The Indoor Obstacle Course Test in Hayes Gym at USMA

Real Places Behind THE QUEST OF KIP SAUNDERS

Hidden inside the Arvin Cadet Physical Development Center at the United States Military Academy is Hayes Gym and one of West Point's most famous traditions—the Indoor Obstacle Course Test, better known simply as the IOCT. Readers of THE QUEST OF KIP SAUNDERS will recognize it as one of the pivotal settings in the novel.

When I began writing that chapter, I wanted the scene to feel authentic. It wasn't enough simply to list the obstacles. I wanted readers to experience the course as though they were running it themselves. To refresh my memory, I watched videos, studied the layout, and revisited my own experiences as a cadet. I hope readers come away with a sense of both the physical challenge and the adrenaline that accompany the test.

The Indoor Obstacle Course in Hayes Gym at West Point

My physical education instructor brought my plebe classmates to Hayes Gym and had a firstie demonstrate the course while he explained the rules. He covered everything from touching the center tire with one foot, to negotiating the high shelf without wasting precious seconds, to making sure every rung on the parallel bars was touched. Many of the details woven into the IOCT chapter of THE QUEST OF KIP SAUNDERS came directly from those instructions I can still hear echoing through the gym—and from the commands shouted at us as we struggled from one obstacle to the next.

Cadets lined up two by two, so the IOCT was more than a physical fitness test—it was also a race. My heart must have been pounding at 180 beats per minute as I approached the starting line. I can't remember whether I beat the cadet beside me, but I do remember posting a respectable time for my first attempt.

My favorite obstacle was the rope climb. In just three or four pulls, I could climb from the gym floor to the elevated track above. My least favorite part came afterward: running around the track while carrying a heavy medicine ball, then another lap with a relay baton, and finally three-quarters of a lap with nothing except whatever sprinting power I had left.

When I crossed the finish line, I thought my heart would explode. What cadets say about "Hayes lung" is true. It feels less like being out of breath and more like trying to breathe after aspirating a box of cotton balls.

Looking back now, I realize how ingenious the IOCT really is. Every obstacle on the course demands a different skill, just as every obstacle in life demands something different of us. Some require strength. Others require balance, agility, endurance, courage, or determination. West Point teaches those lessons with ropes, walls, beams, and ladders. Life teaches them in other ways.

Perhaps that's why the IOCT found its way into THE QUEST OF KIP SAUNDERS. Every good story needs obstacles. Without them there is no conflict. Without conflict there is no growth. And without growth, there is no story worth telling.