IRONBULL Spirit

We have just gotten through the Christmas season, a time of year we hear a lot about “Christmas Spirit.” This is one of the many context of “spirit”. Recently, I had the opportunity to speak to about 50 sixth grade students on the topic of Spirit as part of a kickoff on a focus on Mind, Body, and Spirit. At IRONBULL we have a phrase “WHY NOT?” that encompasses our spirit.

Spirit I’ve seen

John Lauer

One step at a time –celebrate milestones along the way

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In my talk, I was able to share stories of several of our volunteers and racers that I have already encountered in our first two IRONBULL races - the Ultra Trail and Red Granite Grinder. This included first time racer, Jeff Sickinger. Jeff recently stopped smoking and picked up running to improve his health. Now he is eager to give back as a volunteer.

In the classroom I spoke hung two columns of posters. The first column had negative attitudes and the second had positive ways to look at each situation. This reminded me of John Lauer - who took a complete turn on his attitude towards an ultramarathon. Only months before he had laughed at the idea of running an ultra, now he is an ultrarunner. Before the race, he had shared with me that he didn’t care if he was dead last., as long as he crossed the finish line. The excitement was evident on the race course as he climbed up Rib Mountain and transversed to downtown Wausau.

I also shared how all of our racers in each race had to overcome obstacles - such as cold and wet conditions. They prepared themselves and persevered.

My spirit

Additionally, I had the opportunity to share my own personal experiences. This included overcoming falling short of my goal in a race I had planned my training calendar around for a year. I shared how I used what I learned and applied it to my next race. And that it would have been a failure only if I had not learned from this experience.

Andrea Larson

Work together…we all have different strengths

I also shared about my experiences exhibiting team spirit during adventure races on team Rib Mountain Racing. In adventure racing, we all have roles on the team because we are all unique with different strengths. And we are a part of a team in almost every facet of our life - in the classroom, in our families, in the work place.

WHY NOT attitude

So…WHY NOT? WHY NOT change your life one day at a time? WHY NOT commit to a goal that someone else (maybe even you) says you can’t achieve? WHY NOT try to conquer something you have never done before? And maybe, just maybe, you’ll do something you never imagined possible. But even if you don’t, you’ll change your life along the way.

Do you ave a story about your spirit? Share it below!