Marble Falls Athlete Isaiah Vidal Gains National Attention

Marble Falls native Isaiah Vidal gained some major attention in 2013 when he rode a bicycle from Austin to Vermont to compete in the Spartan Race World Championship. Vidal hails the monumental feat as one of the most memorable of his racing career. At the time, not many people knew about the sport of obstacle course racing, but it was far from the last the world would hear of the sport, or of Vidal.

Photo: Facebook/Isaiah Vidal

Vidal placed third in his heat in his very first Spartan race, back in December of 2011. At that moment, he was hooked. In the years since, he has competed in over 50 Spartan races, earning a podium spot in many of them. He also holds the title of the youngest competitor to be a two-time finisher of the Spartan Death Race, an intense endurance race that is esteemed as one of the toughest events in the world.

Recently, Vidal’s success has transcended the racing world, as he appeared as a competitor on Steve Austin’s television show “The Broken Skull Challenge.” Each episode of the show features eight elite athletes who compete in head-to-head challenges until one winner is determined. The winner then attempts a grueling obstacle course.

Vidal was not only victorious in the three preliminary challenges, but he also completed the final obstacle course, impressing Steve Austin with his strength and tenacity.

Vidal was an athlete long before his Spartan career, and the show proved to be a chance for him to experience again the sheer physicality of his high school football days. However, his hope is that people watching him saw that being a competitor means being mentally tough and conquering obstacles within just as much as any physical opponent.

Photo: Facebook/Isaiah Vidal

Vidal’s physical strength is undeniable, but it is the strength he finds from his faith that makes him a true leader in the sport and beyond. He is open about his faith, both on social media and in person, and states that having the opportunity to share his faith on a larger scale has been the most rewarding thing about his successes.

With his sights set on winning a Spartan Race World Championship, Vidal dedicates an impressive amount of time to training, with workouts ranging up to three hours a day at various strategic levels of physicality.

Although not everyone trains at the level of Vidal, he encourages everyone interested in fitness to find their “why.” He believes that if you know your reason for attempting something, you are more likely to achieve it. “Strive deeper within you to discover you!” Vidal urges.