Read More Behind the TorchBrea Armstrong
Graduate Student in Sport Management
Day 3 was not about lectures, and, for the most part, it was not about the Olympics. Today was about pushing ourselves to our absolute limits and conquering what most of us agreed to be the most difficult thing we had ever done.
On the docket for the day was the Manitou Springs incline. This incline was a mile and a half, sometimes straight-up, climb.
We had heard stories of Apolo Ohno jumping on one leg all the way up, running down the 2-mile trail and then repeating on the other leg. I was very intimidated looking from the bottom to the top, but I came in to today determined to conquer it.
On top of the grueling walk, which sometimes became a climb, we were fighting increased altitude.
We woke up and left the Colorado Springs Training Center at 7:45 a.m. to try to beat the crowd. My backpack was filled with more layers, two water bottles, headphones and snacks.
We drove through the Manitou Springs area, enjoying the buildings and shops that were similar to those of downtown Gatlinburg. We pulled up, parked and gathered for a group picture before we all started up the mountain.
After the picture, we were off. Everyone started their stopwatches, timing themselves, and two people even started running.
Five of us stayed together, motivating each other to the top. The incline, plus the altitude, made my breathing and heart rate accelerate, and we ended up walking, and resting, and enjoying the views.
Commentary and joking made what was exhausting and, sometimes, painful a lot more enjoyable.
The incline had railroad ties to help with our footing, but the mountain was steep, at times, and that meant our next step was sometimes at least thigh to waist level on my short self.
Locals were encouraging along the way, and some were even completing the climb twice before we could finish our first time, but I was determined to finish and see the top.
After an hour and 39 minutes, my group of five finished. The top time in our program was 48 minutes with others finishing close behind. Regardless of our time, it was an 8,500-foot climb we had conquered.
Once we got to the top, we had a 2- to 3-mile trail that zigzagged down the mountain. After finally making it down the mountain, we had never been happier to be off a mountain and away from steps.
The group traveled back to the CSOTC to eat lunch before heading to another staple of Colorado Springs, the Garden of the Gods.
We met an adjunct teacher, Glen Roseboom, who is a local, to discuss our projects for the week and ask questions. Garden of the Gods was a beautiful sight with rock formations that resemble kissing camels or a balancing rock.
While talking with Roseboom, a hail storm hit, and, with flooding all week, they closed the Garden of the Gods before we could explore the park.
Soon after, we loaded our vans and headed back to the training center — only to be hit with a larger hail storm that eventually looked like an inch or two of snow on the ground. Returning exhausted and sore, we showered and took naps before heading out for dinner.
Today wasn’t a day like our others — filled with lectures or projects — but a day of fun and pushing ourselves.
I am proud I completed the incline and can say confidently that it is one of the hardest things I have ever done. I was able to finish it with a group that I have grown close with over the last couple days.
Fifteen prospective sport management professionals from The University of Alabama will have an opportunity to interact with the nation’s sport managers during a graduate-level, interim travel course. Three of these students – 23-year-old Margaret-Anne Dyson, of Pensacola, Florida, 23-year-old Brea Armstrong, of Memphis, Tennessee, and 24-year-old Aaron Williams, of Oshkosh, Wisconsin — will blog about their learning adventures over the next seven days.