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Spartan Racers In Here?

swcrow

Autocross Champion
Any other Spartan Racers in here?

Had to throw the question out (did a search on topic and only found a reply in an old hobbies thread I wasn't reviving)....absolutely love these things....love pushing myself physically and these are the perfect outlet. Currently working on my first Trifecta this Sunday, running the Beast in SC.

I started running long distance in the military and continued after I got out with 10ks, half marathons, etc......then got asked to run a Rugged Maniac....I never went back to straight road running. I Immediately jumped into a Spartan Super and have been running them ever since.

I'm primarily running them in the Mid-Atlantic region though (VA, NC, SC) and have just now started to look into running them in different geographic locations to see how much they differ based on terrain and temps.

Anyone else? Chime in!

:D
 

swcrow

Autocross Champion
Just finished the Spartan Beast in Spartanburg, SC.......brutal course.....nothing but hills. 13.5 miles, 33 obstacles and ran it in 3:59......

you want to talk about cramping up during the 5.5 hour drive back home while caked in mud I couldn't wash off......

Could barely get out of bed this morning.....ranger candy is getting me through the day.
 

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avenali312

Autocross Champion
I finished my first Spartan, the Atlanta Super, a few weeks ago. I did terrible at most of the obstacles because I lack upper body strength, but I did it with a group and we had a ton of fun.
 

swcrow

Autocross Champion
Nice!! Congrats on finishing!! Supers are fun, but yeah, upper body strength definitely helps for almost anything. Even better you ran it with a group....I've asked everyone around and no wants to roll out, so I've run all my races solo...which can really suck when you hit the wall at mile 9. Ironically, I almost had to drive down from VA to that very Super, but was able to slide in almost last minute to the one up here in Arrington.
 

avenali312

Autocross Champion
Nice!! Congrats on finishing!! Supers are fun, but yeah, upper body strength definitely helps for almost anything. Even better you ran it with a group....I've asked everyone around and no wants to roll out, so I've run all my races solo...which can really suck when you hit the wall at mile 9. Ironically, I almost had to drive down from VA to that very Super, but was able to slide in almost last minute to the one up here in Arrington.

That's awesome. The mud here was super deep. I'm only 5'4" and there were times where we were wading through milkshake-consistency mud up to my waist. Unluckily, I was holding on to a branch and slipped and my shoulder popped out of socket (not a deal breaker, it happens somewhat regularly haha). So, anything hanging related after that was basically a wash haha.
 

swcrow

Autocross Champion
Daaaaaaaaaaaaaang....ouch. Yeah.....that takes care of quite a few things. Speaking of mud....oh my red SC mud....it had rained for days before so I've never seen mud before like on this Beast...same thing here.....some alien mud milkshake quicksand everywhere. It made each foot about 5 lbs heavier, which is lovely when going over the 7 ft. wall...by yourself.
 

italynstylion

Ready to race!
I have yet to do a Spartan race but I've run a bunch of other types. Savage Race, Warrior Dash, Fitness Freak, Jailbreak, and a few others. They are SO much fun.

In my opinion, you need to be a fast runner first and then you need to have great grip strength. If you have those two things you'll be nearly unbeatable. Savage Race is one where completing the obstacles (at all) is tough if you don't have the grip strength. So you need the combo there. Warrior Dash and the others, if you aren't strong you'll still be able to manage the obstacles, just at a slower pace....which is fine if you're running 6 minute miles between the obstacles. ;)
 

swcrow

Autocross Champion
Cool! I haven't even heard of some of those! I have been eyeing a RAGNAR race as my next venture..... something that involves Land navigation, canoeing and multi day would be awesome.

Forearm strength and endurance running is probably the two things I would definitely recommend as well. Without forearm strength you'll end up doing burpees for eight or nine obstacles alone.

Sent from my LM-G710 using Tapatalk
 

avenali312

Autocross Champion
The good news this morning is that the black in my toe nail is going away finally. It looks like it isn't going to fall off, which is good since I have a 5k in a few weeks haha.
 

JerseyDrew77

Autocross Champion
I used to do Spartan races along with Tough Mudders up until I got injured in Afghanistan 2014, thanks to the Tali. Now, I can't run very good or long distance.
 

swcrow

Autocross Champion
^brutal. First, thanks for your service and sacrifice brother. I was light with 2nd ID, but when OIF rolled around I had moved over to 3d ACR and was heavy, so had a little more protection.

These can't be any fun with a pre-existing injury. I saw several folks starting with a bad leg already. Much respect for that wounded warrior group that goes around to OCRs and runs them with injured soldiers to help them get through it. I saw one guy that ran it with his service dog....he had lost an arm....and during the sandbag carry he put his Shep OVER his shoulder as the sandbag....I was blown away and thought that was friggin' awesome.
 

JerseyDrew77

Autocross Champion
^^ Right back at you brotha. It's good to see another soldier on this forum. I started off heavy, went through a couple of selections and then went light, if you know what I mean.

That is why I barely do them nowadays plus my kids take up most of my free time. That is pretty badass of that guy with his dog. I need to get back in to them, now that I am home for good.
 

swcrow

Autocross Champion
Rock Steady! Yeah I hear you... I've had to plan diligently around family stuff just to make the races happen... Not easy. And yes lol...I almost made one of those selections, but got deployed before the briefing ;)

Sidenote.. for anyone interested.... I'm looking at 2019 and thinking of Fayetteville NC and Charlotte.... Anyone game? Race and VW meet?
 
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swcrow

Autocross Champion
2019 Schedule is up boys and girls.......let's start the planning!!! GTG and obstacle course racing!
 

swcrow

Autocross Champion
Alright sports fans.... First race I've got planned is Charlotte NC Super race in April... Anyone down?

I'm racing by myself currently
 
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