Beast of the East

By Ben Bergeron

In Affiliation, Competition, CrossFit, Videos

February 05, 2011

Welcome to the Beast of the East Throwdown hosted by CrossFit New England in November 2010. CFNE owner Ben Bergeron says the event was a huge success.

“It grew super fast, super organically. I posted on our website, and within 24 hours it was sold out at 120 athletes,” he says. The demand was so high, he decided to expand the space and open the competition to 80 more athletes—and those spots sold out in two days too.

The event’s concept was simple: test work capacity, not elite skills.

“The programming in general was very, very CrossFit—‘CrossFit-biased,’” Bergeron says. But he did throw athletes for a loop with his Survival of the Fittest final workout.

“It’s kind of like two opposite ends of the spectrum: short and heavy, but let’s see how long you can go,” he says.

Bergeron gives advice to other organizers on holding their own competitions.

“Promote the event super early,” he says. But even more important is finding volunteers and judges. “The more volunteers, the more help you have, the better off you’re going to be. You just can’t do this thing alone.”

11min 05sec

Video by Again Faster.

Additional reading: Training with the Enemy by Kevin Daigle, published May 27, 2010.

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10 Comments on “Beast of the East”

wrote …

I volunteered for this event and I have to say there were more volunteers than than tasks, so kudos to you guys for being over prepared. Such a great day and amazing to watch the athletes Big shout out to Tiffany from FitCamp in Leominster MA, she did unbelievable for her first competition, made it to the final 8. Look out for her!!

wrote …

great work

wrote …

Ben did a stellar job organizing and running point on this event, but like he said the volunteers really made this thing work. If it wasn't for the amazing community we have at CFNE and CF in general none of this stuff would be possible. Not only did Ben go ninja warrior with the programming on this thing, but he crushed the logistics too. A great day had by all, fun, competitive, rewarding. Just an awesome event with great people. Glad I got to be a small part of it. Huge props to Mat Frankel, and Jule Slootbeek as well...you guys kicked major ass organizing volunteers, judging, and running/updating the scoring system.

Daigle

wrote …

Wasn't there a multi-day adventure race named "Beast of the East" at one time?

wrote …

i know "beast of the east" as a gigantic annual wrestling tournament. http://www.beastwrestling.com/

this guys event sounds pretty cool, though.

Alex Kourkoumelis wrote …

Can someone elaborate on the "survival of the fittest" workout? I'm confused as to how it was laid out. Also- was it successful?

wrote …

#6 Alex-

As far as I remember, there was a running clock, and on the minute you had to perform a task (i.e. 5 deads and 5 burpees~I don't remember the exact numbers). Depending on how fast you performed this task, you received the remaining time within that minute to rest. Then you went on to a ball throw/ring dip couplet the next minute, and another couplet the next minute. As athletes fatigued they were unable to complete the task in the allotted time and, therefore, were "cut." Thus, eventually leaving the "fittest" athlete in the arena to win.

From what I recall, male competitors were weeded out quickly by the 30 lb ball throw. The female competitors were a bit more interesting. Stacy Kroon and Heather Bergeron went at it for awhile. Kroon ended up winning this event. The event left very little room for error. I was AWFUL at the ball throws, thus I was dropped from the event quickly.

wrote …

Is there anywhere we can see scores and times for this event?

Thanks

wrote …

didn't Dan Tyminski win this competition? why did they show Austin Malleolo's interview instead of the winner's?

wrote …

why no interview with BOOMSAUCE interviewed as he won the event and convincingly so on the final day?