Avon Lake Resident Signs 'You May Die' Waiver To Compete in Death Race

There’s a reason Spartan Death Race participants are required to sign a waiver that acknowledges, “you many die.”  This race isn’t for the weak of heart or spirit, or possibly, the sane.

That’s not enough to deter Avon Lake’s Dave French, 42, who will be heading to Pittsfield, VT to compete on June 25 in the legendary 48-hour race that only 10 percent of participants complete.

A video on the race’s website at youmaydie.com calls the race “part Survivor, part Jackass,” where participants complete tasks that are strenuous and “sometimes absurd.” Tasks might include hiking, chopping wood, swimming, crawling under barbed wire or carrying your bicycle nine hours to ride it 15 minutes.

The race’s founders, Joe Desena and Andy Weinberg, have spent years competing in triathlons and races such as the Eco Challenge and have created their own race unlike any other.

The race varies each year so that participants such as French, an active duty officer in the U.S. Coast Guard, have no idea what to expect. The race could include a 2,000-foot climb up a mountain, memorizing the country’s first 10 presidents posted at the top, and reciting the list at the bottom of the mountain. If you fail, it's back up the mountain to review the list.

French is one of about 200 men and women willing to take the challenge. He says he won’t quit.  

“I don’t like quitting, so I’ll finish, whether I have to do it by running, walking or crawling,” said French. “When I tell people about this race, they tell me I’m nuts, but I chose this challenge because I’ve always been fascinated by folks who persevere under excruciating conditions to achieve amazing things. Stories like that inspired me to think to myself ‘some day, I’m going to figure out my limits.’”

Signing the “death waiver,” a requirement for every participant, proved  motivational for French, who works at the Ninth U.S. Coast Guard District in Cleveland.

“My wife says I’m stubborn as an ox, and she’s right,” French, who has previously competed in the Warrior Dash said. “Telling me I could die or won’t finish is really just a challenge for me to prove those naysayers wrong.”

His wife Stephanie, and 7-year-old daughter, Daphne, will be there to cheer him on, but the slog to the finish won’t be easy. What makes the Spartan Death Race unlike any other competition is its unknown duration and lack of race support like water handouts.

Competitors are purposely kept in the dark about the course’s length and they have no idea what activities lie ahead because organizers change the routes and challenges every year.

“We do keep the specifics under wraps,” Weinberg said. “It's very important that we don't leak anything out. There is a small group of us that chooses the tasks each year. We have a database with approximately 100 challenges.  We test them throughout the year and then come up with the ones that we'd like to use for that particular year.”

Racers are even encouraged to quit at every opportunity and Desena and Weinbert create an experience designed to keep athletes off-kilter during the multi-day, no-rest race that pushes athletes beyond their perceived physical, mental and emotional limits.

To date, no one has died as a result of the competition, although organizers said they've "come close".

The race drew the attention of the New York Times, who featured the race in a lengthy video.

Last year’s race covered more than 43 miles and 20,000 vertical feet of elevation change and took the top survivor more than 28 and half hours to complete. Organizers vowed that this year’s event would be tougher.

“I’ve got no idea what to expect,” French said. “If past races are any indication, they could have us chopping wood, carrying 70+ pounds of equipment, solving puzzles or even lugging bales of hay up a 2,000 foot mountain just for the heck of it. To me, it sounded a lot like my boot camp experience, so I’ll tackle this race the same way. I’m just going to keep moving until they tell me I’m done.”

Race requires serious preparation

 To prepare for the unexpected, French’s daily workouts include running three or more miles while wearing a 50-pound weighted vest. He follows that with a high-intensity weight-lifting routine to keep his heart rate up while building the core strength that’ll be crucial in completing the Death Race’s many tasks. On weekends, he throws in some biking and hiking to mix things up.

 “This race is really going to be all about mindset,” he said. “If you’re the type of person who gets upset in the face of adversity, it’ll chew you up and crush you,” he said. “Fortunately, all of the competitors have been very supportive of one another. We follow each other through social media and send each other encouraging emails to help stay focused on training. It’d be really cool if this year’s group went out and made history by having the highest number of finishers.” 

Previous competitor Christopher Dissinger has some advice for French.

"I learned that the best way to train for this race is to hike, hike and then do more hiking," Dissinger said. "The Death Race is very challenging. The biggest challenge of the race is the unknown. The coordinators do not tell the competitors when the race ends or starts, they do not tell you what the tasks are, they do not tell you the length of the course, and they really don’t tell you what to expect.  You basically just have to take the race minute-to-minute, hour-by-hour."

Dissinger said people who have never done this race "are in for a big surprise."

Early in the year, French recognized the value of teamwork in training and struck up a friendship with an older fellow service member who’d also signed on for this year’s Death Race.

“I found out a retired U.S. Marine Corps Master Gunnery Sergeant from Florida was competing this year, so I sent him a quick note of encouragement,” said French. “He wrote back with a little tongue-in-cheek inter-service rivalry poking fun because we don’t have a regular fitness program in our service. Next thing I know, he sent me a box of ‘Marine Corps whup-ass.’”

 Inside the box, French found workout gear and a copy of a book called “Corps Strength,” written by his new friend, and soon-to-be fellow Death Racer, Master Gunnery Sergeant Paul Roarke.

“We check in on each other periodically to see how we’re doing in training. It’d be nice to both complete the race. But, I would be happy finishing before that old Marine,” he jokingly said.

 There are no prizes for winning the Spartan Death Race, just the pride of finishing what many bill as “one of the toughest races in the world” and receiving "weeks of pain" according to the website.