By Eric Todd
When I first decided to give strongman a shot, I was rather anxious to get rolling. I found the aforementioned Tri-States Strongest Man contest in Canton, but a mere month later was another, even closer opportunity to see if I had what it took to compete in strongman. It was in Kirksville, MO, just a couple hours away from me by automobile. I went ahead and entered this meet as well, and trained for the 2 concurrently.
The events in this were as follows: a clean and press for reps with a railroad tie, anvil throw for height, sheaf throw for distance, anvil/stone load medley, and truck pull for time. The clean and press, I just trained with a barbell in the gym. For the throw for height, I procured a keg to train with, though I was just launching it in the air, not over anything. I just did repetitions with the 230 pound stone that I had made to try and get ready for the load medley. I used the old tractor inner-tube as a harness to pull my brothers broken down car around what is now my yard.
It was the sheaf throw that threw me off. When I studied up on it, I found it was a “bale” throw with a pitchfork for height, so I reckoned this was just a bale throw for distance in the same fashion. I already had a pitchfork, so I went out and bought a straw bale and went to work. I had really no technique, and found this rather challenging. I was maybe getting 10 feet. My brother (of Lift for Leroy fame) was with me while I was training it one day. I thought maybe it would motivate me to throw further if I had a moving target, so I suggested he run away from me as I tried to hit him with the bale. While this method did produce another foot or two in distance, it more closely resembled a Keystone Cops routine than a sound training method.
Contest time came. I found my way to the park a little early and started looking over the implements. I was at that time when I met Thom VanVleck and Brian Kerby. As a rather introverted individual, I found it refreshing how engaging they were and how easily I was able to visit with them. This is where the theme of “like minded individuals” began to draw me to strongman.
While I cannot remember the exact order of the events, I believe we started with the clean and press with the railroad tie. While I am certain I was not the strongest presser (pretty sure that designation would go to Brian Kerby that day) i was able to hit more repetitions due to speed, resulting in an event win. The sheaf toss for distance was not what I had envisioned. The “bale” was much smaller and more compact than the straw bale I had been working with. This discipline clearly required MUCH more technique that I was exhibiting that some of the other competitors with highland games experience had mastered. I pulled my best throw of the day with my last throw where I left the fork in the bale, a throw that was ultimately good for last place. I felt like that maybe was a nail in the coffin of a decent placing at the meet. I would have to dominate the rest of the meet in order to place well. It is usually the guy who is consistently toward the top who wins. A last place finish can be devastating.
Well, I got to work. In the anvil throw for height, I kept pace with the proficient highland throwers. Seems like I tied for 1st or second in this event. Then came the load medley. I consisted of loading 3 progressively heavier anvils, followed by 2 field stones to a platform a bit higher than waist high. If I remember correctly, the heavier of the 2 field stones was a bit over 300 pounds. This type of event ended up being a strong suit for me. While I was one of 3 competitors who loaded all 5 implements, I did so the fastest, so another event win for me. The last event, we went up the hill to a parking lot for the truck pull. We were to be pulling Thom’s father Earl’s semi-diesel truck. It was probably the event I was most excited for, as this a feat I had watched the giants of World’s Strongest Man perform back in the day that I assumed was something I would never be able to do. While memory tells me that I won this event, I am not 100% sure that is accurate. What I am 100% about is that I performed well enough in the event for the overall contest win.
It was this win, coupled with my relative success at Canton that let me know I belonged; however, it was the absolute camaraderie that kept me coming back. Though I was competing against Thom and Brian all day, they kept coming back to compliment me on what I had done. They were explicitly positive influences on me that day, and this assured me that the strongman community was something I needed to be a part of.
As a side note, this was a two day event. Day one was strongman, day two the highland games. I competed in both. Make no mistake about it, what ego boost that had been a result of my day one success was quickly dismantled as I competed in the B class on day 2…