Spartan Love: Beth & Christopher

In the final installment of our series, Beth Sharp paints the picture of how a surprise proposal is especially disorienting at the finish line of a Spartan.

In 2016, at the time my boyfriend Christopher and I participated in our first ever Spartan Sprint in Austin, Texas. We had no idea what to expect or what it really was. After crossing the finish line, our adrenaline was pumped and our bodies were over stimulated. The pride, accomplishment, and determination to complete the Spartan Sprint was so powerful, we were addicted. Since then we have participated in almost 10 different races from Dallas, Austin, Alabama, Las Vegas, and hoping to do more this year.

However, Spartan became a true love story for us when we competed in October 2016 for the Dallas Sprint together.

Beth and Christopher getting engaged — After navigating post-race blur and finding his mom (who had the ring), Christopher proposed.

It was a perfect day to get out and enjoy a 5-mile obstacle race with my best friend. Just as we crossed the finish line, I could tell Christopher was all over the place. He was trying to help me. He was trying to find his Mom (who had the ring). He was trying to navigate himself with composure and grace; however, we were weak, tired, muddy, and exhausted. That didn't stop Christopher from catching me off guard in front of our family, friends, and Spartan Family to drop down on one knee to ask if I would spend the rest of my life with him. I said, "YES!" And to celebrate, we have made it a tradition to always compete in the Dallas Spartan. We were married on December 31, 2016 and just recently celebrated one year together.

Commit together, finish together. And even get engaged. Get 2 for 1 Races.

TJ Murphy

The Senior Editor of Spartan Life, T.J. Murphy is a New York Times bestselling author and former editor of Triathlete Magazine. His writing has also appeared in Outside & Runner's World.