i am spartacus

…or rather, I’ve signed up for a Spartan Race and I hope I don’t die.

It’s one or the other. 

So I’ve just teamed up with the awesome people at Spartan Race Media to bring some exposure to the Spartan Race that will be held in Black Mountain, NC this August**.  For years, I’ve seen and heard so many great things about the Spartan Races and have wanted to sign up but just never took the leap.  Welp.  I’ve leaped (and I’m dragging Travis along with me again).  We’re ready to get muddy!

 From last year’s Building Bridges Mud Run

What IS a Spartan Race?

From Wikipedia:

A Spartan Race is a series of obstacle races of varying distance and difficulty ranging from 3 miles to marathon distances. They are held in USA and franchised to 14 countries including Canada, many European countries, South Korea, and Australia. The series include the Spartan Sprint (3+ miles of obstacle racing), the Super Spartan (8+ miles), the Spartan Beast (12+ miles), and the Ultra Beast (26+ miles – one of two marathon obstacle courses along with Mudderthon).  Spartan Race also has a military series in which obstacles are designed by the United States military. 

While Spartan Races vary in distance from 1 mile to marathon distances, the obstacles themselves also vary and are unpredictable.  Participants must complete the obstacles or perform burpee penalty exercises.  Many obstacles are present at each Spartan Race.  Unlike other companies, Spartan Race does not provide a course map or list of obstacle to their participants until race day.  Frequently presented obstacles include:

1. Fire jump: participants leap over flames, typically at the beginning or end of a race.
2. Barbed wire crawl: a crawl through mud under barbed wire. Crawls range from 20-100+ yards in length.
3. Over-Under-Through: a series of obstacles in which runners must first climb over a wall, then under a wall, then through a tire or square hole placed in a wall.
4. Spear throw: from a distance of 10-20 yards, athletes must throw a wooden spear into a target.
5. Wall climb: runners must climb over a wooden wall. Walls range from 4–8 feet and are often in sequence.
6. Object carry: typically a tire, rock-filled bucket, or sandbag over a certain distance.
7. Herculean Hoist: a cement block or heavy bucket is lifted off the ground using a pulley system.
8. Tyrolean Traverse: traversing a single rope that is hung horizontally between two posts or trees.
9. Traversal Wall: the traversal wall is similar to a bouldering wall.
10. Slippery Wall: a wall built at an incline (roughly 45 degrees) that is covered in soap or grease.
11. Hobie Hop: a thick rubber band is placed around the ankles and participants hop through 20+ tires in a row
12. Log Jump: Logs are arranged in a zig-zag pattern at varying heights and participants have to hop on them without touching the ground.
13. Rope Climb: A rope is hung over a body of water/mud with a bell installed at the very top. Participants must “ring the bell” before climbing down.

Reading over the obstacles excites me to no end (is that weird?  probably).  It’s like a huge jungle gym for adults!

Where are the locations?

Travis and I will be running the Black Mountain, NC race on August 29th.  Spartan Races are held all over the world.  To find a race location near you, go here!

Local friends:  There are a couple of races coming up within driving distance!

• The Charlotte Sprint – 4/11/15
• The Asheville Super – 8/29/15
• The Atlanta Super – 10/10/15
• The Carolinas Beast – 11/14/15
• The Carolinas Super – 11/15/15

What are the distances?

If you’ll look at the picture above, you’ll see there are FOUR different types of Spartan races: the Sprint, the Super, the Beast and the Ultra Beast.  The race we’ll be running in Black Mountain is a SUPER!!  I think will be the perfect distance (8-10 miles, ~28 obstacles) for us and honestly can’t imagine doing a Beast or Ultra but to each his own.

How should I train for the race?

The cool thing about signing up for these extreme races is that Spartan doesn’t just take your money and then leave you high and dry.  They actually want to help you TRAIN for the race.  Spartan SGX is a functional exercise program and ideal training regimen for individuals of all kinds of every ability and age.

In a Spartan SGX class you will:

Bend, crawl, carry, climb, hang, jump, lift, lunge, pull, push, run, sprint, squat and twist… exactly what your body has been designed for over millions of years.  The body weight-focused workouts are varied, novel and typically conducted in a group. Spartan SGX builds complete athletes who can dominate a strength-based workout and run with grace and speed, ready to hurdle over, under or through physical and mental obstacles.

I think this is so neat!  Just use the Spartan SGX Class and Coach Finder to locate an SGX class, box, gym or studio near you.  If you have a favorite coach or trainer who is not SGX certified, ask them to get certified.  Or better yet, tell them.  Try a free class or free public workout offered by one of their coaches.

I’m READY!  How do I sign up?

If you’re ready to sign up to race, just click the banner below and get 20% off!!  Offer ends TONIGHT!

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QUESTION:  Ever raced a Spartan?  Who would you pick to race with you?

splendid…lindsay

**I received two free race vouchers in exchange for this post.  All opinions are my own and I was not compensated for any writing.