Pain, Discipline, and Spartan Endurance
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 | | In today's edition, Joe shares: - Why we love endurance events.
- Everyone's "hard" is different.
- No excuses. Ever.
| | Spartans,
People who don't "get it" ask me all the time: "Joe, why the hell do people pay to suffer?"
We crave pain. We'll rarely admit it, but it's true. Structure. Discipline. Transformation. This isn't new, by the way, it's ancient and science has shown us we are built this way.
Seneca once said, "We suffer more in imagination than in reality." But endurance sports like marathons, trail races, and Spartan events flip that. We also seek real suffering, because it sets us free.
Recently at a Spartan Ultra, I met a guy who had just finished chemo. Six months earlier, he couldn't climb a flight of stairs. He wasn't racing for a buckle, but to prove he was alive.
I'll never forget a Spartan I met in Abu Dhabi who tore her calf halfway through the race. She limped 8K in the sand. She refused every easy exit. At the finish line, she said to me: "If I finish this, nothing in life will scare me again."
That's what I mean when I say, "hard comes in all shapes." Your "hard" might be running 30 freezing miles, or it might just be getting out of bed the day after something in life smashes you. It might be grinding through grief while raising kids, recovering from surgery, or pushing forward after layoffs, heartbreak, or failure. Spartan teaches us: we're never done.
No excuses. Ever.
And if you need help finding your "hard", check out our new Spartan Run Club, which is full of real people, preparing their minds and bodies to DO HARD SHXX. And if you need some Spartan tough gear to train in, we got stuff.
Keep going.
Joe | | | BUILD FROM PAIN | Been hanging out with my buddy Alex Birks at Suji. His team built their startup from pain, literally. Raising capital was brutal. Supply chain meltdowns caused chaos. But they fought through it to help athletes, vets, and Spartans recover faster, train harder, and stay in the fight. Now 1 in 4 US pro-sports teams use their gear. Respect to those who build through adversity. | | | You Ask, Joe Answers | Q: Hey Joe, what's been your hardest race mentally?"
- Sarah D.
A: Hey Sarah, It wasn't one of more than fifty ultra marathons, it was a 10K road race with my son. Because I couldn't quit. He was watching.
Aroo!
Question for Joe? Want to tell him what you think of The Hard Way? Email him at thehardway@spartan.com. | | | | They Said It | | "Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." | | – T.S. Eliot | | | The Hard Way Podcast | | | | In this episode, Joe De Sena sits down with endurance coach Floris Gierman to talk about the surprising power of slowing down to get faster, building consistency, and creating a healthier, more intentional life. | | | | | | THE HARD WAY VIDEOS | | Watch Danielle Reick discuss what it means to be a Spartan as she shares her inspiring journey to earning her Spartan Delta. | | | | | | To keep receiving this newsletter, sign up here. | | | WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS NEWSLETTER? | | | | | |
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