Athletes In Action offered a unique 20-hour intense physical competition during its Ultimate Training Camp in Colorado called S.P.E.C.I.A.L., or Scriptural Principles + Exhaustion = Confidence In the Almighty Lord.
Campers participated in a variety of competitive activities over a 20-hour span with a little rest, including basketball, kickball, swimming, relay running and tug of war.
They completed the event with 12 half-mile runs with 2x4s over their shoulders, known as the Golgotha.
S.P.E.C.I.A.L. made a significant on Hope athletes who participated.
Soccer player Murphy Stadelmaier
"This 20-hour ordeal was an amazing experience that took everything from me, emotionally, mentally, and of course, physically. During the planking, I was exhausted. We were supposed to hold a three-minute plank, rest for about 30 seconds, then plank again for three minutes. And this was after about two hours of Ultimate Frisbee with my eight-person special team, and series of tug-of-war games and pushups. The planking was the moment I stopped relying on my own strength and looked towards the strength of God. My shoulders and back were failing and everyone around me was dropping. As an athlete, I hate losing and am motivated to find strength in myself. However, during the second plank, I had to do something I had never done before athletically, use my faith to help me in sports. We had been learning about it all week and it finally happened. One of the interns came over to me and started yelling scripture. I had sweat dripping into my eyes and was yelling in pain. That day even after all I had already done, I was able to plank for more than three minutes at one time. I don't even know how long I was able to go for, but I do not really care because in my mind I won the spiritual game."
Men's tennis player Grant Wunderlich
"Captains were selected, I happened to be one of them, and then each drafted their team from a list of all the athletes at the camp. The teams then competed for the next 24 hours. We competed in an obstacle course where teams had to carry a heavy car tire on a 2x4 over 3 1/2 miles around Colorado State's campus while stopping at various stations to do physically exhausting things like abdominal crunches, army crawls, running, etc. The golgotha was such a powerful experience, being surrounded by the wondrous mountains God has created and then calling out to God for help to finish this tough task after my broken body had been torn apart the past 24 hours. It was incredible running down and then back up the mountain being surrounded by God and his powerful presence."
Basketball and soccer player Elizabeth Perkins
"It was amazing, the pinnacle of the week. On your way, you put the pain behind and put into perspective Christ's suffering for us. Definitely, top five, maybe top three, of the most difficult things I have done. The goal is to break you, push you to an end physically that you have to rely on Christ and his strength to get through it. That was a small fraction of the suffering he's done for us. It's just crazy. It's super challenging but so rewarding. An amazing experience."
