I thought I would write a little something for those who didn't make it to the contest. I had a great turn out. I think the final number was 41 guys. That's few more then last year. I hope to be able to cap my contest at 50 one of these days. All in all I think it went pretty smooth. It was longer then i had planned. i really need to start running two at a time to help keep things under 4 hours. I believe the contest was about 7 hours. sorry for that.

Anyways onto the results:
This year the big change was the giant tires and sand bags. The big 100 dollar tire was too much for those who challenged it. I thought this would be the case. I estimate the tire to be 1400 or so. I spoke with the Road dept. that i got it from and they agreed.
the LW novice group was full of up and comers. Marty Rowe from TN looked very strong. He won and Paul Clegg battled him the entire day but came up short and had to settle for second. Third place went to Justin Kinney. The HW novice group also had some new faces and strong ones. Joe Wyer came to my house one day and I knew then he had potential. very good tire flipper and surprisingly quick for his size. He won first place and second went to John Whitlow, a former lineman for Campbellsville College. I told him I wouldn't hold that against him. He was also a first time strongman. 3rd place went to Joel Franklin, he's been working out with Brian King so you know he's gotten some good advice from a strong veteran of strongman. Top 3 guys were all new to strongman. All have potential to do well. The greatest story from the HW Novice was 200 lb LW novice winner from 2009 Kyle Jones trying to hang with the big boys. Kyle was impressive. he battled hard and just missed 3rd place by a few points. it's crazy to see him compete with little to no preparation and be able to perform at such a high level. it really shows how strong he is. to hand with guys 100 lbs over your weight is hard and Kyle keeps them on their toes for sure.
Master's class had the man chissled from stone as the winner. Donovan Buttz of IN was impressive. Looks like a body builder turned strongman. Nice to see he's as strong as he looks. You don't always get that in body builders. Second went to Mike Tummenillo. He traded back and forth with Donovan but had to settle for second. Mike was warrior. he certainly pushed himself to the limits. 3rd place went to Tom Hayden from OH. At 64 i can say more impressive things about Tom. it's just awesome to see him compete. looked very strong in the deadlift. His effort is unmatched.
Teens had a nice battle between the freak of nature from London and smooth operator from GA. The freak is Andrew King, a giant at 15. He looked very strong but was just short in each event to Wes Clayborn. It was a nice battle all day between the two. Wes is smooth and efficient in his strongman events. 3rd went to Dustin Reed. he showed up at 11 the day of and wanted to compete. Looked strong all day but wasn't able to catch Wes or Andrew.
LW open class was interesting all day. the stud from IN adam lane was insane. he looked impossible to catch. his competition was top notch with derek stone, pierre suter, and jason sneed all trying to beat him. adam would take first place but i don't think it was easy. going into the final event pierre was 4th but he put on a show to load all 5 sand bags the fastest and take second place. stone and sneed tied for 3rd with stone taking the victory for his first place finish in the farmers walk. probably the strongest LW group i've had to date overall.
HW open class was full of contest winners. JP former KY strongest, Ian Darr last years Beast winner, Eric Micheluttie Circle city winner, and Jim Tom Allen previous KY winner. then throw in the up and coming Marc Carmichael, who's bigger and stronger then ever. it was a great contest. the battle was obvious in the begining with both JP and Marc sharing 1st in the press. Ian would not be settled with his blistering 18 seconds in the 700 farmers walk. Eric seemed hurt after the first event but still managed to do damage to the placing of the top 3. 1st would eventually go to Ian Darr. First repeat winner for the Beast contest. Second would go to Marc who tied with Jim Tom but due to first place finish in the final event Marc was victorious. 3rd thus would be Jim Tom. JP finished 4th by a minor 2 points. All the HWs looked very impressive. JP is a tire flipping machine. Marc is on the verge of dominating. it was nice to see jim tom back at it again. i think he;s been out of it for awhile and he;s still strong. Ian looks to be on his way to a pro card soon.

I hope everyone enjoyed the contest. lots of good guys were there and I hope they will be again next year. thanks to JP for the tires. I really appreciate it. thanks to the flatline guys who entered. i appreciate the support. i hope i didn't leave anything out. i'm pretty busy during the contest and don't get to see much so i try to remember everything as best that i can. hope to see you guys at KY's strongest man in the Fall.

Sounds like you put together another great show Davey! I wish I could have made it but I had to work Saturday in Harlan, and couldn't have made it in time! Hopefully I will be able to catch the next one! You put together great events!

Thanks Davey for hosting the Beast. I know you sacrifice more than you gain from contest promoting, but its certainly nice to have such a top caliber competition in KY.

Excuses are just that, excuses, and really mean nothing. You either perform or you don't. It's that simple. I am not satisfied with my performance in several areas, but this competition has taught me that performance means adequate preparation, and I made fatal mistakes the week prior to this meet. I had to be out of town for work (problem 1 - out of my control) the entire week before the meet. I then unintentionally ate wheat and soy, both foods that I have severe allergies to. The result is I was passing blood for three days, not sleeping, lost 8 pounds, and generally felt like I had been poisoned. Due to restlessness, I got my neck out of alignment and was having dizziness all day Friday. I told my wife that if the dizziness did not stop, then I would take the tires as I had promised, but not compete. The morning of the show, I still felt bad, but was not dizzy, so I gave it a shot.

