Post by Oti on Apr 14, 2009 2:36:02 GMT -5
After going to bed at a little after midnight, I got up at 4:00 AM. I was exhausted and I wanted to go back to sleep, but I wasn't willing to lose my place on the course. I got ready as my girlfriend Jacqueline slept. The poor thing can't handle exhaustion as well as I can. I told her I'd go check on the course to make sure there wasn't already a mob and then return. I left at about 4:15 AM and, by then, I was already about 90% awake and feeling pretty good.
I walked out of my hotel. It was about 52 degrees, a little on the chilly side for me. Almost as soon as my feet hit the sidewalk, I began jogging. I figured jogging was faster than walking and it would warm me up; two for one, baby. I jogged until I was about a block or so from the course, then slowed to a walk to let my heart and breathing return to normal.
It was about 4:25 AM or so as I stepped down the stairs to the parking lot where the course was assembled, I was relieved; no one was there besides two security guards. I approached them and said, "Good morning." They were two younger guys and, from the sound of it, they like their jobs. One of them said he loved it since he didn't have to do s**t. His words, not mine. All in all, they were pretty cool. I asked them if they knew anything about the course, but, oddly enough, neither of them really knew what Sasuke or Ninja Warrior was. They did, however, tell me that the time limit is 1 minute, 15 seconds, or something like that, they think, and that one of the testers, who was a gymnast, cleared the course in only 45 seconds. I decided that that's my time to beat. I was already planning on going so fast that I finished the course with the best time, anyway. They also told me that if you fail an obstacle, you get to keep going and that most of the safety pads were super soft, so be careful not to fall off them when you land. They then told me that G4 would start setting up around 6 AM and filming started at 10 AM on the dot. It would last until about 4 PM. Designated people would run the course first; David, Luci (if she felt up to it, she's been sick all weekend), etc. After that, walk-ins from the street would be able to go. Whoever got to run the course in those six hours (about 75-100 people, they estimated) would run it and everyone else would be denied. However, they said they didn't really expect anyone to show up until about 7 or 8 AM. I guess initial responses to an obstacle course popping up in a park lot weren't too promising, or something. Also, they told me a cute little host from G4 would be running the course, but only one. Alison Haislip, I assumed. I bid them farewell and told them I'd see them in a little while.
I returned to the hotel room at about 4:50 AM and began typing this glorious adventure for all of you to read. I have a particularly tricky memory, especially when it comes to the events of my day. Even as I was typing the previous paragraph, I had to keep jumping to different spots in the text as I remembered what went down. I'm now sitting in my hotel room in the dark, listening to music with the volume turned down so Jacqueline can sleep and typing this for you all. It's about 5:11 AM. I figure I'll go back to the course at about 6 AM to see how many people are there and maybe get some pictures of G4 arriving and setting up. I shaved, ate and just wasted some time until about 6 AM. Then I set off again to see how many people were there. Hopefully no one, still.
I returned at about 7 AM. There was only one or two people there, and, like me, they showed up, talked to the security, then left. On my way back, Ryan Stratus and Chris (?) passed me. They were just heading to the course. I returned to the hotel, woke up Jacqueline, she got ready and we were out the door (hopefully for the last time) at about 7:15 AM.
As we got close to the course, I could see people were already lining up. Jacqueline and I quickly took our places in line, directly behind the people in front of us: other forum members. BigBlind, UncleSam, Straticus, AscentPk... A ton of forum regulars were already there. Ultimask8er showed up a few minutes after we arrived, as well. We all just stood around talking for hours, at least. There were staff members from Attack of the Show talking with us as well. Nothing good, just small talk. Our small group quickly turned into a large group, then a long line and, before we knew it, we were a huge mob. There were TONS of people, too many to count.
