24 Hero WODs, 1 Ultra-Marathon, 24 Hours

November 19   |   POWERED BY

Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up.

In today’s edition:

• 😱 The editor of Men’s Health is going to do 24 Hero WODs in 24 hours AND run an ultra-marathon.
• Is social media killing your gains?
• Should European athletes have more spots at the CrossFit Games? Ask Jon Singleton.
• Good luck on Will Moorad’s workout of the week.
• How Streat Horner created his own apparel sponsorship outside of typical CrossFit industry brands.

“Make a Friday a day to celebrate work well done that you can be proud of knowing that you just didn’t put in time to the next paycheck.” - Byron Pulsifer

Men’s Health Fitness Editor Andrew Tracey Takes on 24 Hero WODs in 24 Hours

Men’s Health fitness editor Andrew Tracey is about to take on a monumental task. He will complete 24 CrossFit Hero WODs in a 24-hour timeframe for the fourth year, but he will add in an ultra-marathon as an extra challenge, according to a profile originally published in Men’s Health.

The details: Tracey will start the Herculean endeavor in rural Essex at 10 a.m. local time on Saturday, November 20. He will complete all 24 Hero WODs by 9 a.m. local time on Sunday, November 21. Tracey will tick off miles between each of the CrossFit workouts to reach his ultimate goal of completing an ultra-marathon.

• Tracey will not simply complete these workouts in a gym. Each portion of the ultra-marathon will continue a journey between Stansted and Stratford. His Hero WODs will take place at different locations along the route.
• Tracey’s final workout — Murph — will take place in East London’s Olympic Park.

Tracey will start with the 100 muscle-ups of James Prosser before taking on Nate, which includes even more muscle-ups. The schedule continues with Hidalgo, Jerry, DT, Ricky, Mead, Bert, Joseva, Oz, Burgess McLaren, Bolger, Smudge, and Jordan.

Tracey will complete nine more Hero WODs on Sunday to cap off the schedule. The list is The Chief, Heidi, Jones, Jay, Sham, Jenny, Randy, Joseph Grzelak, and Murph.

Raising money for charity: Tracey will complete this task to raise money for Pilgrim Bandits, the organization whose motto — “Always a little further” — originally inspired this task in 2018. Those who want to support Tracey as he takes on the Hero WODs can donate directly to Pilgrim Bandits.

Pacing is critical: Tracy’s past efforts to complete 24 Hero WODs in 24 hours have always included a mix of longer workouts and shorter, intense ones. The mix would provide him with extra time every few hours to refuel and recharge. The 2021 iteration is a different beast.

• Tracey will have to complete two or three miles between each workout to chip away at the ultra-marathon distance. If a Hero WOD takes 50 minutes, he will only have 10 minutes to get this distance in before starting the next workout.

“Discomfort is not found within the four walls of a gym,” Tracey told Men’s Health. “That’s just a little bit of hard work… This is about putting myself in an unknown situation where I can’t stop. And this year, more than ever, will reflect that, because there’ll be real consequences to slowing down. It’s s— or bust. You either make it to the next one, or you don’t.”

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Meet Jon Singleton, the mastermind behind building one of Europe’s largest stable of athletes, specifically Gabi Migala, who finished 6th at the Games and 3rd at Rogue:

• Watch the interview. 
• “The choices that Gabi makes, are all around becoming better…Every decision is made around what is going to optimize my athletic career. So also listens to advice. I think that reflectiveness is a huge quality.
• “The European guys are not as strong as the European females. The girls without question deserve more spots [at the Games].”
• FWIW…Nine out of the top twenty females at the Games were from Europe.
• Also, Brian Friend made the case for more representation for Europe a while ago.

Brooke Wells’ Elbow Update: “It’s now been over three months since my elbow surgery (August 12th). After the first month of rehab in Los Angeles, I’ve been primarily back in Nashville doing PT 3-5 days per week.”

• “Over the last 30 days, in addition to continued ROM work I’ve been able to begin doing strength movements such as bent over rows, ring rows, and push-ups on a box. These might seem like small milestones but they’re HUGE indicators of progress.”
• “Last week I was back in LA to meet with my surgeon who was extremely impressed with my progress. Everything is healing perfectly and on/ahead of schedule.”

CrossFit launches the CrossFit Nutrition I Course to teach “the foundation of CrossFit’s nutrition recommendations.” The course if also designed to teach athletes “how to use nutrition to increase wellness” and optimize performance.

Rogue introduces the next online challenge: The Wheel Challenge, a forward plate hold for time. The contest starts today at 9:00 AM ET to Monday. November 22 at 8:00 PM ET.

• Register.

Registration for RPM Training’s annual 10K challenge is now open. The event challenges you to complete 10,000 double-under in 30 days, from January 3 – February 2, just in time for the CrossFit Open.

