By the closing of the North Dakota National Guard’s Best Warrior Competition, Staff Sgt. Adam Walsvik had pressed himself through a litany of military challenges, often testing the boundaries of his mental and physical durability. Despite blisters on his hands from grappling with Camp Grafton Training Center’s obstacle course and a sore leg from trudging through a 6-mile road march, he felt good. At the awards ceremony during the final day of competition Aug. 12, Walsvik flashed a satisfied and gracious smile as he accepted the runner-up award in the noncommissioned officer category from Command Sgt. Maj. David Lien, state command sergeant major. Because exactly two years to the day before that, he lay in a hospital bed not knowing if he’d ever walk again.
Walsvik, whose peers said has always displayed a strong work ethic and never-give-up attitude, would demonstrate extraordinary resiliency over a 2-year span of time. Facing what he called “the biggest challenge I ever had to get through,” Walsvik would recover from grievous injuries with a tenacious resolve to heal, and would inspire others while doing so.
Fate Collides
Ever searching for a challenge, Walsvik was celebrating his 29th birthday on July 23, 2016, by pedaling down a highway between West Fargo and Oakes, North Dakota. He had embarked on a 115-mile bike ride in preparation for an upcoming Ironman triathlon. About 20 miles into his journey, a truck traveling at about 70 miles per hour, struck Walsvik from behind. The driver reported not having seen the Guardsman on the roadway.
“I hit the hood, then the windshield and rolled off into the ditch. According to the Highway Patrol, my body ended up landing 208 feet from where I was hit,” Walsvik said.
Sinew and bone had given way under the impact of the crash and Walsvik’s injuries were wide-ranging. He first was stabilized at Essentia Health in Fargo and later airlifted to Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. When he came to, medical staff were discussing the possibility of amputating his left leg. The popliteal artery in the limb had been crushed and hadn’t delivered a pulse for hours. In order to restore function to it, doctors had to reroute the vein from Walsvik's groin. In addition, they performed a fasciotomy to his leg to relieve the pressure and tension, which was increasing due to the loss of circulation from the non-functioning vein.
“I wasn’t sure I’d be able to stay in the military,” Walsvik said.
Adding to his list of injuries, Walsvik suffered a broken ankle and fibula, three cracked ribs and road rash to his arms hands and head. He had a small chip in his vertebrae and had to wear a back brace for the next 12 weeks. Ultimately, he would spend nearly a month in the hospital, and for weeks after, he would ponder what his future held.
Back on Two Feet
Since he joined the N.D. National Guard in 2005, Walsvik has been a wildly active and productive Soldier in the units in which he’s served, as well as his professional career. He enlisted as a carpentry and masonry specialist while pursuing a civil engineering and surveying technology degree at the North Dakota State College of Science in Wahpeton. In 2011, he had the opportunity to serve overseas with the 188th Engineer Company (Vertical) in Kuwait. Walsvik currently serves in the 141st Maneuver Enhancement Brigade while working as a surveyor/drone pilot at the Falkirk Mining Company. He’s always managed to keep his schedule flush with physical events and competitions, as well, including being a competitor on the N.D. National Guard’s Marathon Team, a group he’s ran with since 2013.
Capt. Robert Meland, who also is a member of the team, said Walsvik has always been an important cog in the team’s machinery, an excellent runner with stubborn ambition.
“He’s really passionate about fitness and nutrition,” Meland said. “He’s just an animal. He comes up with great training plans and has a great work ethic. He’s done progressively better every year (with the marathon team) to the point where he was close to making the All-Guard Team, right before his accident.”
After his stay in the hospital, the prospects for Walsvik’s full recovery from his injuries were daunting. But he knew he had to get back on his feet, just to see if he was still capable of participating in the physically demanding endeavors he loves.
“My physical therapists said I would never run more than three miles again, and nothing faster than a 10-minute pace,” Walsvik said.
Fortunately, Walsvik’s support system of family, friends, Guard members and his employer kicked into overdrive. His parents drove him to medical appointments, helped him take care of his house and change out his bandages. And only four months after the accident, Walsvik was able to return to work on light duty. He even received a card in the hospital from J.C. Butler, Jr., the president and chief executive officer of the North American Coal Corporation. Walsvik’s platoon sergeant and readiness noncommissioned officer helped him through Guard drills. The staff sergeant was able to come in and make up time, despite being on crutches, to allow him to have a “good year” of service by meeting training requirements.
Eventually though, the daily customs of static confinement became unbearable. After multiple physical therapy sessions and occupational health and doctor visits, Walsvik started doing what he always had done, both in and out of competition: he started training.
