Will Rich Froning Ever Return to Games Competition?

May 3rd, 2024

POWERED BY:

Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up.

In today’s edition:

  • Athena Perez shares a recent story about the power of letting go of the past and the power of CrossFit to bring people together.

  • Now that the dust has settled on the leaderboard, we ask, who owns CrossFit Quarterfinals?

  • We catch up with 10-time Games champ Rich Froning to talk about the “Leadville 100” mountain bike race he’s training for and why he’ll never compete at the CrossFit Games again.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“We are all more powerful when we stand together. That's the true essence of CrossFit, and it's also the beauty of each one of us striving to make a difference. The strength of our collective spirit and the shared determination to improve is what makes us truly unique as a whole.” - Athena Perez

COMMUNITY

Credit: @athenamariebt / Instagram

“The Journey to 300” Part 7: Letting It Go, Coming Together

Editor’s Note: This is the seventh part in a multiple-part series written by Athena Perez, chronicling her year-long weight loss challenge, which she now calls “The Journey to 300.” Perez has documented her weight loss and fitness journey across social media and in her articles for Morning Chalk Up. You can read the other parts here and here.

As I was finding my footing in the new coaching setup, I found myself juggling a lot, professionally. 

On the one hand, I was heading to the HSN Gym Accelerator Summit to present a breakout session and preparing for a second appearance on the Best Hour of Their Day podcast. On the other hand, I was gearing up for the Working with Larger Bodies Seminar at PRVN HQ in Nashville.

Public speaking, while exhilarating, has never been my strong suit. 

I often find myself as jittery as a squirrel on caffeine. Always flustered, nervous, and seemingly suffering from sudden amnesia the minute I’m supposed to talk.

This wasn't merely a test of my newly acquired consistency and nutrition prioritization skills. Rather, it was a full-scale challenge to navigate the whirlwind of travel and the adrenaline rush of public speaking. And let's not forget the encore conversation with someone where our initial duet didn't exactly hit the right note. The mere thought of returning to that podcast again made my stomach churn with anxiety. But then again, who doesn't love a good challenge?

Overall, the Gym Accelerator Summit was nothing short of amazing, and the takeaways were priceless.

  • Two presentations I saw that became my favorites centered around the principles of harnessing resilience to ward off burnout and the notion of creating a genuine impact.

FROM REEBOK

Save 40% Off Nano X3's and Up to 50% Off Sitewide

Ready to snag a deal? This weekend Reebok has UP TO 50% OFF SITEWIDE. That’s not a typo.

Included are apparel, shoes, accessories, and best of all...a BUNCH of Nanos.

SPEED READS

😳 👀 2024 Team and Individual Semifinals Workouts: Last night, after a leak earlier in the day, the CrossFit Games team released all of the workouts for the 2024 Team and Individual Semifinals.

  • Check out the Team and the Indy workouts now.

  • The 2024 CrossFit Games Semifinals are set to take place May 16-June 2. Learn more.

🚨🚨The official 2024 CrossFit Age Group Quarterfinals leaderboard is set. Check out the final standing for all age divisions now.

  • The 2024 Age Group Semifinals will take place online May 8-13 — more details to come.

🏋️‍♀️📋 Training Camp Semifinalists: Several prominent training camps have dropped full rosters of their Semifinal-qualifying athletes. Check out the lists now:

🚨🏋️‍♀️ Team Quarterfinals Penalties: CrossFit released its full list of ineligible teams, penalties, and appeals granted for the 2024 Team Quarterfinals. Check out the full list.

🏆 TYR Wodapalooza Teases TYR Cup: Although it did not provide much in the way of details, the teaser announcement that TYR WZA posted to Instagram said, “It’s time to introduce the inaugural TYR Cup, only at the TYR WZA SoCal.”

  • The post continued: “A new event calls for new & exciting challenges. Along with the most unique format, we promise this will be the comp of the year you won’t want to miss. Stay tuned.”

💪🚨 New CrossFit Sponsors: CrossFit announced two new sponsors for the 2024 season. One is a new partnership, and the other is a returning one:

  • The U.S. Border Patrol, a 2023 CrossFit sponsor, is returning for 2024 as an Official Partner of the CrossFit Games and the presenting sponsor of the Teenage CrossFit Games by PIT Teen Throwdown.

  • Northern Spirit, a functional training and fitness clothing brand, was announced as the Official Sponsor of the CrossFit Games Semifinals and Masters, Teenage, and Adaptive CrossFit Games.

