Daniel finished in overall 4th place, completing the course in 22:16:59, and turning 30 around the 190th kilometer, which he barely remembers.

Daniel describes the experience as, "Incredibly painful, but totally worth it." However, as Daniel confessed, this was only last-minute training for the upcoming 'Spartan Death Race', taking place this weekend in the mountains near Pittsfield, Vermont.

The Spartan Death Race is not merely an ultramarathon, but an extreme obstacle race.


For example, in past years, competitors have had to:

- dead-lift rocks between 10-30lbs for 6 hours
- run upstream in 7*C, waist-deep water
- crawl through mud and barbed wire
- climb hills while carrying bicycle frames and tree stumps
- find an egg hidden in the woods and boil it in a tin cup
- carry 50lb logs on their back for 24 hours
- quarter 20 logs with an ax

And if that doesn't sound grueling enough, competitors have also had to overcome various mental challenges, such as memorizing a list of U.S. presidents or reassembling 23 Lego pieces in a previous configuration (after collecting them from the bottom of a pond). Failure to do so usually meant repeating one of the above physical obstacles yet again.

However, what separates the Death Race from other such obstacle races is that neither the obstacles nor the race distance nor the race duration are known to the competitors. This simple fact seems to be the reason why, since the Death Race began eight years ago, each year less than 10% of competitors finish.

Created by Joe DeSena and Andy Weinberg, operating under the aptly named website www.youmaydie.com, the Death Race has attracted over 400 competitors this year. "Love seeing people break," DeSena says.

"This race finds the weakness in everyone. We don't give you water. We don't give you food. We don't cheer for you. We tell you to quit. We don't tell you when it starts. We don't tell you well it finishes. That is a difficult day, or two, or three, or four. Who knows how long it's going to last."

They even set up a 'confession camera' to record the excuses of the 90% of competitors who give up.

As an example of just how far DeSena and Weinberg thought of going, they came up with the idea of throwing competitors out of a plane into a drop zone 100 miles out from the starting line. That idea was abandoned after talks with Vermont state officials, says DeSena.

This year, competitors have been informed that the race begins this Friday (unknown time) and will definitely be over by Monday. Athletes will navigate the Vermont mountains for what could be 72+ hours, hopefully overcoming whatever twisted challenges emerge from DeSena’s and Weinberg's heads. Sleeping equals instant elimination.

For gear, competitors have received the following suggestion: "Envision being trapped in the woods for 5 days. What do you think would help you survive?"

Furthermore, this year's competitors are required to carry the following items:

- ID CARD (laminated, with medical and emergency contact info)
- Life Jacket
- Ax
- Saw
- Hand Shovel
- 10ft Section of 1/8-inch rope
- Tuxedo
- Hand snips
- 5lbs of hay
- 1lb of grass seed
- Safety Goggles
- Swimming Goggles
- $5.00 in quarters
- Water Filter

Your guess is as good as Daniel's...

And, as the only Hungarian competitor, he's got some added weight on his shoulders.

Live updates of the race can be seen at:
www.vermontsoriginalstore.com/pittsfieldrace.html
www.facebook.com/peakraces
www.twitter.com/Peak_Races

To contact Daniel, just click here

Photo courtesy: Gabor Bodnar - futas.net