Right before everything really started, G4 passed out Ninjas Rule shirts which are pretty nice, actually. Quite comfortable, A short while after that, Venom Energy Drink (who was stamped all over the course) showed up and began handing out free Venom Energy Drinks. A cool drink on a hot, sunny day is better than nothing, so my girlfriend and I both took one. Surprisingly, they were loaded with natural energy supllements (B vitamins and whatnot) and NOT twelve cups of sugar. They also didn't taste too bad. I drank about four before the day was over. It was very nice of Venom to hand them out for free like that, especially conisdering how many people there were.
The G4 staff, including David, began to put the "finishing touches" on the course. David and several staff members ran through each obstacle repeatedly, making sure everything was solid, safe and reasonably simple, yet difficult. David also used Sasuke Sticky Spray on the Cliff Hanger to help everyone's grip. Soon after these adjustments were finished, introductions were shot with the host and things got under way.
As the first few people (who were all G4 staff members) got ready to run the course and show us how it's supposed to be done (minus all the falling, of course), other people from G4 walked through the crowds looking for marketable people or, as Ultimask8er would say, "T.V.-able". They looked for people with interesting stories. I came from far away, I train every day, I have a disease but that doesn't hold me back... stuff like that. My girlfriend and I were approached (I guess because we were one of the first in line, which means we had to have gotten there early) and the woman asked where we were from. When we said Mississippi, she said "Oh, wow! No way!". So, from that point, I figured I was in. She told us to stay there and she would send someone back to us. When that someone came, we told him how we flew all the way out there for my chance on the course, how we had to scrape together about $1,600 to come here, how I got there at 4 AM... everything. He told us that was great and before I knew it we were signing forms and being interviewed, A funny thing I noticed after the interview was that I kept saying Sasuke instead of Ninja Warrior and whenever I did, the man would say something like, "Sasuke, what is that? Sasuke? What do you mean? Do you mean...?" hinting at me to say Ninja Warrior, not Sasuke. So, I felt a little stupid on that one.
Several G4 staff members geared up (unfortunately, it was required) and ran the course as the first few people plucked from the line were registering and getting all their paper work in order. The time limit was one minute. Several of them looked as if they could complete the course easily but instead threw themselves down and failed. One woman even made sounds like "Ahhh...." as she fell. I think G4 did this to try to make the course look impossible. After those people finished and the real competitors started, however, it became apparent that maybe the course WAS hard. A lot of early people went down quickly.
It took forever to make any progress with the numbers. I was number 54, which wasn't so bad, but they kept throwing in random G4 people who wanted to do the course. It took at least 30 minutes to progress 10 numbers. It would go something like: Number, Number, G4 Person, G4 Person, G4 Person, G4 Person, Number, G4 Person, G4 Person, G4 Person, etc.. They were really outnumbering us. Eventually, though, they stopped with all the G4 people and let us REAL competitors go.
FINALLY! Number 54. My turn. I got geared up (which included taking off my belt, oddly enough) and ready to take my place at the start of the course. David was kind enough to come by and give me some Sticky Spray on my fingers, which was great fun. It was so sticky and yet you were able to free yourself from whatever you were stuck to with no effort whatsoever. As I walked toward the starting area, Kristin Holt interviewed me. After all, I had gone there as early as 4 AM. She said something along the lines of, "So, you flew all the way from Mississippi and because of a bunch of cheaters (the G4 people?), you're only JUST now getting to run the course!" She sounded outraged, but I couldn't have cared less. I was having a blast and now I was about to kill this course. I instantly responded with, "It doesn't matter. As long as I get to run the course - that's what counts." She told me I was "so awesome" as the crowd cheered for me. She then told the crowd to "give it up" for "4 AM" (Even though I wanted my name to be The Amazing Oti). I took my place at the starting area and waited for my countdown. As I waited, the crowd began chanting, "4 AM! 4 AM!" At least they were excited about the name.
