It is labeled the “Toughest Two Minutes in Sports” for good reason. Mentally and physically, the Scott Firefighter Combat Challenge course will push every participant to the brink of exhaustion, all in two minutes. As they step onto their starting marks, few things in life can compare to what is ahead for each Forney Firefighter who traveled to Las Vegas to compete at the World Championships.
It is labeled the “Toughest Two Minutes in Sports” for good reason. Mentally and physically, the Scott Firefighter Combat Challenge course will push every participant to the brink of exhaustion, all in two minutes. As they step onto their starting marks, few things in life can compare to what is ahead for each Forney Firefighter who traveled to Las Vegas to compete at the World Championships.
Once in place, the alarm quickly sounds and the physical and emotional journey begins. During the next two minutes, the firefighters - carrying an extra 50 pounds of gear - will not have a single second of stillness. Each firefighter must first pick up a coiled hose and throw it on their shoulder as they begin the journey up 5 stories of stairs. Most of the firefighters begin with taking one step at a time but, once they find the rhythm they are searching for, they will begin taking two stair steps at a time until they reach the top of the tower.
Once at the top, they drop the hose and reach over the tower and begin pulling on a 7 pound rope with 40 pounds of rolled up hose attached at the bottom. The motion has to be fast, efficient, and powerful enough to maintain the desired course pace. As the weight is pulled over the ledge and placed on the tower platform, the descent begins with no time to think about each individual step. Unlike the climb up where the participants are not required to take every step, the path to the bottom of the tower does require every step be taken or penalties will be assessed.
As each firefighter exits the tower, they climb on top of the Keiser sled and begin hitting it with a 9 pound mallet. Two methods are commonly used to drive the sled - either quick hits that can take up to 15 strikes, or longer motion swings which may move the sled further with as few as 7 strikes. As the sled reaches the mark, the run to the water hose begins. A serpentine running motion around fire hydrant obstacles places the firefighters at the opposite end of the course. There, a 100 foot long hose weighing close to 240 pounds must be picked up and dragged 75 feet. The firefighter must break through a set of swinging doors and aim the hose at the target letting the water pressure knock down the object ahead.
The last task is what solidifies the competition's motto of being the “Toughest Two Minutes in Sports”. A 175 pound mannequin must be lifted and pulled tightly to their body as they begin the long backwards run of 100 feet. This is the stage where competitors stumble most often. The body is physically worn down, the mind has become numb, and the focus of this challenge has waned. For those competitors lucky enough to take those final steps across the finish line, celebration is put on hold as fighting off collapse and allowing the body to recover is all that is of concern in that moment.
Simulating a real life scenario firefighters across the globe face every day, the journey of entering a structure fire has one mission - to rescue those stranded inside. This act of bravery and selflessness is why firefighters are so admired around the world.
On this day, all 5 of the Forney Combat team members competed in individual competitions as well as a team relay. Josh Everett began the day with a personal record time of 2:37, followed by Lt. David Lawson who also beat his own personal record with a time of 2:27. After a brief break, Tyler Sullivan quickly made it through the course with a personal best time of 2:06, with Ryan Elder posting a time of 2:29.
When Lieutenant David Lawson was asked why this group of Forney Combat members chose to participate in this event several years back, he stated, “Originally this was just something we thought would be fun but, after our first event five years ago, we were hooked. The camaraderie in this community as well as seeing those times other teams were putting up, drove us to want to become better.”
The highlight of the day, and quite possibly the highlight of the entire 5 years the Forney Combat team has participated in this competition, took place during the run of firefighter Russell Bannister. All morning, you could sense from his fellow team members Russell had but one goal on his mind - to make it into the prestigious Lion’s Den Club. This feat is only accomplished by those individuals considered to be the best of the best in the entire world. To be eligible for such accolade, Firefighters must complete the course in less than 100 seconds.
Russell Bannister worked and trained for this opportunity over the past 5 years. He previously came within seconds of breaking the 1:40 mark but never put together that perfect and flawless run. But, on this day, everything felt different - Russell was in a zone unlike past events. He trained relentlessly over the last 11 months at his local Forney Crossfit Flashpoint facility and that training would lead up to this moment.
“Crossfit Flashpoint has allowed me to focus on short interval bursts as well as sprints. That type of training is critical for events like this,” Russell said.
Once he stepped onto the starting mark, he had little time to think about what lay ahead of him. All he could do was let his body and years of training for this moment take over as he made the 5 story climb.
Competitors in this challenge have landmarks they are striving to reach in order to stay on pace to break the 1:40 time, the most common of which is making it to the hose pull station by the 1:05 mark. On this day, Russell did just that while grabbing the crowd’s attention. His fellow combat teammates and most importantly his wife Joni Bannister, knew Russell could make history.
As Mr. Bannister quickly grabbed the 175 pound mannequin and began his backwards journey, the only thing in his way was making sure he stayed upright until he crossed the finish line. As Russell made his way down the 100 feet of red carpet, the crowd began to sense that a Lion’s Den run could take place, and the cheering intensified with every backwards step.
As Russell crossed the line and the electronic scoring system stopped with a bright red time of 1:39:23, the reality hit - one of Forney Fire’s best accomplished a very rare feat. Russell Bannister now entered the Lion’s Den, an accomplishment only 19 firefighters from around the world achieved in 2012.
Mr. Bannister received the long-desired Lion’s Den coin once he completed his run. He looks forward to being inducted into the Lion’s Den Club next year at the 2014 World Combat Challenge where he will be awarded his prestigious jacket.
Mike Word, announcer of the Scott Combat Firefighter Challenge, was quoted as saying, “Everybody knows when Forney, Texas shows up, it’s time to go, it’s not time to play." Mr. Word, a firefighter himself, went on to add, “Forney, Texas you got a good group of folks and a dang good one right here,” as he patted Mr. Bannister on the back.
Lt. Lawson was excited to talk about this rare award and help put into perspective what Mr. Bannister's accomplishment really means. “With Russell now finally reaching the Lion’s Den, it is proof we can compete on the highest level in the world. I know all of us now have a goal of reaching this feat and I expect all of our Forney Combat members to work hard this offseason to accomplish what Russell has just done.”
Forney Combat is not done yet though. They still have qualifying runs to make as a group for the relays as well as the world finals on Sunday, October 27, 2013, in Las Vegas, NV. You can watch them live at http://www.firefighterchallenge.com/.
