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The Full CrossFit Games Calendar

Good morning from 36,000 feet as we’re on a plane headed to Tampa, FL to run in the first ever CrossFit division of the Ragnar Relay. Coincidentally, today’s edition is sponsored by Ragnar Relay, who partnered with CrossFit to create this division just for CrossFitters and compete for the highly coveted 80 pound Ragnar kettlebell. We plan on taking that home with us this weekend but if you want to win yours, you’ll need to sign-up and here’s an $80 off coupon with code “MORNINGCHALKUP” to get you started. 

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I’ve run 287 miles. I’m a little over halfway through it. The only hard part is that my toes are pretty beat up. I have blisters. The only thing that could stop me is my feet — but they’re not going to stop me.” — Jenny LaBaw, mid-way through her 500 mile run to raise money and awareness for epilepsy.

P.S. Jenny’s running on our Ragnar Relay team 🙂 

THE 2018 CROSSFIT GAMES CALENDAR

 

What happened?

Yesterday, CrissFit HQ released the full calendar for the 2018 CrossFit Games season, minus the Invitational and Lift Off, which are usually released shortly after the Games concludes.

When’s the Open?

18.1 — Feb. 22-26 

18.2 — March 1-5

18.3 — March 8-12

18.4 — March 15-19

18.5 — March 22-26

Regionals?

Online qualifier is from April 19 – 23. 

Individual and Team Regionals are between May 18 and June 3, over three weekends. 

The Games?

August 1 – 5. Tickets will be released April 2018. 

What don’t we know yet?

The locations of the Regionals.

WORK, SLEEP, CROSSFIT. REPEAT.

 

The story.

Meet Ross McCray, CEO of of the three-year-old startup VideoAmp, whose company just raised $36.6 million in funding.

McCray — who WODs at Paradiso CrossFit in Venice Beach, CA — has a governing philosophy for his success: work, sleep, CrossFit, repeat, and he’s offering it up to all 70 of his employees.

You mean like free training?

We sure do. VideoAmp doesn’t just offer free gym memberships, they’ll actually pay for a personal trainer if that’s what an employee wants, thanks to the importance McCray puts on physical fitness (and CrossFit in particular).

Why you ask? “If you take care of people and you put people first,” you’ll be successful, he says.

He’s also not the first CEO to offer up CrossFit to their employees: Reebok has been doing it for years and Jason Khalipa has built corporate CrossFit programs for a handful of corporations worldwide.

CHALK UP IN 2 MINUTES

 

The Ragnar Relay starts tomorrow. Our team kicks off at 3:30 PM and we’re still waiting for Dave Castro to accept our challenge.

Roundup — No one did anything cool. 

With your second cup of coffee…The heaviest snatch on Earth in super slow-mo

COFFEE BREAK CONVERSATIONS

 

What to tell your friend who just watched the pitch roll by…

Didn’t see it coming, which is what Dave Castro has hinted at the start of every CrossFit Games season. We saw this wind-up from Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Trevor Williams and felt like y’all needed a reminder to pick those dumbbells up again. “I’ve been building my son’s trust for two yrs with high-fives. Today I’m going to hit him with a ‘too slow’. Welcome to the real world, son.” #TheLongCon.

When you hear that Ricky Garad is claiming to be “clean as a whistle”

Banned, just like Russia from the 2018 Winter Olympics. It turns out the IOC — the governing body respnsible for organizing the Olympic Games — does have a “final straw” and it was broken after it came out that Russia was involved in widespread state-sponsored doping; we’re talking 1,000+ athletes involved. This is the first time a country has been banned from competing for doping. The IOC is going to allow Russian athletes who weren’t part of the doping scandal to compete under a neutral Olympic flag. Russia also has to pay $15 million in costs. 

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Hand-dipped peppermint patties recipe by Food52.

THINGS TO…

 

WATCH: What it Takes

Brooke Ence is battling back after withdrawing last season to get surgery. With less than three months to go before the 2018 CrossFit Games season officially kicks off, Brooke is battling through three-a-days to make it back in 2018.

PERSIST-ENCE

 

HEAR: Living a Happy and Fulfilled Life

Adee and Michael Cazayoux unload some knowledge bombs they’ve learned not only as CEOs of two of the biggest companies in CrossFit, but their time spent improving their lives daily both individually and as a couple. 

TUNE IN.

 

EAT: Hand-Dipped Peppermint Patties

Sometimes you really need to throw that peleo diet into the wind for a hot minute. If you’re thinking today is that day, we’d highly suggest getting your chocolate fix with these homemade peppermint patties. 

(DARK) CHOCOLATE IS PALEO.

 

Today’s edition of the Morning Chalk Up is sponsored by

CHALK UP AFFILIATES

 

STORY SERIES: How has CrossFit helped you achieve a goal?

“My CrossFit journey started about 14 weeks ago; I have multiple health problems. I have degenerative discs, bones that aren’t fused properly, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome and chronic pain. Doing CrossFit is a major feat in itself!! When I came to CrossFit, I never expected to even be able to lift anything or do any of the exercises. They are all scaled. I wasn’t even able to lift the ladies bar, and now I’m deadlifting 145 pounds, and I can do even more —  I’m able to walk again!!” — Jody Durham, Fort Harrod CrossFit in Harrodsburg, KY

——

  • TRACK STARS — Slingin’Iron CrossFit in Walker, LA is building their own 200m asphalt track so their athletes don’t have to dodge cars on the streets any longer. 
  • NEW HOME — CrossFit 86Seven all the way up in the Yukon Territory, Canada just moved downtown and took over the building formerly occupied by a commercial printing facility. Literally, that’s a first. 
Reads

CHALK UP READS

“Cancer Survivor: Ordahl’s Ordeal” by Emily Beers, CrossFit Journal

Amy Young Ordahl had all but given up on herself.

Her body was broken after a battle with breast cancer that started in late 2013 and involved a double mastectomy and chemotherapy.

“I would stay in bed. Had no energy. I would sleep until I had to pick my children up from school and then go back to bed when I got home. I couldn’t even get out of the car without holding onto the door handle and swinging my legs around to peel myself out,” the now 46-year-old said of her life from 2013 to 2015.

“I was weak, frail, a shell of a person. I was breathing and getting by, but I wasn’t living.”

Ordahl wasn’t even able to properly look after her two children, one of whom is severely autistic, she added.

Reads

CHALK UP CALENDAR

12/9: Ho Ho Ho CrossFit Kids Competition (Riverside, CA)

12/9: The 2017 Reindeer Games (Del Mar, CA)

12/9 – 10: WOD GODZ 2017 (Shreveport, LA)

12/18 – 20: 6th Annual CrossFit Invictus Online Competition (Online)

1/6: BrickYard Brawl (South Windsor, CT)

1/11 – 14: Wodapalooza Fitness Festival (Miami, FL)

1/13: Abominable Snowdown II (Orem, UT)

1/13 – 14: War of the Wods (Greensboro, NC)

1/20: Winter WOD’rland 2018 (Bend, OR)

1/27: Winter Chiller (Fairmont, WV)

1/27: NorCal Masters 2018 (Richmond, CA)

1/27 – 28: The Fittest Experience (Austin, TX)

2/3: No Weak Links “V” (Whitesboro, NY)

2/3: Caution Grounds 7 (Hialeah Gardens, FL)

see full calendar  |  + Send us an event
Is there something we missed? Email us at [email protected].
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