Provided

Joe De Sena '90 donated $40,000 in proceeds from the Spartan College Classic at Cornell University to Student and Campus Life, and Athletics and Physical Education.

For Joe De Sena '90, earning a Cornell degree was a mental and physical obstacle course.

He recalls various muscle-busting methods of getting to class, such as climbing Buffalo Street on his bike and running up Gun Hill, and he recalls surviving the tough coursework once he got there.

“Professor Anita Racine [senior lecturer in fashion design] beat me up studying the textile business,” he says.

A fiber science and material design major in the College of Human Ecology, De Sena not only passed; he excelled, winning a student entrepreneurship prize for his design for a tougher hoodie made with metal threads.

After graduation, he translated the physical toughness and entrepreneurial spirit he picked up as a Cornell student into success: a former Wall Street trader and author of the book “Spartan Up!,” he's also the co-founder of Spartan Race, a series of extreme athletic competitions held all over the world.

De Sena returned to the rugged terrain of Ithaca Sept. 5 to head up the Spartan College Classic at Cornell University, a 3-mile obstacle race in the Spartan Race series. He donated $40,000 in proceeds from the event to Cornell. His gift will benefit Student and Campus Life, and Athletics and Physical Education, two areas, along with the College of Human Ecology, that De Sena is committed to supporting. A separate gift of $21,000 benefits the United Way of Tompkins County.

“The big win for me personally is to be on the campus in the town that shaped me,” De Sena said the day before the race.

Many racers experienced personal wins Sept. 5. More than 4,200 participants ran the course, which included more than 12 obstacles involving mud, sandbags and hay bales.

Max Joh-Carnella '16, competing as part of a team of Cornell students, lost both his shoes in a mud pit and finished the race – including a run over a rock pile – in socks.

"The sandbag obstacle just ruined me," said Ben Lee '16, another member of the team. Despite the difficulty, he and his teammates were smiling at the finish. "I haven't felt this good about myself in a while," he said.

Kate Klein is a writer for Alumni Affairs and Development.