Three... Two... One... GO! I took off at a decent speed, trying not to go too fast and trip on the Quintuple Steps. I cleared them quickly and easily. Woo hoo! Next obstacle... Pipe Slider. What?! Oh my god, the bar is right there! In my face! Already! I guess I was going faster than I thought. I instinctively jumped and grabbed the pipe, sliding almost to the end of the rails. I quickly muscled my way to the end and carefully swung and jumped to the GOAL line. I didn't want to fail ANY obstacle. I tried to run to the next obstacle, the Cliff Hanger, but I had a bit of trouble moving on the safety pads. They offered very little support. I got to the Cliff Hanger just as the thought, "You're going way too slowly!" left my mind. I grabbed the ledge and began to climb across. It was easy, and with that Sticky Spray David had given me, there was no way I was falling off. I crossed the gap and, even though my body dropped a little, I held on and made it across. By this time, the crowd was going crazy for me. It's not like I was the first person to beat the Cliff Hanger... Alright, here it is. Jumping Spider. The only thing I was even relatively worried about. I ran up, jumped and stomped on the trampoline as if it were a Goomba and I were Mario. I flew up easily (great trampoline) and caught myself between the walls. As I climbed forward, I could feel my feet slipping. I slowed down and tried to stay between the walls. Almost there. Almost there... AH! I slipped. I was so close, too. "Damn it..." I thought to myself as I ran to the Warped Wall. I stared at it for a split second before running at it. As I ran up it, I felt this overwhelming wave of terror. I think I was afraid of falling, or something. I'm not sure. Whatever it was, it was pointless. I easily grabbed to the top of the Warped Wall and pulled myself over. I hit the button with 18 seconds left on the clock.
As I climbed down the ladder, I was relieved my run was over and all the pressure was gone, but I was so, so disappointed in myself. I was supposed to be faster. My jump into the Pipe Slider was supposed to be stronger. I wasn't supposed to fall between the Spider Walk walls. I had really let myself down.
I stood around for a while, waiting for Alison Haislip to interview me. As I waited, a few more competitors ran the course (including Alison). I also got out of that silly gear and gave it back to the people who had given it to me. It felt much better to be out of it. Eventually, Alison got more make-up and came over to interview me. She asked me a lot of questions about my training and, overall, seemed to show specific interest in me. Almost every G4 staff member I had spoken with did, actually. This makes me optimistic about ANC7 (the one I can enter). She also asked me for tips on the course, as she was about to run it (ahhh, television magic).
When I got back to the group of forum members, I was greeted with congratulations and praise, even though I was still so disappointed. When I told everyone how much time I had had left, they were all surprised. They all thought I did it faster than that too. Oh well. What ya gonna do? Ultimask8er was going soon after me, so I quickly gave him all the advice I could think of, punched him in the shoulder, told him to kick a** and ran off to find my girlfriend.
As I made my way through the "audience", I was congratulated and even high-fived a few times. People said things like, "Hey, 4 AM, you kicked a**!" and the such. I just said, "Thanks, man." and kept on my way. I was still disappointed, after all. I found my girlfriend and, after talking for a few seconds, she told me she needed to go back to the hotel. I handed my camera to BigBlind to record Ultimask8er's run and escorted my girlfriend to our hotel.
When I got back, I hadn't missed much. A few of the forum people had gone, but beyond that, nothing too amazing. The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. We all cheered for people as they ran the course, but they were strangers to us, so we weren't incredibly... invested. Their runs weren't really "personal" to us, as our runs had been to each other (if that makes sense). Eventually, everyone had gone (besides one guy) and the crowd left. After they left, the last man got to go. We all felt so bad for him, we cheered as loudly as we could. After all, it wasn't fair that he didn't get a crowd to cheer for him.
After his run, the G4 staff began tearing apart the course. Within minutes, the course was un-runable. We took this oppurtunity to get pictures on the starting line and silly things like that.
Soon after that, we all departed. Some of us met up at Muscle Beach a little while later and I took some videos and pictures of Ultimask8er, but soon I had to leave. Unfortunately, Muscle Beach's Jumping Bars tore my hands open and the sand in my wounds didn't exactly sooth them. I said goodbye to everyone and made my way back to my hotel to see how my girlfriend was doing and to rest my terribly burned body.
