Race Report #2 2011: Spartan Race (Super distance)

There are just some races that regardless of what goals you have going on in your life, you should take time from your schedule to do. I would place the recent popular swing into obstacle course races as one of those times. This is look back on the inaugural Spartan Race at Rawhide/Chandler, Arizona. I also decided to bring a waterproof disposable camera with me to take shots on the move. As you will see, the camera got pretty beat up and mud covered the lens in many pictures. 

Some of my triathlon teammates had decided to do this race months ago and trained for it with a weekly boot camp of functional training. I forgot about committing to the event and signed up the day before packet pickup. On the positive side I have spent my whole life incorporating crawling, climbing, running and ducking, so these events are not so much a race and as what I would prefer to do with my down time. If there was a course like this set up permanently someplace close I would probably be there 1-2x a week. This blog is Endurance Pursuits for a reason. 

The Spartan race I completed in Arizona was an eight mile course with 15 obstacles. As this company hosts events around the country, I suspect that each events distance is based on terrain, elevation, time of year and available assets on the property.

Without getting into the specific details of each obstacle, I will say that you get very wet. Over your head swimming across creeks, getting blasted by fire hoses wet. And muddy. Shoe sucking, wall climbing, belly crawling muddy. Some events challenge your balance, others your ability to perform a mental task (ours was completing the white side of a rubics cube), others are just tests of your raw power. If you fail at the task or decide you do not want to do it or cannot complete it, there is passing penalty posted for each obstacle, these involved exercise like burpees, push ups or jumping jacks administered by a safety officer. In between this you run. Sometimes through mud or water, always dirt, hunched over going through a tunnel or just to put distance between you and the last obstacle you thought would be the end of you.



I think what appeals to this form of racing is that it is not entirely based on speed which would appeal only to runners. The race also attracts regular gym members, Crossfit and P90X groups. This is my second obstacle race, I completed a similar race called Tough Mudder last year, and functional training clubs were well represented at both. They don't always do well as individuals because their training style is too off balance to incorporate distance running, but they do well with the power, strength and grip obstacles. Conversely, true runners have problems with tackling the climbing obstacles like walls and ropes and power obstacles like pulling and carrying heavy weight for distance.



As for me, I loved the mud, I enjoyed the scenery running, I got thoroughly wet and used up. I climbed through, over and under a lot of obstacles with a smile on face and I did it with friends. Many who are training for ironmans.  Check out the links for events in your area, there are usually discounts for teams, and jump through some fire, run through smoke grenades, get wet, muddy, twisted around, a little freaked out and then celebrate the accomplishment of something really unique. Something I hope only gains more traction in our fitness world.