Jesse James Jamnik shares with you his first thoughts going into a Summer Death Race, which he completed in July 2015. Follow him through his struggles here!

1. L I F E L E A R N E D T H R O U G H T H E
S T R U G G L E ( PA R T 1 )
B Y J E S S E J A M E S J A M N I K

2. • "There are times in everyone's life when something constructive
is born out of adversity...when things seem so bad that you've got
to grab your fate by the shoulders and shake it." – Anon

3. • For me, this hit around this time, last year.
• Flashback -- Spartan Death Race 2014: As the story has been told, there was
a knife wielding, crazy man, screaming about the Death Race games.
• The drama-filled scene ended upon a cut off bib that went up in flames
(But, as Josh Eckler reminded me, no one else will ever be able to say they
didn’t turn in their bib upon DNF – never mind throw it in the fire for a
climatic ending, worthy of millions of YouTube views).

4. • Story telling aside, I
made a complete
(for lack of a better
term) ass out of
myself.
• But, I learned. And,
so far, the most
valuable life lessons
have come from my
worst F%^& ups E V
E R. Just for the
record, I’ve had a
TON of them!

5. • “To make no mistake is not in the power of man; but from their
errors and mistakes the wise and good learn wisdom for the
future.” –Plutarch

6. • Mindset, outlook and perspective play an overpowering role in everyday
life, Death Race included.
• When I look at my life two years ago, aside for some really strong “good
points,” my life can best be described as upside down and in a life
changing transition.
• Things weren't right at home and I had a ton of shit going on in my
personal life.

7. • Much of which, I tried to handle myself, being too stubborn to accept reality or help.
• While physical training and fitness stayed on point, my mental mindset and strength was
weakened and fogged with a haze of thoughts.
• I’d like to believe I left all of this behind when I took off from Riverside Farm on Friday
morning, but I did not.
• I brought it with me, with every step, until a breaking point, circa Saturday late night at the top
of Tweed.

8. • This year, because of my
amazing girlfriend and her
unconditional support and
encouragement, I was able
to bounce back, “fix” my
life, get my head screwed
back on straight and start
doing what I knew I could
always do -- conquer,
overcome and achieve.

9. • Summer Death Race was one for the record books.
• On the go for a little under 60 straight hours this year, I was one of the 37 official finishers
out of the 204 that started the race.
• That's 18% -- Quite an awesome feeling, not gonna lie :)

10. • The theme this year was
"LIFE" and boy did I sure
learn about it.
• You see; when I tell people
what I do, most just think
I’m fucking crazy or nuts.
• Truth be told, you
probably have a few
screws loose to put
yourself through all this
bullshit.

11. • It’s not for a prize, trophy or
cash purse.
• It’s for the pure joy of
knowing just how far you can
push the limits, how far you
can actually take your body
and just how much suffering
can you endure before you
reach your breaking point.
• THAT is endurance racing,
adventure racing – not the
tangible finish line awards.
• Death Race tested all of that
and then some.

12. Follow Jesse’s story & the lessons he learned
throughout his Summer Death Race by following
his blog here: Life Learned Through Struggle