Burpee Challenge Finale

With little fanfare, the 2008 Burpee Challenge came to an energetic, sweaty, supportive end. 5 of the last 6 of us gathered at Saul's Mad Dawg Fitness at 9am to run through the Crossfit w.o.d. - 100 burpees for time.

With a full class of 9 or so it was good to be back at the gym after the holidays and to see the people I enjoy as part of my day to day routine. For 8 days over Christmas I'd been doing burpees in front of my family in Utah - fitting them in after skiing or before a meal. In truth, burpees provided a short respite from the deluge of family time, hard though it was to motivate to do them when surrounded by food and drink and games and couches. But having come so close, there was no way I wasn't going to end up at the gym on the last day of the year, to cap off the 100 days with my fellow Burpers.

(Yariv and I pulling out the last of them.)

Slow and steady as always, Yariv and I were the last to finish with Curt and Tony offering encouragement from the side. Even Luis, a Crossfitter and fellow trail runner, showed up to cheer everyone on. Saul brought out drinks and food (a very Crossfit-like spread of meats and cheeses, nuts and fruits) to celebrate and so we lingered, enjoying each other's company, talking about nothing in particular until it was time to get going with the day. Good bye, 2008. Good bye, burpees.

(Yariv, me, Tony, Curt, Jim. Photos courtesy of SJimenez)

Total burpees over 100 days: 5050
Total results: Some arm muscles appearing and better burp-ability
Next up: Stay tuned