🧑‍⚖️👩‍⚖️ Association of Fitness Judges Statement: The Association of Fitness Judges released a statement in the aftermath of the Individual Quarterfinal Workout 1 score adjustments. Many of the athletes who were heavily penalized had utilized judges from the organization.

  • From the statement: “This Quarterfinals, the AFJ was brought in to help a number of Training Camps and Individual athletes with their workouts. We had their trust, their faith, and their confidence.”

  • “The CrossFit Video Review Team was looking for very exacting standards that we didn’t manage to produce every time. Since the first wave of penalties has gone out, we have been in communication with the various athletes and training camps that have been affected to advise and consult with how to move forward.”

Madrid Championship X 2: There will be two editions of the Madrid Championship in 2024. First, the MAD Fitness Festival will take place June 28-30 at the Quijote Arena in Ciudad Real, Spain, then the Mad Fittest Cup on November 22-24 at the Centro Deportivo Municipal Gallur, Madrid, Spain.

ICYMI: Australian Maddie Sturt has struggled to return to the CrossFit Games after success early in her career. She talked with writer Emily Beers about the changes she’s made to her mindset and training for 2024.

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

Who Owns Quarterfinals? Record Setters and Regional Dominance

The 2024 Individual Quarterfinals are now complete. 

We can officially congratulate Jonne Koski and Emma Lawson for winning the men’s and women’s divisions and all the other 278 athletes who earned a spot at Semifinals this year.

With four seasons of Quarterfinals behind us, it’s become clear that there are certain athletes who shine consistently at this stage.

Quarterfinals Standouts

One of the fun aspects of Quarterfinals is everyone does the same workouts. 

While Quarterfinals are used to determine the Semifinals field, we also get a chance to compare the future Games field in a series of events. 

FROM RUNDOT

Participate in running research with RunDot and get two free months of training

What is The RunDot Project?

It is an annual research initiative that uses optimized run training to help runners reach their true potential.

Why should you join?

  • RunDot athletes improve their running abilities, on average, 3.2x more than non-users, and experience performance improvements in 30% less training time.

  • Qualified participants also receive 2 free months of run training.

Do you qualify?

  • You are a good fit if you check these boxes:

  • You train with a GPS-enabled device

  • You have not used RunDot or TriDot in the last 12 months

  • You are not a professional runner

  • You are enthusiastic and motivated to accomplish your running goals

Do you meet these criteria?

PROFILE

Credit: AIRWAAV

Interview: 10-Time Champ Rich Froning on His Upcoming 100-Mile Bike Race and Why He'll Never Compete at the CrossFit Games Again

What does life look like for 10-time CrossFit Games champion Rich Froning these days in Cookeville, TN?

We caught up with the legend himself to talk about his current training style, whether we’ll ever get to see him on the CrossFit competition floor again, and the Mayhem Edition AIRWAAV Performance Mouthpiece that helped him complete a 100-mile mountain bike race last summer, a feat he’s undertaking again this year.

Morning Chalk Up: What does your day-to-day life look like these days?

Rich Froning: After dropping the kids off at school, I always go to Buffalo Brew for coffee and breakfast and catch up with members, employees, and drop-ins. After that, I typically rope someone into doing a workout with me. 

Between 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m., I have a podcast or a meeting at Mayhem until I pick up the kids from school. Sometimes, the kids and I will then come back to the gym for our kids’ class at CrossFit Mayhem, or I’ll go home and do another session at the house.

Afternoons and evenings are family time. Or farm time, which is also family time.

MCU: What does training look like now compared to a couple of years ago?

Froning: Less intensity, zero stress, and a lot more enjoyment. I’m told the volume is still high, but it’s less than what I’ve grown accustomed to. 

Now that it’s warmer and the [Leadville Trail 100 MTB] bike race is in a few months, I’ve been adding seat time back into my routine. 

Last year, I liked listening to presidential biographies while I trained and got through nine presidents, so we’ll see how many I listen to this year. 

MCU: So you’re doing Leadville again this year? What was it like last year? (Froning finished the 100-mile mountain bike race in Colorado in 8 hours, 32 minutes, and 58 seconds, good enough for 287th out of 1787 competitors).

Froning: In a different way than CrossFit, it was the hardest thing I have ever trained for. Training for a 100-mile mountain bike race and trying to prepare for the altitude of Colorado is like nothing I’ve ever done, and it was exactly what I needed to give me something to chase again. 

HIGHLIGHTS

Celebrating a PR, hosting a fundraiser, this, that, or otherwise? Send us a tip.