Spartan Competitor Stacy Stone Trains in Shelton View Forest

LEFT: Bothell resident Stacy Stone, 45, competes in Spartan competition at Nationals held in Dallas, Texas, October 27 & 28. He finished 4th in his division, running all three obstacle courses in 9 hours, 41 seconds.

Stacy Stone has been seen training in Shelton View Forest, running in a 30-lb vest with a 60-lb sack of sand over his shoulder. Originally from Vermont, he and his wife moved to the Northwest so that Stacy could instruct helicopter flight out of Harvey Field, Snohomish. After their son was born, he walked away from this first career to be in multi-family property management.

Spartan began in 2007, and is now in 30 countries. It’s mission is to change 100 million lives by motivating people to get out of their comfort zone. The races are a series of obstacle courses of varying distance and difficulty. Runners who do all three of the races in a single weekend receive the “trifecta!." That’s Stacy.

What drew you to Spartan competition?

Stone: I didn’t like what I saw in the mirror. I knew I could do and be different. I entered a local Spartan 5K, and was hooked!

How did you learn about Shelton View Forest?

Stone: I first saw something about it on Nextdoor or Facebook. Because our son Kaiden attends Shelton View Elementary, it’s a convenient place for us to be outside. Having grown up in the woods of Vermont, and far from the squeeze and noise of cities, this forest was like coming home. In an urban area, it’s nice to pick up 90 pounds and go in for a workout. The forest allows me to hear only my breathing!

What brings you back to this particular urban forest?

Stone: Convenience. Varied terrain. Solitude. With all of the industry, housing, technology and traffic, people are being pushed out of Seattle. It’s all well and good to have planned parks, ball facilities and competitive spaces. But wild spaces have another high value. It’s a wilderness factor. Wild spaces allow for unplanned discoveries! Our kids have so many rules to keep them safe. My son, when 9 years old, may not be allowed to walk a block home from school by himself. I understand that from a liability standpoint, but if we’re adverse to risk and captive to fear, something inside of us walls off and shuts down. In contrast, our son is already training like dad. He can’t be a Spartan until age 14, but he’s learning that life is an adventure and hundreds of people are cheering him to new personal bests.