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The Strongman Sanctuary Masters Competition Report And Video! 8th May 2016

The Strongman Sanctuary Masters Competition Report And Video! 8th May 2016

Posted on by PTS

By Ali WilsonStrongman Sanctuary Masters 8th May 2016

What an awesome day! I had an absolutely AMAZING time at the Strongman Sanctuary Masters Competition today!

So we bopped down to Dartford in Kent this morning (Sunday 8th May 2016), the PTS crew consisting of me, P-j Gentle, Claire Haynes, Justin Green and Emma Markham. Today’s competition had me quite nervous, as last year’s masters competition was hard fought with some big blokes as it’s openweight and I think I came about 10th in that one, and this year everything was much heavier!

One really big reason to do this competition was it’s got a car walk…. Yes a car! Bit like a yoke carry, but a car. How cool is that? Forget the fact that it’s a car, because it’s a car!

Anyway, I felt great going into this today, training has been another level all this week and I was excited to see what I could do! There was 11 competitors in my class and 5 in the ladies, some BIG XXXXXL t-shirt wearing monsters present today!

The first event was the car deadlift. I think they said it was 200kg ish, 60 seconds to lift that chunk as much as possible. With my surname I got to go last, so I got to watch all these big and strong motherfuckers blast away, making me feel nervous as hell! Once it was my go I knew I had to rely on my cardio and push it, as in the past I’ve held back. Well today it felt awesome! It felt quite heavy in hands but not on the body, and my technique felt right, so I managed to get 28 reps! The winning score was 31, sooooo close! This got me 4th place, and I was buzzing! Justin managed 21 reps and joint 8th place, P-j got 14 reps and 4th place and Claire got 18 reps and 3rd place. As per usual I ended up starting a friendly grudge match with Mike Starkey, normally he beats me on the deadlift but I pipped him today with him getting 23 reps!

The second event was the viking press. A frame on a hinge you have to lift overhead. This was weighted at 100kg…. Umm. I weigh 80kg, so I knew I wasn’t going to have a good time, plus I suck at overhead. I honestly was just praying for one rep. At last year’s competition it was 80kg and I got 14 reps, so I figured one should happen…. Well I got 10 reps! Every single one was utterly horrid, but it got me 9th place, which while it was my worst event and I knew it, I was very, very happy with own performance! This messed me up too haha! Mike Starkey had a hilarious rules meltdown because he was just going too bloody fast! Think he got 3rd on this with about 25 allowed reps, but he could have won this one! Justin got 8 reps and 10th place, P-j got 2 reps and 5th place and Claire smashed out 16 reps and got the event win! Boom!

The third event was the one….. The dreaded car walk! I was so excited and terrified and confident and everything else about this, just wanted to have a go! Well a couple of guys went up before me and could barely move it an inch. My turn! I really, REALLY wanted to conquer this demon and carry it the full 20 meters, but you know what? THIS WAS REALLY HARD. The pick up was heavy but manageable, but the second you moved a foot to walk it felt like it was tearing you apart! Never, ever felt anything like it! It was exhausting! A whole new level of body tension is required for a skinny fellow like me to handle something like this! Anyway, in the time limit of 75 seconds I managed just 7 meters…. But amazingly that was still good enough for 7th place, with only 3 guys being able to finish the course, it was that hard! But man I want to do it again! Justin really struggled with this and moved it a meter or so, and Mike Starkey got it 8 meters just to pip me a place, then the ladies had a 160kg yoke, P-j casually got 2nd place with 14 seconds and Claire smashed out another event win with 11 seconds! Boom!

The fourth event looked grueling, a carry medley of a 70kg tyre, a 75kg keg, an 80kg sandbag and then to finish a 110kg keg! Blimey! A few guys went up before me and none of them could finish in the time limit of 75 seconds, it was brutal! But if there’s one thing I can do, it’s go all night and day! So I figured I needed to go fast but steady to save something in the tank for that final heavy keg, and it worked a charm! In fact, I coasted it too much! I managed to be the first to finish it and scored 60 seconds, and still felt I could have gone quicker! I thought I was in with a chance of an event win but two fast fellows beat me by one and a half seconds, so I got 3rd place, which was still awesome! See, cardio isn’t the enemy! Mike finished the course around 10 seconds slower than me and got around 6th place, Justin got 3 items and around 8th place, I think Claire came 3rd, but P-j unleashed her speed for the event win in this one! Boom!

The fifth and final event really excited me…. The atlas stones! Why so excited? Well the weights were 80kg, 90kg, 100kg, 110kg and then a final stone of 130kg. I never even tried 130kg, with 120kg being the best I’ve done in competition, so I was gagging to have a go! I knew I’d get the others so it was just that last stone…. Quite a few guys couldn’t manage the last stone, so if I could do it I’d get some points, and a PB! I started my stone run and it felt amazing! The stones just flew up, I could feel it in the air, the momentum was with me! The first four stones were up and done, just the final big one… I got it to my lap, heaved it up with my pornstar power hips, then it got stuck on the lip of the platform. I could feel it was just fraction off from going on, and squashed the rising panic in my belly, knowing that this was probably my only shot. With some belly drive I shifted my grip and pushed that thing on to the platform for a finish in 35 seconds and 6th place in what might have been my favourite bit of the whole day! At last year’s masters I failed the first stone! Revenge is sweet, but progress is soooooo much sweeter! This gave Mike a good boost and he ripped round the stones in 20 odd seconds, Justin got 4 stones up, P-j got two stones up but did manage to include a sort of stone age strip tease into the event, and Claire once more getting the event win being the only lass to get three stones!

So overall placings, I managed to get 6th place with 30 points in an openweight competition, and I’m chuffed to bits about it! Today’s performance I think was my best performance ever in strongman, and I feel fucking awesome! Mike Starkey did well with 36 points and 4th place, and Justin got 9th place with 15 points. Plus, the guy that won the men’s category was Hunter from the TV show Gladiators! But didn’t bring his pugil stick though. Disappointed! Ha! In the ladies P-j came 4th, but Claire came romping home with 1st place! Well done Claire!

The weather was amazing, I think I’ve got a tan! Just an amazing day, big shout to Les Wiltshire on the mic, Meg Robson as the ref, and Toby George and Joanna George for organising a wicked day! And all the lovely people I got to see and also meet for the first time today, Tanya Bartram, Beverley De Valmency, oh I can’t remember now! Oh, and also a shout out to Kerry Gowen keeping PTS open on her first shift so I could get crushed by cars and stones and still keep my PTS members happy!

Anyway, love ya!

And here’s the video of the day! Enjoy!