1 weekend in Texas, 3 epic races

Loving the mud

I decided over the last weekend, at almost the last minute it seems, to fly to Texas on the weekend of December 3, for the chance to obstacle race at the Super Spartan event in Glen Rose. Spartan Racing puts on premier obstacle course events all over the world but mostly in America. They have a range of distances that are comparative in basic terms to considering a triathlon distance like, Sprint, Olympic, 70.3 mile and 140.6 miles. Spartan racing uses the following to describe their events; Sprint, Super, Beast and a very select few are allowed to do what is called Death Race, an event where participants are only told what to bring, not what they will be doing or how long it will take. Lasting from 24-40 hours without stopping, the finish rate is less than 25%. The Super I will be doing is their version of the Olympic triathlon, an 8 mile obstacle course with around 16 obstacles. Terrain is certainly an obstacle to consider. 

What made my last minute decision to fly to Texas so special is Spartan has made Glen Rose, their last race of the year, a real festival or celebration to obstacle course racing. Instead of the usual amount of obstacles over the 8+ miles, they doubled it to almost 40 obstacles. Plus they have added some interesting bonus events that are pure adrenaline and possibly one of a kind, certainly first of its kind.  

 Saturday is when all the normal heats (or waves) of runners attack the course every thirty minutes with the usual excitement and hoopla expected of people having fun, getting muddy and challenging themselves. Obstacle racing is becoming so popular that for some people this will be the first race they have ever done, most running it with a group of friends. Most obstacles are physical like climbing over, under or threw structures, but also mud, water, strength and endurance challenges are included. There is also some form of mental challenge to throw you off. At the Arizona event earlier this year, racers had to complete one side of a rubic cube or suffer a penalty of push ups or burpees. In fact for every obstacle if you can not complete it or wish to bypass it, you are given the option of completing some form of calisthenic. I will be participating in the morning waves like everyone else. I will be doing it as part of a team, and while this will be the first and only time most people will go through this course, it will be mine and this teams second run through and it will be the easiest opportunity we will have to do it all weekend.  

The first time I run the course will take place between the time that the course is completed on Friday and the first wave on Saturday. It is called the Hurricane Heat.  The Hurricane Heat is a commemoration of Hurricane Irene that destroyed much of New England and Spartan Headquarters located in Killington, Vermont earlier this year and in the process interrupted a Spartan Race due to safety concerns by the city. Undeterred, one of the owners and a couple intrepid racers did the course during the hurricane, by themselves, no volunteers, no aid stations, just because the hurricane added another level of hardship to the already tough course. Now the Hurricane Heat is offered as a special event at most Spartan races where the founders and athletes tackle the course with no thought to competition or a clock. Its about camaraderie and taking the course to a whole other level of extremism with constant opportunities to make everything more challenging. Now that this specific course has twice as many obstacles as normally offered its a maybe once in a lifetime opportunity for someone like myself. 

Finally, after the last heat has been run Saturday and all the participants have enjoyed the course, I will run the course one last time. A special heat will be taken though the course by a company called GORUCK.  They put a unique twist on obstacle event management by not creating a challenge out of wood, rope and tubes but utilizing the unique nature of the landmarks, terrain and layout of whatever urban city they are in that weekend.  Their events always start in the middle of the night and last 15-20 miles and 8-10+ hours. Each participant must wear a weighted GORUCK manufactured pack in their ultimate definition of product testing. As the company was created by and run by former and current Special Forces personnel, the way in which each class traveses the city is a unique team building experience. Who knows how long this last run will last. Who knows how these men of unconventional warfare will instruct us to go through it.

My attempt at javelin toss obstacle

In a nutshell, I see the opportunity and will be doing one eight mile supercharged course, three completely different and unique ways over a 24-hr period. .Something like this may not happen again in a way in which I can attend.  The added benefit is that I will be attending this weekend as part of a unique group of people called Storm Chasers. This group is comprised of people who travel around the country to participate in the Hurricane Heats at each Spartan event. It is a unique group of fellow athletes who love obstacle course racing  and I can not wait to spend an entire weekend, a Spartan marathon if you will, with them. 

As part of a shameless plug, if you are interested in participating in the Arizona Spartan race in February 2012, as part of a team and getting a discount on your entry fee, contact me here or on Facebook. 

It is not enough to exist. I am going to live.