Western New York Highlander Challenge

This coming weekend I will be competing in the Western New York Highlander Challenge in Olcott, NY (Buffalo, NY area). This competition is hosted be Mike Landrich, a good friend and seasoned strongman promoter of many years.

The competition will take place near the Lake View Village Shops, Olcott, NY (intersection of Rt 78 and E. Main St). We’ll be the ones lifting logs, throwing stones, running with kegs and flipping trees.

The events will be:

1. 15”  log  for  reps.  clean  each  rep.  (HW  200,  MW  and  Masters  180,  LW  160,   Women  100)
2. Heavy  Weight  for  Height.  (HW  and  MW  56  lbs,  LW  and  Masters   42lbs,  Women  28lbs)  
3. Seated  arm  over  arm  pull  (weight  and  distance TBD)
4.  Open  Stone
5. Carry  and  drag  (carry  sandbag,  place  on  sled,  then  run  back  to   start  line,  carry  keg,  place  onto  sled,  pull  sled  back.   Weights/distance  TBD)
6. Caber

Weight Classes are: LW <200, MW 201-250, HW 250+, Masters (1 class) and Women (1 class)
I will be competing in the Middle Weight (MW) category (my bodyweight is currently at 227lbs.)

I replicated each event this past weekend the best I could, trained inside due to a thunderstorm.

I used 204 lbs. on my 12″ log and was good for 6 reps from the floor in 60 seconds.

A break in the storm allowed Spencer and I to go outside and throw weight for height over a tree branch. The branch measured out at just over 13′ which is a good height and my goal for the weekend.

Back inside for the arm over arm pull which we had to do standing. We weighted the sled +140 lbs. and did 3 pulls of 30ft. as fast as possible. The friction between the sled and rubber flooring really made this weight a challenge, but great training none the less.

Next we set up a Carry and Drag course. We used a 200 lbs. sandbag, 236 lbs. keg and started the sled weight at +230 lbs.. The sandbag felt light today and I could practically sprint with it. The keg also was not as much of a problem as I was thinking it would be. The backwards drag felt strong on the first set and after a rest I added an additional 90 lbs. to the sled (+320 lbs. total). This final sled pull was very challenging as I had to did deep and really drive to complete the 50ft. course.

I want to thank my training partner, Spencer Wallace, for motivating and suffering alongside. A good training partner is vital to reach ones goals.

I’ll let everyone know how I do when I return.