And that's about it.
PICSURS!
s85.photobucket.com/albums/k80/Ness7389/Ninjafest%204/
I walked out of my hotel. It was about 52 degrees, a little on the chilly side for me. Almost as soon as my feet hit the sidewalk, I began jogging. I figured jogging was faster than walking and it would warm me up; two for one, baby. I jogged until I was about a block or so from the course, then slowed to a walk to let my heart and breathing return to normal.
It was about 4:25 AM or so as I stepped down the stairs to the parking lot where the course was assembled, I was relieved; no one was there besides two security guards. I approached them and said, "Good morning." They were two younger guys and, from the sound of it, they like their jobs. One of them said he loved it since he didn't have to do s**t. His words, not mine. All in all, they were pretty cool. I asked them if they knew anything about the course, but, oddly enough, neither of them really knew what Sasuke or Ninja Warrior was. They did, however, tell me that the time limit is 1 minute, 15 seconds, or something like that, they think, and that one of the testers, who was a gymnast, cleared the course in only 45 seconds. I decided that that's my time to beat. I was already planning on going so fast that I finished the course with the best time, anyway. They also told me that if you fail an obstacle, you get to keep going and that most of the safety pads were super soft, so be careful not to fall off them when you land. They then told me that G4 would start setting up around 6 AM and filming started at 10 AM on the dot. It would last until about 4 PM. Designated people would run the course first; David, Luci (if she felt up to it, she's been sick all weekend), etc. After that, walk-ins from the street would be able to go. Whoever got to run the course in those six hours (about 75-100 people, they estimated) would run it and everyone else would be denied. However, they said they didn't really expect anyone to show up until about 7 or 8 AM. I guess initial responses to an obstacle course popping up in a park lot weren't too promising, or something. Also, they told me a cute little host from G4 would be running the course, but only one. Alison Haislip, I assumed. I bid them farewell and told them I'd see them in a little while.
I returned to the hotel room at about 4:50 AM and began typing this glorious adventure for all of you to read. I have a particularly tricky memory, especially when it comes to the events of my day. Even as I was typing the previous paragraph, I had to keep jumping to different spots in the text as I remembered what went down. I'm now sitting in my hotel room in the dark, listening to music with the volume turned down so Jacqueline can sleep and typing this for you all. It's about 5:11 AM. I figure I'll go back to the course at about 6 AM to see how many people are there and maybe get some pictures of G4 arriving and setting up. I shaved, ate and just wasted some time until about 6 AM. Then I set off again to see how many people were there. Hopefully no one, still.
I returned at about 7 AM. There was only one or two people there, and, like me, they showed up, talked to the security, then left. On my way back, Ryan Stratus and Chris (?) passed me. They were just heading to the course. I returned to the hotel, woke up Jacqueline, she got ready and we were out the door (hopefully for the last time) at about 7:15 AM.
As we got close to the course, I could see people were already lining up. Jacqueline and I quickly took our places in line, directly behind the people in front of us: other forum members. BigBlind, UncleSam, Straticus, AscentPk... A ton of forum regulars were already there. Ultimask8er showed up a few minutes after we arrived, as well. We all just stood around talking for hours, at least. There were staff members from Attack of the Show talking with us as well. Nothing good, just small talk. Our small group quickly turned into a large group, then a long line and, before we knew it, we were a huge mob. There were TONS of people, too many to count.
Right before everything really started, G4 passed out Ninjas Rule shirts which are pretty nice, actually. Quite comfortable, A short while after that, Venom Energy Drink (who was stamped all over the course) showed up and began handing out free Venom Energy Drinks. A cool drink on a hot, sunny day is better than nothing, so my girlfriend and I both took one. Surprisingly, they were loaded with natural energy supllements (B vitamins and whatnot) and NOT twelve cups of sugar. They also didn't taste too bad. I drank about four before the day was over. It was very nice of Venom to hand them out for free like that, especially conisdering how many people there were.
