'You may die' warning on waiver no deterrent for extreme athlete.
Kyle Lewis, 24, a Jane and Dundas West streets resident, is training for The Spartan Death Race, a 48-hour obstacle challenge that takes place in Vermont in June.
Courtesy photo
Kyle Lewis, 24, has a scar that stretches from his left shoulder to just above the small of his back.
The Jane and Dundas West streets-area resident didn't even realize the barbed wire had sliced through his skin until after he'd finished the five-kilometre 'Spartan Sprint,' described as "an insane" obstacle race, last summer.
To his mother's dismay, Lewis didn't get his fill of torture last year - the muddy, three-mile event only served to whet his appetite. He will test his mettle again this spring when he competes in the toughest of the Spartan challenges: the 'Death Race.'
"When I read about it I thought, 'this sounds crazy,' but it stayed on my mind," said Lewis at a Bloor West Village coffee shop Wednesday, Feb. 15. "I thought, 'I'm going to regret not doing it.'"
The Spartan Death Race is an endurance race that lasts more than 48 hours and claims to be one of the toughest in the world, second only to the Tour De France. Designed by seven "insane" ultra athletes and a Royal Marine, the Death Race involves lifting 10 to 15 pound rocks for as long as six hours at a time, climbing up mountain streams under barbed wire, digging up tree stumps and quartering logs of wood - and these are just some examples of what could be involved in the physical aspect of the race. Ninety per cent of competitors do not even finish.
"You don't know what to expect," said Lewis. "I don't think you can prepare for it."
Despite the warning on the liability waiver, "You may die" and the 90 per cent drop-out rate, Lewis remains undeterred.
As well as training for the June 15 event in Pittsfield, Vermont, Lewis is in the midst of raising $2,000 for the Ross Tilley Burn Centre at Sunnybrook Hospital - a requirement to participate in the race. To donate to the charity, visit http://bit.ly/z0FD6a
Lewis credits his firefighter training for keeping him in top shape. Two years ago, he graduated from Humber College's fire fighting program. It's a tough career to break into and so Lewis now works as a carpenter.
Ever since his gym teacher at Runnymede Collegiate Institute introduced him to weight training, Lewis has been hooked. He's always been into physical fitness and is an avid swimmer. To train for the Death Race, he's been running up the steep hill on St. Mark's Road over and over again for more than an hour at a time. The trick he's been told by other Death Race competitors is to get used to doing mindless activities for long periods of time.
"They want people to quit - they don't want people to finish the race," he said of its organizers.
Lewis says he's having trouble convincing friends to go with him to Vermont in June for the race. They think he's nuts for taking on such a challenge.
Last month, he got a taste of what's yet to come when he joined one of last year's Death Race finishers for a 12-hour training session in Oakville. He and four others had to lift tires (with rims) back and forth over a fence for 20 minutes before they were given maps and sent off on a quest, which was comprised of a laundry list of physical challenges as well as mental ones.
"I'm the fittest I've ever been," he said.
Only time will tell if he's fit enough.