Amy LaPanne a 46 year old mother of 2 from Connecticut won a chance of a lifetime, a trip from Mud Run Guide on the first ever Spartan Race Cruise. She wrote about her experience…
I had never won anything in my life. Oh, except once for the 2 circus tickets (I would have needed 3) for the week I was out of town. So when I got a Facebook message from Brett Stewart telling me I won a trip on the Spartan Cruise and to message him my email address, my first response was, “Is this for real? Omg I could pass out!” I went back and forth in my head about whether I should give this Brett Stewart guy my email address just in case it was a scam. But I messaged my email address before I let this chance slip through my fingers. Now that I’m back from the trip, it would have been the mistake of a lifetime to have stayed home.
The cruise was a welcome break from a horrible winter. My husband and I left our home with over 5 feet of snow in the yard and after 6 weeks of below freezing temperatures. Walking around Miami before we sailed, I turned to my husband and said, “I’m sweating and I’m not at the gym!” We were on the ship in no time, thanks to a super smooth check in process. We chucked our bags in our room and started exploring immediately.
Activities included a lot of cool speakers and activities geared towards the Spartan lifestyle. There were fantastic yoga classes and a beast of a work out with Joe De Sena and crew. Everyone on board was friendly and excited for the race. One guy I talked to said that the ship was sort of like the Olympic village. Friday night (pre-race) it was fun but mellow. Saturday, from post-race until late it was crazy. There weren’t a whole lot of kids on board, and with the R-rated action by the pool, that was a good thing.
The race itself was a lot of fun. I heard people complain that it wasn’t enough of a challenge, but I don’t know how you could expect more from a tiny island in the Caribbean. For what Spartan had to work with, I thought it was well done. I appreciated the well-built obstacles, even if none were new. The swimming parts were a fun twist and so refreshing, because for us, the heat was wicked. The scenery was gorgeous, especially from the top of the big cargo net. Later, I loved seeing the OCR royalty around the beach and I even worked up the nerve to take photos with a few. We also watched the American Ninja Warriors ham it up on the Bacardi deck. It was so fun to watch!
The question I keep getting asked is: Would I go again if I had to pay for the cruise? The answer is a great big yes. I had been at a real low point spiritually after first being injured, and then sick, and I feel like the cruise has inspired me to pick up my training again. A huge thanks to the folks at Mud Run Guide and Joe De Sena for a great time. I’m going to put my pennies away for next year!
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