Springfield man endures extreme race, just for fun

Ray Morvan of Springfield has competed in the Death Race an extreme, outdoor challenge seven times in a row. He has only completely finished three of the races.

http://www.eagletimes.com/news/2012-03-16/Front_Page/Springfield_man_endures_extreme_race_just_for_fun.html

Springfield man endures extreme race, just for fun
2012-03-16 / Front Page

By IAN LORD
Staff Writer

Ray Morvan of Springfield has competed in the Death Race an extreme, outdoor challenge seven times in a row. He has only completely finished three of the races. COURTESY PHOTO Ray Morvan of Springfield has competed in the Death Race an extreme, outdoor challenge seven times in a row. He has only completely finished three of the races. COURTESY PHOTO Ray Morvan once spent 48 hours in the Pittsfield, Vt. woods, hauling logs, large, awkward tools and other pieces of heavy equipment. Nearing the end of his excursion, eating and, even worse, drinking water became too much of a hassle.

As dehydration set in, that’s when Morvan started hallucinating, taking his shoes off, afraid to cross a bridge which he swore trolls were living under and waiting for a rental car in the middle of the woods.

Morvan wasn’t out in those woods on accident. In fact, like many others, he actually paid to go through that ordeal.

The cost — both the physical toll and the $900 registration fee — was for the Death Race, an extreme, outdoor challenge started by two friends in 2004. In both the winter and summer death races, challengers spend hours and, sometimes, days hiking up a mountain in Pittsfield, hauling heavy equipment and completing a number of challenges.

Ray Morvan after taking part in a grueling Death Race challenge. Only 15 percent of participants complete such challenges COURTESY PHOTO Ray Morvan after taking part in a grueling Death Race challenge. Only 15 percent of participants complete such challenges COURTESY PHOTO Unlike other endurance races, the Death Race doesn’t have a set start or finish, and the lone winner is the last person standing.

“It’s really not a race,” Morvan said. “It’s a challenge.”

Friends Joe Desena and Andy Weinberg came up with the idea for the Death Race when they were hiking. Desena said they both came up with the idea to “create an event unlike any other in the world.”

From Desena and Weinberg’s perspective, the Death Race is all about pushing the challengers to their absolute limits. Along with the physical toll, log-chopping, weight carrying and other brutal challenges, Desena said he and Weinberg are trying to break them down mentally and emotionally.

“The goal is to break them all,” Desena said.

Morvan has competed in seven Death Races in a row. With only about 15 percent of participants completing the challenges, the Death Race isn’t for the faint of heart, Morvan said. Beyond the grueling physical strain that comes with the race, he said the organizers test participants mentally.

As one of the most seasoned challengers, Morvan has experienced varying levels of success in the winter and summer death races. Of the seven races he’s competed in, Morvan has finished three. For the winter race two weeks ago he lasted 28 hours, but stopped because his surgically-repaired ankle wasn’t doing so well.

Through all the pain and the psychological torment Morvan experiences, he loves every minute of the Death Race. He said the race is a perfect metaphor for life, and he’s certainly knows what it’s like when life gets tough.

“It emulates life,” Morvan said. “You get out of it what you put into it. It really strips you down to your bare essence.”

As a husband and father of two with a steady job at Mortgage Financial in Springfield, it’s hard to imagine that Morvan was as far from a steady life as one could be. Up until three years ago, Morvan said he battled life-long drug and alcohol addictions.

Morvan said his addictive personality led him down that path since he was a teenager. Even through successes in culinary school and earning his nursing degree, Morvan still used drugs and alcohol as a crutch. As his substance abuse began spiraling out of control, he said his family life was on the verge of being destroyed.

“You don’t get many chances from drugs and alcohol,” Morvan said. “I was losing my family.”

Finally realizing that his family was suffering from his substance abuse problems, Morvan found help at a rehab center in Minnesota three years ago. Dedicating his life to his family, he made the choice to drop everything: Alcohol, pills and even cigarettes.

“When I decided to change my life, I quit everything,” Morvan said. “I was able to change my life in the nick of time.”

Morvan now wants to bring his story to a Springfield community that has many people who are going through the same substance abuse issues he experienced.

“That’s my next goal,” he said. “I’ve been thinking about putting together some kind of motivational speech.”

After conquering his demons, Morvan knew he could accomplish anything. His new mindset led him to the Death Race, fully prepared to face the challenge of those competitions. After his first one — which he lasted for 12 hours — the Death Race became a passion.

“It just kind of called to me,” Morvan said. “I was hooked.”

While his family worries about him during the competitions — particularly longer ones — Morvan said the Death Races have been a very positive experience. He said his children have had the opportunities to meet worldclass athletes and both have expressed interest in someday following his footsteps.

Whether his participation in the Death Race is serving his addictive personality, or showing his family what he’s capable of, Morvan said it’s ultimately about doing the best he can. No matter how he finishes, he said it’s a victory each time he’s out there competing.

“I’m not going to win this thing, but I’ll be out there and I’ll be doing the best I can,” Morvan said. “In life you just need to last as long as you can.”