FUGAZI Friday: Becoming One, The Value of Teamwork
By Tricia Wills
It’s Friday night and a little after 5:30 pm and I’m torn between the excitement of seeing my friends and the fear of the unknown funisment that’s about to commence. That’s right, it’s time for FUGAZI II. I’ve arrived early enough to ensure I get a little bit of time chatting with everyone standing around in the parking lot stretching, doing a final gear assembly, and working out their nerves too. No, this isn’t my first endurance event and yes, I still get nervous about them, and hopefully always will.

Over to the line up we go for check in and gear check. It’s hot, dry, and pretty dang windy. It’s early in the evening and I wish the sun was setting just a little bit faster. We get started, it’s made very clear from the start there is a difference in being yelled AT and yelled TO, and I appreciate this because its fairly difficult to hear at times over the wind this evening. Counted off and teamed up, PT is underway. Quickly it escalates and the importance of being FIRST becomes clearer than I remembered. It isn’t just about YOU being first, its about your TEAM TOGETHER being first, this is after all a TEAM EVENT. Some of the games are familiar to some that have more experience in the endurance world, but still there is clear struggle and our minds are tested in listening, strategy and our early ability to come together to get the job done. PT, check. NOW the event starts.

Lined up and marching out into the park we go with all our gear, Fortitude Bags and buckets in hand. To where, only the DOGs know that, for now. We get through a few team race activities quickly where again, it pays to be first. This time it’s a bit different, with the team I’m on getting that coveted first place finish, lined up between the 2 teams who are learning the lesson at the moment and something amazing starts to happen. Instead of just taking advantage of this opportunity to rest, rehydrate and fuel up if necessary, we now find ourselves cheering on the other teams. Having been there now ourselves in previous iterations we get it, and want them to know we are there with them. Then comes the longest bucket brigade I’ve ever done. Nausea is killing me, what is going on inside my stomach. I knew better than to change anything up for the event so its the same old stuff I always rely on in my hydration pack and for fuel, what is happening. NOW the enemy between my ears is rearing up, but I know her. I’ve already wrestled with her and won a few times before now. JUST KEEP GOING, they are counting on you. YOU ARE COUNTING ON YOU. I’m not going out like this. Just get around this last turn and back to the starting point and you’ll be fine. The internal dialog is getting louder and louder, I need to silence her, this is not her space anymore.
The event carries on and I’m holding myself together, and doing what I’ve established as MY best in this situation I’m working through right now. We’re down by the river now, its time to get our army crawl on. Its cold, like really cold and flowing fast. So we are given a specific path to ensure we are safe but can still complete this task. This is everything my body needed, I’M BACK TO 100% ME, enemy drown. We fill our buckets and are instructed to carry this water back up to where all this bucket madness began. And in the blink of an eye RESOURCEFUL in full display in front of me. Out comes the duct tape and emergency blankets. BRILLIANT! Decrease our possibility for spillage and get the appropriate amount of water back where it needs to be. Teamwork time now. There are always going to be rabbits and there are always going to be turtles, that’s nature. So the team of rabbits who’ve completed this task are now heading back at those of us still in tow to get the mission completed.

By far the most challenging mission of the night was to carry 3 logs of various sizes and of course all our gear up some incredibly steep slopes. So far we have spent the majority of the night apart, in 3 teams competing, SWITCH, now we are a unit of ONE to accomplish this task. And in the most beautiful coming together I think I have witnessed I was absolutely amazed at how easily we tackled this. Yes, there was struggle. Yes, there was times I could hear falters in faith at finishing followed immediately by some inspiration from another participant close in proximity to the person struggling. And yes, we got it done together!

Having a few endurance style events under my belt now, I found myself surrendering my ego much quicker this time around. I know I will not be the best at everything, and that’s OK as long as I give everything I absolutely can and I’ve removed my ego enough to let my team help where/how they can. But I also know when its my turn to step it up now and be there for the next person, and the next person, and even the LAST person. WE are in this together, and TOGETHER is the only way out.

Beautiful recap of the events of the evening, some inspiring stories, and an issued challenge to keep the lessons we learned with us and continue to grow wrap up our evening, shirts on and coins in hand. THEN Mark says “Who’s ready to do this again? I’m offering you a chance to double down and earn 2 coins tonight. Who’s in? I’m not joking … Tricia, I know you want to.” Quick sprint to the restroom and back to the starting line. Quickly take off my finisher shirt, he said 2 coins not 2 shirts I’m not messing this baby up, chew down some gu and a few quick drinks of water. GET SOME… and so the 8 of us did.