The G4 staff, including David, began to put the "finishing touches" on the course. David and several staff members ran through each obstacle repeatedly, making sure everything was solid, safe and reasonably simple, yet difficult. David also used Sasuke Sticky Spray on the Cliff Hanger to help everyone's grip. Soon after these adjustments were finished, introductions were shot with the host and things got under way.
As the first few people (who were all G4 staff members) got ready to run the course and show us how it's supposed to be done (minus all the falling, of course), other people from G4 walked through the crowds looking for marketable people or, as Ultimask8er would say, "T.V.-able". They looked for people with interesting stories. I came from far away, I train every day, I have a disease but that doesn't hold me back... stuff like that. My girlfriend and I were approached (I guess because we were one of the first in line, which means we had to have gotten there early) and the woman asked where we were from. When we said Mississippi, she said "Oh, wow! No way!". So, from that point, I figured I was in. She told us to stay there and she would send someone back to us. When that someone came, we told him how we flew all the way out there for my chance on the course, how we had to scrape together about $1,600 to come here, how I got there at 4 AM... everything. He told us that was great and before I knew it we were signing forms and being interviewed, A funny thing I noticed after the interview was that I kept saying Sasuke instead of Ninja Warrior and whenever I did, the man would say something like, "Sasuke, what is that? Sasuke? What do you mean? Do you mean...?" hinting at me to say Ninja Warrior, not Sasuke. So, I felt a little stupid on that one.
Several G4 staff members geared up (unfortunately, it was required) and ran the course as the first few people plucked from the line were registering and getting all their paper work in order. The time limit was one minute. Several of them looked as if they could complete the course easily but instead threw themselves down and failed. One woman even made sounds like "Ahhh...." as she fell. I think G4 did this to try to make the course look impossible. After those people finished and the real competitors started, however, it became apparent that maybe the course WAS hard. A lot of early people went down quickly.
It took forever to make any progress with the numbers. I was number 54, which wasn't so bad, but they kept throwing in random G4 people who wanted to do the course. It took at least 30 minutes to progress 10 numbers. It would go something like: Number, Number, G4 Person, G4 Person, G4 Person, G4 Person, Number, G4 Person, G4 Person, G4 Person, etc.. They were really outnumbering us. Eventually, though, they stopped with all the G4 people and let us REAL competitors go.
FINALLY! Number 54. My turn. I got geared up (which included taking off my belt, oddly enough) and ready to take my place at the start of the course. David was kind enough to come by and give me some Sticky Spray on my fingers, which was great fun. It was so sticky and yet you were able to free yourself from whatever you were stuck to with no effort whatsoever. As I walked toward the starting area, Kristin Holt interviewed me. After all, I had gone there as early as 4 AM. She said something along the lines of, "So, you flew all the way from Mississippi and because of a bunch of cheaters (the G4 people?), you're only JUST now getting to run the course!" She sounded outraged, but I couldn't have cared less. I was having a blast and now I was about to kill this course. I instantly responded with, "It doesn't matter. As long as I get to run the course - that's what counts." She told me I was "so awesome" as the crowd cheered for me. She then told the crowd to "give it up" for "4 AM" (Even though I wanted my name to be The Amazing Oti). I took my place at the starting area and waited for my countdown. As I waited, the crowd began chanting, "4 AM! 4 AM!" At least they were excited about the name.
