Elite strategies to reach the podium
Kathy Karpati, elite Spartan Race athlete, recalls her transition from college soccer player to obstacle course competitor. It was at university that Kathy met her partner Sean, who shared a similar interest in fitness and introduced her to the sport of obstacle racing (OCR).
Co-owner of the Cor.Fit training center in Calgary, Alberta, Kathy remembers her first OCR event. The adrenalin rush of her first mud run and the stimulating athletic challenge it presented immediately hooked Kathy on obstacle racing. She immediately felt that getting involved in this newly discovered sport would satisfy her need for competition.
Just this will to be better than yesterday and to always push further... what can I do better, what can I change to get a better result?
Rising rapidly in the OCR rankings, Kathy Karpati took part in the Spartan Trifecta World Championships in Sparta (2018), which consisted of running back-to-back Spartan Sprint (5-7 km), Spartan Super (10-12 km) and Spartan Beast (25 km) in the same weekend. After finishing 4th in the Sprint and 5th in the Super, Kathy dominated the final 10 km of the Beast to take 2nd place on the podium in her age category.
A fierce competitor, Kathy Karpati says that all the sacrifices she made, as well as her preparatory races, were worth the commitment, despite the lack of sponsoring she has achieved. For an OCR rider vying for first place, satisfying her desire to compete should be the only motivation.
Kathy Karpati, a competitor in the now-defunct X-Warrior Challenge race, advises knowing when to slow down and rest, even though this can sometimes be difficult. For example, she recalls taking part in a 200km charity bike ride the weekend before a major Spartan race in West Virginia, which ended in underperformance. As a full-time fitness coach, Kathy recognizes the fundamental importance of recovery in a training routine.
3 strategies to optimize your obstacle course performance
Sensei says: Be flexible
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Beyond your degree of flexibility, listening to Kathy, I understand that we should leave room for spontaneity in our training program. Keeping our workouts renewed and diversified - with a touch of randomness - allows our bodies and minds to become more responsive.
Sensei says: Nutrition
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A key element of any active lifestyle is how you nourish your body. As Kathy Karpati says, we should always eat as clean and healthy as possible, but without sacrificing what we love. As she so wisely puts it, there's always room for ice cream (especially chocolate mint).
Sensei says: Focus on your goal
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However difficult and tortuous the path to your goal may be, Cor.Fit coach Kathy Karpati reminds us to never lose sight of our main objective. She also suggests that setting punctual benchmarks - or sub-goals - to our trajectory feeds our motivation to achieve.
