Endurance athlete Harvey Mitchell-Divers says winning the ‘absolutely brutal’ Spartan World Championship in Abu Dhabi was the hardest thing he has ever had to do in his life – as he revealed he thought he’d actually finished runner-up.
The 16-year-old from Lindsay field admits he was close to giving up while undertaking the gruelling Obstacle Course Racing course in Abu Dhabi, but is delighted that he stuck it out.
And the win was made sweeter as a software glitch meant Harvey thought he had finished second in the 14-17yrs category.
OCR involves tackling a series of obstacles, like heavy weight carries, climbs and monkey bar rigs.
In searing heat, Harvey had to cover a 13-mile course in the desert, with an elevation of 2700ft.
And the St Andrew’s and St Bride’s High pupil told the News: “It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life, hands-down.
“It was hot, the terrain was difficult; everything about it, the sand, the course itself and the obstacles, all of it combined just made it absolutely brutal.
“There were a lot of times I wanted to give up during it, but I kept going, and it was really good, it definitely paid off in the end. It was amazing, an incredible experience. I loved every minute
of it, and I’m very grateful for all of it as well. It’s the experience of a lifetime, really.”
Harvey went to the prize-giving with coach Scott Brown, expecting to pick up a runner-up prize, and was left speechless when he realised he had actually won the event.
“I thought they had changed the age-group categories to 14 to 19, so I was under the impression that I had finished second,” explained Harvey.
“They had made a mistake with it, so it got reverted back to what it was originally meant to be, which was 14-17.
“When they called second place out I got ready to go up, but it was somebody else, and when they called first it was me!
“I was totally buzzing, it was totally nuts. How I felt is one of those things that’s quite hard to put into words – it’s still not sunk in fully.
“But it has been mad, the whole thing; you can ‘t really describe it.”
Former kite surfer and Muay Thai enthusiast Harvey has been taking part in Spartan events for just over a year now, but quickly developed a passion for it.
He said: “Jamie Scott is my coach and he saw a wee bit of potential in me, so he got me doing the local races called the Spartans.
“I did my first down in the Midlands and I just picked up a bug for it, I totally loved it, it was great, and I went from strength to strength.
“One of my dad’s friends put me in touch with Scott Brown.
“Just after the first lockdown, Scott trained me in his garden down in Irvine and I was sick all over the place from the exertion, and I just kept going from there.
“I had been training with Scott down in Irvine for about a year, I had done loads of regional Spartan races in the UK, won all my age group and that qualified me to go over to Abu Dhabi.”
Harvey now has a busy year ahead of him, and the priority is school exams.
But he said: “After that I can hopefully let loose and do pretty much anything and everything.
“I’m doing MacTuff on January 9, which is the Scottish OCR race, so that will be quite good.
“There’s European Championships in Italy and Worlds in Vermont, USA, as well, so hopefully I’ll be able to get to them.”
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