With help and encouragement from his friends, he started swimming, playing racquetball and skiing. In June 2017, he was able to complete a half marathon. And after that, Walsvik ran a full 26.2 miles.
“I ran my own marathon around Bismarck exactly one year afterwards (the accident) on my 30th birthday. My dad biked the whole thing with me and I had a lot of friends running or biking with me along the way. It was the slowest 26.2 miles I’ve ever run, but it felt real good just to be able to do it,” Walsvik said.
Members of his marathon team were there to help Walsvik get back into running shape, too. Meland had been checking in with his teammate every few months, seeing how he was doing and making plans for future training. The pair would meet up to go out for 7-8-mile runs with Meland encouraging him through the paces.
“(Adam) had told me he didn’t know if he would be able to compete in running again, as it was going. He was pretty down in the dumps. We (the team) just told him to listen to his physical therapist and, if they allow it, we’d be there to help him train for competition and get him whatever he needed to do it,” Meland said. “I know it’s not been easy at all for him, especially when you’re going from doing 26 miles easily to where it’s hard to just get out of bed.”
Walsvik’s tenacity and constant training paid off, though. He would make it to the Lincoln National Guard Marathon this year in May. It was a big day for the North Dakotans, as team members Capt. Aaron Kramer, of the 136th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, and Maj. Nathan Dicks of the 231st Brigade Support Battalion, would earn spots on the All-Guard Marathon Team. Walsvik would finish the half-marathon with a respectable time of 2 hours and 2 minutes. Meland was there to pace him all the way to the finish line.
“His determination and overall character is amazing. It’s pretty cool to see something like that, to witness it right in front of you. Usually it’s something you’d see on TV or a movie; you don’t see it first-hand. And he’s just so humble about it,” he said.
Warrior Spirit
Despite being reserved about his accomplishments, Walsvik’s appetite for a challenge steered him towards the Best Warrior Competition. He’d run through the gauntlet before, a 4-day trial of mental and physical tests designed to assess the abilities of the state’s top Army Guardsmen. In 2009, Walsvik competed in the enlisted category and progressed all the way to the national “All-Guard” competition. He’s also competed as a noncommissioned officer and had the opportunity to do it again this year at Camp Grafton Training Center. The competition’s planners and attendees were astonished by what they saw.
“Just for the average competitor, Best Warrior is very grueling. You could see his leg and it still looked like it would be very painful,” Lien said. “I thought maybe he was there to run a couple events to see how it went. Then, of course, we start with an APFT (Army Physical Fitness Test) and he runs his two miles in 10 minutes, or something like that. It was so inspiring to see him compete. It’s just indescribable because he didn’t use his injuries as a crutch.”
Walsvik said the entire competition went well for him, although during the 6-mile road march event, his leg started giving him fits.
“I was hurting, but I was able to make it through,” Walsvik said. “The medics did a real outstanding job watching out for me. And Staff Sgt. Justin Valenti helped me push through the road march to complete it.”
Valenti was the eventual winner of the competition in the noncommissioned officer category. Walsvik, however, placed right behind him as the runner-up. If Valenti should not be able to compete at the regional competition this spring, Walsvik will be ready to represent North Dakota.
Lien said Walsvik’s not only a great representative for Best Warrior, but an example for all Soldiers within the N.D. Army National Guard’s ranks.
“I hope some of the other competitors had a chance to visit with him, to learn about what he’s gone through. The guy is very passionate about the Guard; I think he’s just really passionate about everything he does,” he said. “When I was the battalion sergeant major in the 164th Engineer Battalion, Adam was one of my Soldiers. He was like that back in the day and even more so now. You always like to see that in any of your Soldiers. He’s just a very inspiring guy.”
For Walsvik, the more things change, the more they stay the same. He still plans competing in that Ironman triathlon he was training for prior to his accident. It seems like the obvious thing to do. But he also has a new outlook on life after the trials he’s gone through.
“I think the fact that I’m alive and still able to do what I do is a miracle. Every day is a gift from God,” Walsvik said. “A lot of motivation for me (during recovery) was knowing there are Soldiers who were wounded way worse than me or never made it home. So I try to live the best life I possibly can. I have some really awesome friends and family. They’ve helped me more than they will ever know. If I didn’t have them, I’m pretty sure I would not be where I am now.”
And as Walsvik continues to train and persevere in the National Guard and life, there’s no telling where he’ll be in the years beyond.
| Date Taken: | 10.29.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 10.29.2018 15:29 |
| Story ID: | 298086 |
| Location: | BISMARCK, ND, US |
| Web Views: | 185 |
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This work, Running Revival: Walsvik Returns to Marathon, Best Warrior Competition Following Horrendous Accident, by SSG Eric Jensen, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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