Weekend Spartan warrior

By DAVID LESNICK

The Daily Inter Lake

Fit, fast and ferocious aptly describe Dr. Kaci (Calaway) Monroe’s attitude and approach to Spartan racing, a popular and grueling athletic endeavor designed to challenge an individual’s mental toughness and test one’s physical fortitude.

“You have to have grit, strength,” she said.

“If you make a mistake (during the event), you have to do 30 burpees, get back up and move on.”

There is no time to mope in this grueling competition. Seconds are precious, especially when you are competing for prize money.

It’s a far cry from Monroe’s previous sporting endeavors, which were limited to running cross country and track.

“It’s fun,” she said.

“Spartan racing for me is very primal … to see how you do against the elements. Every course is different.”

Deserts, swamp land and mountains are a few of the unique settings for these events.

“It changes with every race,” she said.

“Along with what you battle, the weather always plays a role. I like the unpredictability of each race.”

Monroe enjoyed a stellar prep career running for Bigfork High School.

She was a three-time state runner-up in cross and a state track champion in the 3,200-meter run her senior season (2004).

“Disappointing year after year,” she said of those second-place finishes.

“But I was the 2-mile (3,200) champ, though.”

Her prep success in and out of the classroom allowed her to attended the University of Montana on an athletic/academic scholarship.

“It was a tough time for me,” she said of her days in Missoula.

“I didn’t run well, have that competitive edge.”

Her love of running, for the first time, was gone.

“I was very dedicated,” she said.

Maybe too much so as that led to over training.

“Wasn’t happy,” she said.

“It was like a job.”

And if that wasn’t enough …

“Self pressure and stress being on scholarship and not running up to the potential the coaches put on you,” she said added to her athletic misery and struggles.

“In college, I could not get into the competitive mindset,” she said.

And when you throw in academics, college life in general and the pressures of getting into a professional program like physical therapy, it was a difficult adjustment.

Eventually, a time for a break was needed. So Monroe stopped running for a year after college, but eventually started again for health reasons.

“I ran for stress relief,” she said.

In 2013, Tim Price, the owner of Flathead Health and Fitness, encouraged Monroe to give Spartan training and racing a try.

“He was doing a program for it,” she said. “He kind of got me excited about training again.”

She did some of her workouts at Lone Pine and was easily hooked.

“Carrying buckets of gravel up a hill, throwing a spear,” she said.

“It got me back into a routine. It made me excited about being active and competitive again.”

There are three types of Spartan races — sprint (3 to 5 miles with 20-23 obstacles), super (8-10 miles with 29 obstacles) and beast (12-plus miles with 30 obstacles). They are normally two-day events held on weekends.

Obstacles consist of walls to climb, rings, jumps, crawling under barbed wide, jumping over fire, dealing with a mud obstacle, swinging and climbing ropes and spear throwing to name a few.

Regular races pay $500, $300 and $100 for the top three places in the elite division.

Money can also be earned for elite competitors with national points.

The World Championships pay the top 20 finishers with first place receiving $20,000.

The first Spartan race she ran was in the open division in Bigfork at Averill’s Flathead Lake Lodge.

“When I finished, I looked at my time and I beat the elite girls that were there,” she said.

“I wondered do I get any money? I beat them.”

Monroe competed in the elite division the end of June in Utah and finished in the top 10.

She did two Spartan races in 2014, but increased that number to nine in 2015.

In 2017 she competed in her first Spartan race four months after her first daughter — Irelynn — was born and qualified for the World Championships.

She finished 14th in 2018 at Worlds after competing in 20 Spartan races that year.

She finished sixth overall in the final standings of the National Series and was third overall in the Mountain Series.

This year she has already been to Alabama, Florida, Arizona and Las Vegas to name a few spots on another ambitious quest to improve her elite status.

“I’m better now,” she said.

“Do more specific training.”

Her workout schedule varies, depending on her business needs. She is the owner of River Bend Physical Therapy and Preventative Care, LLC in Bigfork.

“The top girls do this as a job,” she said.

“It’s getting bigger and bigger every year.”

Monroe, who is 33, says she performs better in the distance races and those held at higher elevations.

“I place much better if I have hills and elevation,” she said.

Her least favorite obstacle is the dunk wall.

“You have to dive (underwater) under a board,” she said.

“Really nasty. The water is muddy, gross.”

Monroe currently has two sponsors — Spartan Pro Team and Human Octane of Southern California. They cover her entry fees and provide clothing for the races.

“I’m enjoying the ride right now,” she said.

“I want to see what I can do.

“I want to see what I can accomplish this year,” she continued.

“I also know my limitations. The girls coming in are younger, faster, but I want to see where this takes me. I will compete as long as it makes me happy. I will step away when it stops being fun.”

So far, it’s been an exhilirating experience for Monroe.

And nothing sports wise like she has ever experienced before.

NOTE: Spartan’s Montana Beast and Sprint Weekend at Averill’s Flathead Lake Lodge is May 4-5.