Ryan Deauville, President of Greens Plus, participated in the 2012 Spartan Race Series season-opening event January 28 in the SoCal Super Spartan at Vail Lake Resort in Temecula, Calif. It was the first Spartan Race for Deauville, 25, an avid CrossFit enthusiast and son of Greens Plus co-founders Lani and Jude Deauville The following is a Q&A with Deauville about his experiences in the event.
Ryan at the First Obstacle
Q: Did you have any idea exactly what you were getting yourself into when you signed up to compete in the season-opening round of the 2012 Spartan Race Series?
Ryan Deauville: “I tried not to think about it (laughs). I actually had a pretty good idea so I was ready for it.
Q: Was there any specific training you did leading up to the event?
RD: It was a mix of my normal CrossFit routine with some longer cardio, longer runs … five miles with simpe body weight exercises, such as pull ups and push ups, mixed in.
Q: Was there ever a time in the Super Spartan when you wanted to quit?
RD: You really didn’t have a choice when you got out there on the course. The only time you would have really been able to quit was at the midway point back at the start/finish line. I think most people that would consider quitting at the midway point would probably never jump into doing something like the Spartan Race to begin with. There’s enough intensity just signing on to do it that you pretty much know what you’re getting into. You mentally prepare for it … it’s not really an option to quit. It’s actually fun once you get into it. It would be different if I was running eight-and-a-half miles to run eight-and-a-half miles. This race is fun. The obstacles are cool. There were five or six hundred competitors every heat so you were constantly among people who were struggling but would take the time to pat you on the back or tell you “Good job. Keep it up.” It was a great group of people that provided lots of motivation.
The Rope Obstacle, Vail Lake
Q: Was there a moment that sticks out in your mind?
RD: Not too far after the midway point, in the fifth or sixth mile, you reach the top of a hill, look up and see a trail of people just walking up what I would call a mountain. It was a little intimidating … you get up one hill and think you’re at the top and then, all of a sudden, you get a chance to take a peak at the course ahead and see a trail of people moving very slowly up this bigger hill. I’m on my sixth mile and I’m dying … my legs are killing me because my training didn’t include any hills so it was a quick ego check. That was definitely the most difficult part of the course because we were already so far into the race and getting up that hill was so intense. It wasn’t quick, either. It had to have been at least a good half-mile climb up. At one point, I was on all fours trying to get to the top.
Q: How does the Spartan Race Series fit the Greens Plus consumer?RD: It’s something completely different than what we’ve done in the past at Greens Plus. When we talked to the people at Spartan Race about the opportunity for Greens Plus to be involved, we asked them who their core market was. They talked about people who CrossFit and triathletes being the base of their clientele. And those are the types of people we’re trying to reach. We’ve worked with elite athletes and we know they’re looking for the best nutrition possible to reach their maximum performance. They’re eating healthy, trying to eat enough fruits, vegetables and protein. Greens Plus falls right in line with that because the ingredients in our products are the key ingredients to living a healthy lifestyle. There are other races that have some difficulty but people mainly do for fun and a good time. We wanted to take our message to the next level, where people are having fun but are more competitive in what they do. The Spartan Race Series is the perfect platform for the competitive part of our message.
Being at the race, I found out that the majority of people were stoked that we were there and wanted to learn more about the performance benefits of Greens Plus. We’ve been around for 25 years so we see this is a great opportunity for us to reach a whole new audience through our involvement with the Spartan Race. This new base of consumers knows what’s good for them and what’s not. They can look at the label and know immediately that this is the good stuff.
Q: Do you plan to participate in any more Spartan Race Series events this year?
RD: I plan to run both days in Miami (Feb. 25-26) and a few others. I’m also looking at one at a ski resort in New York that’s about an hour north of New York City in Tuxedo. I’m definitely going to get out to a few more. We’re hoping to have Chris Obertlik run all of the U.S. races on behalf of Greens Plus so we can follow along on his journey through his blog entries on blogdev.greensplus.com/oldsite.
Q: Any final thoughts?
RD: Our goal is to showcase Greens Plus as a lifestyle and much more than just a product. That’s fun. It was great for me to compete in the race and then stand at the booth, covered in mud and sweat, and talk to the people about our product. I’m not just some joe off the street trying to push a product. It’s a different connection and it should be a great benefit.
Flying the Banner
After competing and seeing the reaction Greens Plus received at the first event, I’m a thousand times more energized about the whole program … and I was already like a little kid at Christmas. It’s going to be a fun year with the Spartan Race Series. It’s a growing series run by a great group of people so I see it as a really cool opportunity for Greens Plus. Stay tuned
