Alden Jones competed in and finished the 2015 Endeavor Team Challenge.

How would you describe the competitor field?

The competitor field was all about nutrition for me.

Did you do any training specifically for the competitor field? What types of activities or skills would be helpful in the Competitor Field?

I made sure to workout at least 6 days a week. A rest day, should include an activity or sport. I tried to double up at least twice a week. I rock climbed 1-2 days a week and tried to swim once a week as well. Once I worked up to 10 mile runs, I planned a 1 hour workout immediately after a 10 mile run once a week.

What was your favorite event in the competitor field? Why?

The obstacle course was great. Alone, it’s not intensely challenging but after the crucible and battle drill I was pretty gassed. Despite being in rough shape, our team did well because we’ve known each other for so long and could communicate without issue.

What was the most challenging event in the competitor field? Why?

Forget the official name, but the log carry/ strength event. I was in pretty good shape before the race, but after the
strength event I realized that I had not consumed enough salt and sugar during the crucible. My advice is to try some long & intense training sessions and learn what you need to eat & drink.

Some of the events specifically required teamwork. How did you identify individual strengths to decide how to divide work?

My answer is more general to the overall competition: You should know and trust your teammate completely before the race. You should know each other well enough to see when they need help and offer a pick-me-up, weight transfer, break, etc. to get them through a temporary rough patch. You should trust each other enough to not get macho & defensive when you need to accept the help your teammate is offering. Maybe some teams are so prepared this isn’t an issue, but I imagine each group will need to lean on each other at least once before you complete the race.