Train Like A Navy SEAL

Are you as tough as a Navy SEAL? Bonefrog, the world’s only Navy SEAL obstacle course race, comes to Long Island Sports Park in Calverton on Saturday, August 17. You will sweat, you will be challenged, you may even think about giving up, but you will succeed and come out a victor.

Brian Carney began Bonefrog in 2013 as he was transitioning out of the SEAL teams. As a service-disabled veteran exiting the Navy as a Special Operations Chief, he had an idea. “I was searching for something that would allow me to still work with my SEAL brothers but not in a straight office setting,” Carney said.

At the time, obstacle course racing was just getting big, with several courses falsely claiming they were military-style obstacles. “I found none of these companies had any owners who were in the military and, in essence, they were just business men trying to re-create military courses without the authenticity.” Thus, Carney created the world’s only authentic Navy SEAL OCR, owned and operated by Navy SEALs.

Bonefrog has held 40 events across 13 states, with a home base in New England. Now, it will anchor in Calverton for its fourth event in New York State. “We know it’s not easy for racers to travel off the island, so we finally decided to come to them,” said Carney.

Each event draws between 3000 and 5000 people, growing in size each year. Navy SEALs will be at the starting line to fuel the energy, along the race to motivate, and at the finish line placing the medals around each individual racer’s neck. It’s an event based on teamwork and camaraderie.

Each obstacle is designed after an obstacle real-life SEALs trained on for combat. Familiar, less intimidating obstacles include cargo nets and low crawls in the mud. The more advanced, technical obstacles include Black OPs, a 10-foot wall using a rope to platform above, and monkey bars ascending 24 feet above the ground in front of a tremendous American flag and over a safety net.

Then, there’s The Chopper, spinning monkey bars with pegs resembling helicopter blades, where the racer will transition from one spinning blade to the next without spinning in circles. These are simply two of the 30-plus obstacles to get through.

There are several race options for various fitness levels, and levels of enthusiasm. The three-mile sprint; the Challenge, a six-mile course with the technical and harder obstacles; Tier-1, a combination of the Sprint and the Challenge; Endurance, which is for those interested in essentially running all day; and lastly, a brand-new level called the Bonefrog Trident, completing all three races (a total of 18 miles and over 150 obstacles).

For kids who want to be part of the fun, or parents who want to train them young, there’s quarter and half-mile Tadpole Kids races. To train for the higher levels, Carney suggests getting in a few races before the big day and focus on upper body and grip strength “to help traverse the obstacles with ease.”

“At Bonefrog, finisher medals are earned and never given. So, the choice is up to you if you want it bad enough. This race is a chance to try something fun that will test you physically and give you a small glimpse into what SEALs go through for training. At the end of the day, nobody will make you do anything. We also are a solid choice for those that want to see what they’re made of,” said Carney.

A large amount of the proceeds benefit the Navy SEAL Foundation and the UDT/SEAL Association. To date, Carney and his team have donated more than $200,000 to charity. To sign up, go to www.bonefrogchallenge.com and look for the Long Island Event.