Log Clean and Press for reps

7 reps (tied for 1st with Marc)

My goal here was 7 reps, so no complaints. I might could have gotten 8 if I had been quicker with the log off my lap.

FW 100 ft (350 per hand)

Here, the problems began. I had taken 350 a hand for 65 ft with no problem in training. When I picked the implements up, I pinched whatever the issue in my neck was, and got extremely dizzy. I wobbled around like a drunk for 15 or 20 feet, straightened up, and then made it close to the end before losing my balance again. I finished the course with no drops, but was slow. 4th place I think. From the balance issues, both biceps and my upper right pec was screaming after this event. Three coats of equi-block applied.

Tire Flip medley

600, 700, 800, 800, 1000 I think. Flipped in 18 seconds, goal was 20 seconds. 1st place

This event did not strain anything, and the tightness in my biceps and pec had not really set in.

DL frame for reps 600 pounds

In training, I had gotten 10 in 30 seconds with 12 in a minute. I thought I had room in the last 30 seconds to get 15 or so total. Did not happen. Got 13. I thought 13 would put me in a tie for 3rd, but I was wrong. It put me in 4th. I'm not sure I could have gotten the 14th anyway. By this time, my prior week's lack of preparation was in full swing, and I was struggling majorly. The first 8-10 reps on the frame usually feel light, but every one of the competition reps were heavy, and hurt. I had my feet way too wide to begin with (explanation unknown), and tried to correct mid-event. That issue probably cost me a few as well.

Sand Bag Load

Honestly by this time, I felt like a train wreck. My right bicep had began to to turn blue, both biceps were screaming, and my right pec hurt badly enough that I had trouble raising my arm. I was told prior to the event, that if I won the sand bags, I would win the competition because I was only 1/2 point out of first place. The problem was I knew that sand bags hurt my biceps more than any event I have ever done, and I didn't know if they would hold up. I took my time, got four bags. Marc won the event with 4 bags the fastest. I think I was 1 second slower than the 3rd place finisher, and a few seconds slower than the 2nd place finisher. Anyway, I got 4th in the event, which took me from potentially winning to 4th in the competition.

I have questioned myself since the meet whether it was the right strategy to be very deliberate with the bags. The good news is I didn't tear anything to my knowledge, but the bad news is the worst placing since I've competed in strongman. I don't know the answer here to whether I made the right decision.

General Thoughts / Observations

Great group of heavyweight competitors. With this type of competition, you can't afford small mistakes, bad events, or the ability to not go full throttle on every event.

I'm very proud of Marc. He has come a long way in a short period of time. His DL has progressed tremendously, and has went from a liability to being very competitive. He has the drive, intelligence, and strength to do great things in the sport.

I'm also very proud of Andrew. For a 15 year old, his potential is limitless. If he works hard and is dedicated, he can do anything he wants in strength sports.

It's also good to watch Kyle compete. He brings a level of intensity to competition that is admirable, fun to watch, and something to strive toward.

My only recommendation for a better contest would be to run two flights or whatever was necessary to shorten the time of the contest. I would guess part of this problem is dozens who show up the day of the meet. I would strongly recommend anyone who plans to do a show to send your entry in early, or at the very least, by the suggested deadline. This allows your meet director to adequately plan for the number of competitors who will attend. At the worst, you donate $50. If you think that's a rip off, try promoting a show for yourself and you'll see that the entry is a small price to pay to do what you love.

couldn't agree more with your suggestions JP. I went from a contest of 30ish to over 40 in a matter of 2 hours. I'm not complaining. I put the day of entry for a reason. I want as many guys as I can to compete. The more the better. it only adds to the excitement when you don't know who might show up. On the other hand it makes it hard to run a contest under 4 hours. people show up last minute need to make weight, get membership cards, etc.... it makes me have to run around a little more and for every person extra that's 10 or 15 minutes added to the length of the contest. I apologize for the long show. As i get more equipment I will certainly double up on the events that i can.

as for your performance, i think you started off fine. for whatever reason it looked like you stopped in the farmers for what seemed like 5 or 10 seconds about 10 or 15 feet from the finish line. i think your were trying to gain your balance but that really hurt your time. it also looked like you stopped on the deadlift. i thought you had a few more in you but that's easy to say when your on the outside looking in. i didn't know if you had hurt something or what. two 1st place finishes is great but 3 4th place finishes really killed your total. going into the last event only 2 points separated the top 4 guys. you can reanalyze it over and over but 1 rep on the deadlift or 5 seconds faster on the farmers and your sitting in solid 2nd and possible 1st place. regardless i think you competed against top 10 HW national competition and you were right there. iron out your issues that you can control and i don't see any reason why you couldn't win nationals or plat plus contest. it's always fun to see you compete. thanks