Marble Falls graduate wins age group in extreme obstacle race
MALIBU, Calif. — Isaiah Vidal is at it again.
The obstacle course racer, a 2011 graduate of Marble Falls High School, won the 20-and-under age group at a Spartan Sprint Race in Malibu, Calif., on Dec. 1-2, finishing seventh overall in 33 minutes 48 seconds.
Three hundred athletes competed in the race.
PHOTO: Marble Falls High School graduate Isaiah Vidal finished seventh overall at the Spartan Sprint Race in Malibu, Calif., on Dec. 1-2. Courtesy phot
“I was in pain this weekend, but I was still up there,” Vidal said. “It’s all about pushing through and not quitting.”
Vidal is now preparing for the Spartan Race in Glen Rose, Calif., on Dec. 8-9. The course will include more than 26 obstacles, he said.
While the races are difficult, his reason for competing is simple.
“To inspire people,” he said. “I do it for myself, to please myself and see where I’m at. A lot of people ask me, ‘You’re beating up your body and not getting paid for it?’ What I learn from this experience, it’ll help me.”
One of the races Vidal was invited to participate in is the Fuego Y Aqua Survival Run, a 70-kilometer obstacle course on Isale de Ometepe, Nicaragua, on Feb. 16.
“Basically, you’re running the whole time,” Vidal said about the course. “To get to the island, you ride a boat. The race is next to two inactive volcanos. Only 50 people are accepted. I’ve already been accepted.”
Some of the same extreme athletes he sees at Spartan races also will compete in the survival run, Vidal said.
Vidal competed in the World’s Toughest Mudder race in October at Raceway Park in Englishtown, N.J., where he completed six laps and was first in his age group at 25:21:49 and 34th overall. The event consisted of more than 190 obstacles. Each lap was equivalent to 10 miles, and Vidal said he didn’t do run training for it.
“I managed to leave Raceway Park with my head held sky high,” he said. “Winning my age group is the most important part for me. I enjoy the fact I’m racing against top-notch people.”
People are shocked an athlete who stands 5 feet 8 inches and weighs 195 pounds is able to do so well, he said. And he hopes to get sponsors to help him financially.
If he doesn’t receive a sponsorship, he wants to join the military with the goal of being part of an elite fighting team.
“I feel like I’m obligated to go challenge myself to do that,” he said about his military plans. “It’s an exciting process for me.”