Three... Two... One... GO! I took off at a decent speed, trying not to go too fast and trip on the Quintuple Steps. I cleared them quickly and easily. Woo hoo! Next obstacle... Pipe Slider. What?! Oh my god, the bar is right there! In my face! Already! I guess I was going faster than I thought. I instinctively jumped and grabbed the pipe, sliding almost to the end of the rails. I quickly muscled my way to the end and carefully swung and jumped to the GOAL line. I didn't want to fail ANY obstacle. I tried to run to the next obstacle, the Cliff Hanger, but I had a bit of trouble moving on the safety pads. They offered very little support. I got to the Cliff Hanger just as the thought, "You're going way too slowly!" left my mind. I grabbed the ledge and began to climb across. It was easy, and with that Sticky Spray David had given me, there was no way I was falling off. I crossed the gap and, even though my body dropped a little, I held on and made it across. By this time, the crowd was going crazy for me. It's not like I was the first person to beat the Cliff Hanger... Alright, here it is. Jumping Spider. The only thing I was even relatively worried about. I ran up, jumped and stomped on the trampoline as if it were a Goomba and I were Mario. I flew up easily (great trampoline) and caught myself between the walls. As I climbed forward, I could feel my feet slipping. I slowed down and tried to stay between the walls. Almost there. Almost there... AH! I slipped. I was so close, too. "Damn it..." I thought to myself as I ran to the Warped Wall. I stared at it for a split second before running at it. As I ran up it, I felt this overwhelming wave of terror. I think I was afraid of falling, or something. I'm not sure. Whatever it was, it was pointless. I easily grabbed to the top of the Warped Wall and pulled myself over. I hit the button with 18 seconds left on the clock.
As I climbed down the ladder, I was relieved my run was over and all the pressure was gone, but I was so, so disappointed in myself. I was supposed to be faster. My jump into the Pipe Slider was supposed to be stronger. I wasn't supposed to fall between the Spider Walk walls. I had really let myself down.
I stood around for a while, waiting for Alison Haislip to interview me. As I waited, a few more competitors ran the course (including Alison). I also got out of that silly gear and gave it back to the people who had given it to me. It felt much better to be out of it. Eventually, Alison got more make-up and came over to interview me. She asked me a lot of questions about my training and, overall, seemed to show specific interest in me. Almost every G4 staff member I had spoken with did, actually. This makes me optimistic about ANC7 (the one I can enter). She also asked me for tips on the course, as she was about to run it (ahhh, television magic).
When I got back to the group of forum members, I was greeted with congratulations and praise, even though I was still so disappointed. When I told everyone how much time I had had left, they were all surprised. They all thought I did it faster than that too. Oh well. What ya gonna do? Ultimask8er was going soon after me, so I quickly gave him all the advice I could think of, punched him in the shoulder, told him to kick a** and ran off to find my girlfriend.
As I made my way through the "audience", I was congratulated and even high-fived a few times. People said things like, "Hey, 4 AM, you kicked a**!" and the such. I just said, "Thanks, man." and kept on my way. I was still disappointed, after all. I found my girlfriend and, after talking for a few seconds, she told me she needed to go back to the hotel. I handed my camera to BigBlind to record Ultimask8er's run and escorted my girlfriend to our hotel.
When I got back, I hadn't missed much. A few of the forum people had gone, but beyond that, nothing too amazing. The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. We all cheered for people as they ran the course, but they were strangers to us, so we weren't incredibly... invested. Their runs weren't really "personal" to us, as our runs had been to each other (if that makes sense). Eventually, everyone had gone (besides one guy) and the crowd left. After they left, the last man got to go. We all felt so bad for him, we cheered as loudly as we could. After all, it wasn't fair that he didn't get a crowd to cheer for him.
After his run, the G4 staff began tearing apart the course. Within minutes, the course was un-runable. We took this oppurtunity to get pictures on the starting line and silly things like that.
Soon after that, we all departed. Some of us met up at Muscle Beach a little while later and I took some videos and pictures of Ultimask8er, but soon I had to leave. Unfortunately, Muscle Beach's Jumping Bars tore my hands open and the sand in my wounds didn't exactly sooth them. I said goodbye to everyone and made my way back to my hotel to see how my girlfriend was doing and to rest my terribly burned body.
And that's about it.
PICSURS!
s85.photobucket.com/albums/k80/Ness7389/Ninjafest%204/
