It's not about distance, but who you become.
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 | | In today's edition, Joe shares: - Why endurance sport is still the ultimate test.
- What "hard" really feels like.
- How the dark place defines you.
| | Spartans,
Joe De Sena here in Orlando, Florida. Across the pond last Sunday the 2025 London Marathon made history with 56,640 participants. But what matters to me is what it took people to get through it. I saw runners who had every reason to stop - heat, chemo, grief, divorce, doubt - but they kept going. They were running for something more than a medal.
The marathon is a b$*ch that demands discipline, forces preparation, and gives you a reason to give up when everything starts falling apart. That's why people are drawn to endurance sports. It's not about the distances. It's about who you become afterwards.
It doesn't have to be a road marathon. For some, the hard way starts with their first 5K Spartan Sprint after years of burnout. For others, it's a DEKA Strong after surgery, or a Tough Mudder after some crushing news. It looks different for everyone, but it feels the same for us all while we're in it.
That moment when you want to quit, when no one would blame you? That's the exact moment that DEFINES you. I call it the dark place.
Spartans don't run from it, but toward it, because that's where you meet the real you. Here you build yourself into a better person. You don't measure that shxx in medals by the way. You measure it in your refusal to give up, and reflection later.
If you want a place to start, or a crew to suffer with, join the Spartan Run Club. If you're ready to level up, try the latest Crush the Week workout - strength, mobility and conditioning, in one brutal package.
Are you looking for your next hard? I got some here for you.
Go on, I'm waiting.
Joe | | | COLLAPSE ON CONCRETE! | I once did a middle-of-the-night 10-hour hike in the freezing rain with my buddy Andy. By the end, I collapsed on the road outside the farm; face down, soaked, wrecked. But it felt better than a luxury mattress, because that's how you reset your brain. You teach it what real stress is. Everything else after that is easy.
More stories: Spartan Up! on Amazon | | | You Ask, Joe Answers | Q: Hey Joe, what's the hardest part of marathon prep?
- Dylan J
A: Hey Dylan, Waking up when you don't want to, and training when no one's watching. The finish line gets all the glory, but it's your alarm clock that deserves the credit.
Aroo!
Question for Joe? Want to tell him what you think of The Hard Way? Email him at thehardway@spartan.com. | | | | They Said It | | "There is no education like adversity." | | – Benjamin Disraeli, UK Prime Minister | | | ➝The Hard Way Podcast with Joe | | | SECRETS OF ENDURANCE | | | | In this episode, Joe De Sena sits down with the unstoppable Iron Cowboy, James Lawrence, a man who redefined human endurance by completing 100 Ironmans in 100 days. | | | | | | ➝Watch The Latest Hard Way Video | | | WHAT POWERS A SPARTAN ELITE | | In this episode of The Hard Way, we head to the CU Sports Medicine and Performance Center in Boulder, Colorado, where two of Spartan's top athletes undergo a brutal VO2 max test. The data reveals more than just endurance, it exposes the physiological limits that define elite performance. | | | | | | To keep receiving this newsletter, sign up here. | | | WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS NEWSLETTER? | | | | | |
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