• Last year, more than $130,000 was raised for the Iron Compass Initiative.

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

Is Social Media Killing Your Gains?

It’s no secret that CrossFit might be the most active sport on social media.

The rise of CrossFit the sport was timed almost perfectly with the meteoric rise of Instagram and other social media platforms. And it’s a good fit. With limited traditional media coverage, niche sports like CrossFit face challenges in terms of creating visibility and attracting sponsors and fans.

Social media represents a viable mechanism by which relationship marketing not only drives community involvement but corporate partnerships as well. Athletes benefit directly from engagement with fans and companies benefit by athletes creating organic extended relationships with customers. Generally, the athletes who are more active on social media benefit the most from this model.

It’s not just CrossFit that thrives on social media, more and more companies have pivoted away from traditional marketing strategies and are investing in social media marketing. This follows a trend of usage of course. 28.8% of the world’s 4.8 billion internet users are on Instagram. Their monthly user base is the same as the population of Europe and North America combined. The average person with internet access spends 2.5 hours a day on social media. There is big money to be made on these platforms.

Unsurprisingly, CrossFit athletes looking to support their training and lifestyle without working a full-time job spend a lot of time on social media and the value it adds to the income of athletes and enjoyment of the community is undeniable. We can assume that athletes spend the same amount of time or more on social media than the average person which begs the question, does it impact performance?

Probably.

Will Moorad’s Workout of the Week

Every Friday, we’re bringing you an exclusive workout challenge programmed by a CrossFit Games athlete or coach that you can take on at home or the gym. You can post your times or scores in the comment section.

Today’s workout of the week is programmed by 3-time CrossFit Games athlete Will Moorad. The former collegiate soccer player (Belmont University, 2008-2011), Moorad made his Games debut in 2014, finishing 14th as a rookie before illness took him away from the sport. He made his comeback during the 2019 season where he finished 10th at the Games. This past season he placed 20th at the NOBULL CrossFit Games in his first year as a PRVN athlete.

Soon after the Games this year Moorad announced that his wife, Cass, was diagnosed with breast cancer. Since then they have been documenting their journey as they fight this deadly disease that affects one in every four women. The friends and family of the Moorad’s have also created a GoFundMe page to help offset their medical costs.

5 Rounds for time:
400 meter run
30 GHD Sit Ups
10 Ring Muscle ups
Time cap: 20 minutes

Some advice from Will: “​​This one is all about middle preservation. Pace the run so it gives you enough to hit the GHDSU and muscle-ups unbroken! I would aim for a “10K TT” pace on the run!”

To inquire about submitting an upcoming workout of the week, shoot us a note.

Creating your own Sponsorship Opportunities with Games Athlete Streat Hoerner

When it comes to finding sponsorships as a CrossFit athlete, the assumption is that brands seek out the athletes they want to work with. And although this is often how it plays out, two-time CrossFit Games athlete Streat Hoerner says it can also work the other way around: Athletes can put themselves out there to brands that speak to them and build valuable partnerships that benefit both the athlete and the brand.

This was the case for Hoerner, who reached out to Legends Athletic apparel and soon became Legends sponsored athlete at the beginning of 2021.

“I had been seeing their stuff kind of pop up randomly on my feed, and it looked cool, and so I reached out to them,” Hoerner said.

“This is a new brand that’s up-and-coming…It’s something fresh and different than the normal fitness things that everybody wears…that you see every single person in the CrossFit gym wearing,” he added about what attracted him to Legends.

Who is Legends?

Legends is an athlete-owned men’s lifestyle apparel company launched in 2019 (they’re currently working on a women’s clothing line), owned by current and former professional athletes, such as former NBA player Steve Nash and NFL player Baker Mayfield.

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Celebrating a PR, hosting a fundraiser, this, that, or otherwise. Send us a tip.

• Congratulations 47-year-old Dawn Olson from Fierce Play in Maple Grove, MN on getting your first bar muscle-up.
• Congratulations Natalie Adasiewicz from Screw City CrossFit in Rockford, IL on the 200 pound/91kg clean and jerk PR.
• Congratulations Martin Palma from Hybrid Performance Method on the 200 pound/91kg snatch PR.
• Congratulations Nicky Rodgers, the fittest teen in Pennsylvania, on the 245 pound/111kg snatch PR.

🤔🤔🤔 How many Tuk Tuks can you deadlift in 2 minutes? Tomorrow, CFCNX Strength & Conditioning, which is Thailand’s first-ever CrossFit affiliate, is inviting members to take on the challenge. The gym is accepting dried, non-perishable food and clothing that will be donated to locals in the Chiang Mai area.

See all upcoming events