Fuego Y Agua Survival Run: Hunter Gatherer 50k & 100k - Guest Race Recap

S.E.R.E. Performance in NYC. At 44, David has been a competitive athlete for most of his life. Raised in California, he now calls New Jersey home. After rock climbing for 14 years he and his wife, Angela (hi, Angela!), did a Spartan race in 2010 and were immediately hooked on OCR. They competed in the first Vermont Beast and the inaugural 2012 UltraBeast. In 2013 David completed 13 (!) S.E.R.E. Performance events, including the inaugural S.E.R.E. Assault, where he was one of the the only two finishers. When not climbing or running, he works as a psychologist in a maximum security prison and plays with his pugs, Dante and Loki. Without further adieu…

Fuego y Agua 50K Survival Run

For months I'd been preparing: I'd made Luna sandals from scratch and done long runs in them, I'd carved a survival bow, built a travois, studied the local plants, thrown a club at a target, and practiced making fire with a bow drill. And, most importantly, I'd just completed the Spartan Ultra Beast - nearly 30 miles with 11,000' of elevation - just two weeks earlier. My confidence going into the Fuego y Agua Hunter Gatherer Survival Run was high. I was prepared! After flying into San Antonio and driving two hours to Camp Eagle, the last eight miles of which involved driving down a dirt road, I pitched my tent and headed to the Pavilion for Package Pickup. As the "pure" Ultra runners received their bibs and bags of swag the Survival runners stood around edgily awaiting whatever task that Josue Stephens, the Race Director, had in mind for us. A short while later we learned that in order to get our bib we had to carry a log 2.5 miles uphill and carve our Race Number into it. No problem!

*    *     * Up next - an interview with the race director Josue Stephens, the race winner and fellow Canadian Shane McKay, elite racer Isaiah Vidal, who biked from Texas to Vermont and completed both the Beast and the Ultra Beast only two weeks earlier, as well as a female perspective on the 50k ultra run from Kim Kendra who came 3rd in the 50k Ultra Trail Run. Signing off, SOLO *Disclaimer: Please note that Fuego Y Agua has not paid or compensated me or David Kalal in any way to cover their event or give them a positive review.