Spartan Death Race

Local OCR (Obstacle Coarse Racing) enthusiast Joe Benoit is once again competing in the Spartan Death Race. Falling short last year has compelled him to come back lighter in weight and stronger than before. Benoit said it was the people in the race as well as wanting to reach his goal of finishing that has drawn him back to the small town of Pittsfield, Vt. 
Joe lives in Worcester, MA and has worked at Trader Joe's in Shrewsbury for 7 years where he receives tremendous support and encouragement in all his OCR endeavors. Training locally at Wachusett Mountain has provided Joe with endless training opportunities. "The crew there leaves wood for me to chop, tires to flip and a mountain to pretty much to make my own. Its awesome." He claims "You come out of this experience different than when you went in. The race is intimate and the friendships forged will last. This is a race designed to break you both mentally and physically." 
Through his hours training, he and a friend developed a nutrient dense endurance bar and plant powered protein to help keep them mentally, physically and emotionally strong during grueling events. This paved the way to developing a business called Edible Endurance- Licensed, Trademarked and Insured. The endurance bar in particular was developed with OCR at the forefront of its design. With Joe having a nutrition background and co-founder James Lehner having a food engineering background, they produce the most nutrient dense, great tasting bar one can buy. It contains some of the worlds best superfoods for energy and stamina, all Macro-nutrients as well as an abundance of Phyto-nutrients, giving competitors that extra edge in any event.

This race attracts people of all all ages from across the nation and even other countries. From young to old, the most fit to not fit and physically challenged. "There are competitors with prosthetic limbs and in wheelchairs who are truly inspiring to race with and helps to put some of the aspects of life in perspective." According to Joe, last years race went over 70 hours and only a little over 10% of the competitors finished. This included building a staircase up a mountain for 24 straight hours, endless hours of chopping wood, swimming and carrying heavy loads for miles with little to no sleep. "It was amazing the way fellow competitors would come to ones aid in times of need." 
This years theme is "Lewis and Clark" which will have contestants teaming up with others and doing some orienteering to accomplish different tasks along the way. "Although I've spent hundreds of hours in the woods this will be my first go at orienteering. We are a strange bunch and push ourselves to our limits in this race. It will take all my mental, physical and emotional strength to be considered a finisher of one of the toughest races in the nation. I need to complete this challenge for family, friends and most of all, myself. Wish me luck!"
We wish you luck Joe!