Longest Day Will Be Grueling

CAPE MAY – Ilir Elezaj will spend the first day of summer, and the year’s longest day, in “The Death Race.” For Elezaj, general manager of his family’s beachfront Ocean Club hotel, the event in Pittsfield, Vt. Will last 48 hours.
It is something few would want to do, much less train to endure. His training for the race meant just four hours of sleep a day, and a rigorous, 25-hours per week schedule to ready himself for the 2013 Spartan Death Race, which takes place over 40 0miles, and has also been termed, “The Ultimate Challenge.”
The race is a combination of rigorous military-style obstacle course, running, climbing, rolling through mud and pushing one’s body to its outer limits.
Elezaj has trained at Cape May Fitness Center, and he has run 20-30 miles a week. While that might be enough to make some shy from the challenge, Elezaj adds a little something extra, toting a heavy backpack or anything else that will add drag to his running. A lifelong competitor, Elezaj has always enjoyed sports. He enjoys decathlon and triathlons.
On June 1, Elezaj marked a year since his premier Spartan Spring. With his competitive appetite whetted, Elezaj has entered 14 other Spartan races. Amazingly, he finished 68th of some 133,000 participants in the world, and chalked up being 13th in his age class, 25-29 years.
With a competitor’s zeal, Elezaj is looking forward to that longest day of 2013.