"Having Sara and Travis on my team sets an example for the younger members of our team, by seeing how older athletes handle the stress of marriage, raising a child, working and training."
Over the last four years, Sara and Travis McRoberts have proven themselves to be among the fittest couples in California. Sara set the best score on 14.1 in Northern California last week with 406 reps, and Travis finished seventh in the region with 400 reps.
“If I could have designed a (workout) for me, this (14.1) would have been it,” Sara said.
“When I started CrossFit in 2009, the coaches at CrossFit 209 Sport would always program long, gross, kill yourself workouts and I could take the pain. I’m OK in that place that’s sucky. Prior to CrossFit, I was training for half and full marathons. There is something about running four hours that helps you push past the pain. I know I’m not the strongest female or highly skilled but, I can push through,” she said.
Although she started the Open with one of the region’s best scores, the three-time individual regional competitor intends to compete with her box’s team, Caffeine and Kilos, in 2014.
In 2010, Sara competed in sectionals and advanced to the South West Regional where she finished in 40th place. After taking a year off to give birth to her son, she realized that the intervening years before her next pregnancy would be the ideal time to fulfill her CrossFit competition goals.
Since, she has qualified for the 2012 and 2013 Northern California Regional as an individual competitor. In 2012, she was disqualified after the first event, Diane, because she could not complete the minimum work requirement. The next year, she returned for a 22nd-place finish.
With two CrossFit competitors and one 2-year-old in the McRoberts household, finding time to train isn’t easy.
The babysitter arrives at 6 a.m. to take care of Roscoe, and moments later Sara and Travis quickly grab their gear bags and sneak out of the house to go to the box. Class starts at 7 a.m., and for one hour, they commit themselves to training.
“My house is a mess, the dishes aren’t done. I always tell the babysitter to ignore the mess. I’ll clean it one day,” Sara said.
At the box, she does the daily workout and then works on her strength and gymnastics skills, which have been her goats in past competition years. Since the regional last spring, she and her husband have shifted their attention from individual training to team training.
Team coach Charlie Zamora regularly holds the couple up as an example to the other teammates. Nothing kills excuses from 20-somethings with no kids quite like showing them 30-somethings who are training and taking care of a 2-year-old.
“Having Sara and Travis on my team sets an example to the younger members of our team, by seeing how older athletes handle the stress of marriage, raising a child, working and training. A lot of athletes I train don’t have to be concerned about their toddler running out of the gym while doing box jumps in the middle of a (workout) like Sara or Travis,” Zamora said.
For Sara, this will be her last competition year before she tries to have another child.
“I’ve decided that 2014 will be my last year competing, and going team provides me with the best opportunity to try and make it to the Games,” she said. “Ideally, I would like to have another baby next year, which would put competitive training on hold.”
This week, the Open workout proved more challenging for Sara, and she finished 192 reps for an unofficial rank of 55th in the region. Rankings will change as affiliate managers validate scores until the validation deadline at 5 p.m. PT on Wednesday, March 12. Her husband, Travis, finished 207 reps for 90th in the region. After two weeks, Caffeine and Kilos sits in third in the region behind Diablo CrossFit Anejo and CrossFit 808.
“On to 14.3!” Sara said.
