happened in July.
    “I would like to say yes and no,” McConnell said. “I have done the race once and had first-hand experience at the diabolical minds of the race directors. They are really good as mental misdirection and physical derailment.  So I do have that experience. But I don’t put a lot in to the past experience because these guys will only use it to hurt me next year.  I just need to be generally prepared and go with the flow.”
    “My pace last year was way too fast,” he said. “I think a better pace will really help keep my mental game where it needs to be. I plan on racing with a friend of mine from high school this year, it will be his first time doing the Death Race. So all in all it should be another fun, crazy, insightful, misleading, painful, challenging, dirty adventure.”
    
Contact Sports Editor Steve Smith at ssmith@metrowestnewspapers.com r at 303-659-2522, ext. 224.