The Collective Mindset: Individual Responsibility Within a Team 

“May you find out what you’re reaching for when nobody’s watching” 

The start-line words hang heavy in the already humid Californian air. It’s 4 am on a late March Friday.  

This is the Speed Project. 550 km through the Mojave Desert from LA to Vegas.  

Unsanctioned and unofficial, it’s an event defined by its lack of structure. There’s no entry form. There’s no official route. The winner is simply the first to find their way to the finish line.  

An endurance challenge like no other 

The team competition involves six runners working in a rolling relay, with no set timings for each leg. The only rules: athletes must stay off the freeway, hand over to the next runner with a high five, and cover the last 1 km together as a crew. 

Terrain is a mix of paved roads, loose tracks, and open desert trails, with serious shifts in elevation. Skirting the edge of Death Valley brings contrasting climate extremes: from 35 ° c highs to near-freezing nighttime temperatures.  

The one constant, often cited as the toughest element, is the punishing desert headwind, gusting up to 65 km/h into competitors’ faces. Even on flat stretches, progress must be earned one stride at a time. 

The Speed Project is a relentless test in an unforgiving environment. Success is as much about resilience, teamwork, and problem-solving as it is about raw athletic ability.

Split strategy: sharing miles and minutes 

We’re with SiS athletes Team &Again. Six friends drawn to the desert by a desire to explore their limits in brutally harsh conditions. Individually, they’d done a variety of endurance events in their native Ireland and beyond, but nothing on this scale. 

In the six-runner format, there’s considerable variation between teams in terms of how to split the workload. Some opt for longer individual efforts, allowing more unbroken rest. Others favour shorter, faster rotations. 

After much debate, they’ve decided to split into two groups of three, alternating two-hour shifts, either running or trying to rest on the move in the cramped support van. Within those two hours, each runner will undertake intervals of 3–4 minutes on, 6–8 off. 

Round the clock: the cumulative challenge 

Whatever way you break it down, the unavoidable reality is two days and two nights in a constant cycle alternating short bursts of running and recovery with periods of trying to eat and grab some sleep on the move, before going again. 

There’s relief from running duties, but there’s no true rest. No opportunity to switch off completely. Even when you’re not out on the road, your next effort is never far away. 

Every ultra endurance event presents its own unique demands in terms of the physical load, energy management, and sleep deprivation. The Speed Project brings the additional pressure of responsibility to the group. 

Alone on the road. United in the race. 

In any team environment, there’s a personal duty to deliver consistent contributions to a collective effort, while trusting colleagues to do the same.  

But here the individual is totally isolated during their performance periods. Day and night, on long, lonely stretches of road, it’s just the runner and their thoughts. As fatigue and lack of sleep mount, the challenge becomes as much mental as physical. 

In the real world, it’s highly unlikely that all six athletes will be sailing smoothly. In that case, it’s essential for competitors to admit when they’re struggling and need their teammates to allow for this. Without honest and open communication, issues can become problems alarmingly quickly. 

Six becomes one: dealing with adversity  

Frank Rafferty of Team &Again experienced this firsthand when faced with a gradually worsening leg injury overnight and into the second morning. 

As his times started to drift, he was faced with the dilemma of alerting his partners, prompting a strategy rethink, or pushing on, risking worsening damage and withdrawal. 

In the end, his teammates stepped in and convinced Frank to take an extended break. Dejected and disappointed, he accepted this, not knowing if he would be able to complete another leg. 

The response was exceptionally supportive. With some rest, Frank bounced back and finished strongly, able to pay back the colleagues who had carried him during this tough period. 

How they handled this situation was a powerful endorsement of a healthy group dynamic in addressing unforeseen challenges. This left Frank reflecting positively on his contribution to the collective effort: 

“There’s nowhere to hide in a race like The Speed Project. Either you show up for your teammates, or you don’t. I take a lot of pride in being able to say I showed up for the team out there.” 

The team beyond the team  

Beyond this close-knit, self-contained unity, there exists an equally supportive bond extending throughout the wider community of the event. 

Despite the fierce competition, the Speed Project has developed a reputation for camaraderie and mutual encouragement. Out in the desert, there’s an understanding that competitors, faced with the same challenges, have got each other’s backs. 

Team &Again were impressed by the degree to which everyone looks out for each other: 

“This event is unique. It’s not just the support from your own team that gets you through it. It’s the support of all the teams out there. Yes, you’re competing against each other, but – given the extreme nature of the race – everyone’s there to help each other get to the finish line.”

A different kind of resilience 

The Speed Project’s growing iconic status is down to its uncomplicated emphasis on integrity, community, and trust. It demands that the individual durability at the heart of solo endurance events must be combined with a collective resolve and responsibility. 

“Extreme Ultras are usually a lonely pursuit. This is different. As a group, there are few things that challenge you, then bond you, more than running over 500km together across the desert. It’s a whole other mindset.” 

At the heart is the belief that we become stronger when we embrace our accountability to others. In their struggles through the Mojave Desert, these SiS athletes discovered that showing up for those around you is its own reward. 

“Headwinds”, the documentary following Team &Again’s journey, can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACGrMSO4gx8&t=90s