9/22 Update: We reached out to Spartan Race founder Joe De Sena for his input on this article, his on-line response was quick to the point:
“Adversity breeds success in life. If they want it easy…well, thats not here.”
– Joe De Sena
WINTERGREEN
Ever since signing up for Wintergreen back around May of this year I have heard little jabs about how tough the course was last year. “Only wish it on your worst enemy,” and things of that nature. No amount of witty banter or raised eyebrows or widened eyes with dropped jaws could have ever prepared or accurately described just how intense this race is. There are those whispers within this community about Spartans being a different breed of OCR and this race turns those whispers into screams.
The Race
Whereas at the end of most OCRs racers ask one another what their favorite obstacle was, at the end of Wintergreen racers had a hard time remembering what the obstacles even were. Instead, the questions being asked included how many burpees everyone did, whether or not they slipped and fell, how difficult it was to travel up and down the slopes. What is most easily recalled is the terrain. The brutal uphill climbs, the dangerous downhill shuffles. The mud that was manageable for the first waves of athletes and gradually turned to a slide by the release of the last wave at three in the afternoon. The weather certainly did not help the conditions on the ground. In fact, all waves were delayed by thirty minutes because the fog was so dense. And that fog only got worse as the day wore on.
The obstacles included were typical of any Spartan race: several walls to climb over, a fire to jump, a barbwire crawl, a heavy bag to pull up and slowly lower down, a rope to climb. But what made the obstacles so difficult was, again, the terrain. It wasn't just a barbwire crawl, but a barbwire crawl while going uphill. Everything that could be was done uphill, and then right back down (with the exception of the Atlas Carry). Tractor pull: up then back down. Same for the log carry and the bucket of rocks. Even the tire pull: first racers pulled it up the hill, then dragged it back down.
One of the most interesting parts of the race was the extremely steep .7 mile hike racers had to endure. This climb was made even more dramatic by the fog. It truly seemed never ending, that no matter how many steps you took you would still look above you to see bodies in the fog, somehow still climbing. It really felt like it could have gone on for an eternity: A Spartan Purgatory. Another interesting part of the race was a split in the course for elite runners and open wave runners. Go right and it was more of the same: slippery downhill mud sprinkled with trees to hold on to. But for the elites who went left, they got to go downhill through a rocky river. This was actually an enjoyable part of the race, a nice change from mudslides. At the end of the race, after flailing over the fire (which was of course on an incline) each racer was offered a banana, a protein bar, a Core Power drink, and a blue ticket to exchange for the finisher shirt.
The Stats
Nearly 9,000 people registered for this event and just over 7,000 completed the course. The last runners crossed the finish line shortly after nine at night. The times it took to complete the course ranged from 1:47:01 to 11:45:01. The course map stated the average run time for the course would be 150 minutes.
The Festival
The festival area was very well organized. There was plenty of seating for everyone eating. The merchandise tent was huge and fully staffed. The results tent had several computers and tablets for racers to check their times on. A Spartan Chicked tent was set up on the outskirts of the area where people could go and have their questions about things surrounding that group answered openly. There were plenty of hoses at the shower station and even a high-powered sprayer for those who truly wanted to get clean. Spartan was prohibited from giving free beer at the end of this race but it could be bought at a tent in the festival area.
Everything In Between
The registration area was very well set up and executed. Details down to there being pens attached to the boards where bib numbers were displayed were noted. Joe DeSena was around working with the camera crews that were present. Shuttles were put to use to bring those who didn't pay $40 for VIP parking up to the race area. The medical tents were kept busy all day with injuries that varied from lacerations and ankle sprains to broken bones and stitches.
Get To The Point…
I don’t think this race should be classified as an OCR, but rather something along the lines of a strength and endurance race. I understand Joe DeSena’s view is one of push people to show them what they can do, to see what they are made of. You’re tougher than you think, STFU! However this race was not consistent with the spirit of the OCR community that I've found. When you only smile once during a race, when you don’t ever laugh, when so many say they felt they were broken a little bit, to me it seems a line has been crossed. We are weekend warriors, we are not warriors who have waged a war. Whether it truly was about pushing limits in this sport or looking good for TV cameras, something with this race seems to have gone awry. At the end of a race I usually cannot wait for the next one. This is the first time I've left saying I would never go back. But man, I know I will.
—–Laura Carroll—–
Did you do the Wintergreen Virginia Super Spartan? Share your own rating & review about the event today!
Sound bites recently recovered from a hidden micro-chip recorder that was surgically implanted before this past weekend. I don’t know who said all this delirious stuff, but I’m laughing. You probably said some or most of this stuff yourselves.
– “I’m done!”
– “I am not ever going to quit this thing. But that doesn’t mean I have to like it”
– “Where the hell is all this beautiful scenery I’ve heard so much about?”
– “Why is God letting them do this to us? We’re nice people”
– “Boulders? Who runs a race down a field full of boulders?”
– “Dude, every 3 steps you slip and fall and bust your ass. Why don’t you just stay down and slide down this mountain with the rest of us and eliminate the standing up and falling down parts?”
– “I am so done!”
– “Keep on running fast you jackrabbits, I’ll see you up ahead when you cramp and break your leg.”
– “I thought this was supposed to be fun?”
– “I have electrolyte water, do you want some?”
– “Wanna suck on my tube?”
– “I don’t have cooties”
– “I really am done”
– “The fog and the rain and the mud has sucked all the fun out of this”
– “If I quit now, how in the world would they ever find me? They can’t drive a gator through this”
– “I hate this”
– “I hate Spartan”
– “I hate Wintergreen”
– “I hate Norm Koch”
– “I hate Joe DeSena for letting Norm do this”
– “I hate obstacle course racing”
– “Why am I doing this to myself”
– “I’m never doing another OCR”
– “I don’t need this Hell in my life”
– “I am really so done”
– “Hurry up, it’s raining harder and getting dark. They might kick us off the course”
– “If they try to pull me off this racecourse I’m going to start killing people with these trekking poles”
– “What do you mean there’s still a mile and a half to go?!?! The last volunteer at the last obstacle a mile ago said there was only a mile left?”
– “There is no way we can climb this. If I die right here have them bury me with my butt exposed so Wintergreen Spartan can kiss my ass”
– “I worked an entire day as a volunteer for less than what amounts to minimum wage to earn the right to do this to myself?”
– “I spent money to get to this race so I could do this to myself?”
– “If I fall and roll down this mountain you’d better come find me”
– “Why are we walking downhill? We’ll just have to come back up again”
– “God, I am so very, very done”
– “God, If I live through this I’ll be good for the rest of my life.”
– “I don’t have the energy to jump this fire. Anyone tells me to do burpees, I’m throat punching them.”
– “What’s this? The Finish Line? I’m Done”
Wintergreen – I am personally expunging that term from my vocabulary from this point forward. I won’t eat another W lifesaver ever again. I’ll chew a different flavor of gum. And I’m changing the brand of my tobacco so it doesn’t carry that offensive flavor. I faced W and didn’t flinch. I fought the hardest I’ve ever fought and earned that medal, but I plan to never return to that place. I hate what it did to us and what it represents as Spartan Brutality. I wouldn’t mind if an earthquake hit that mountain and leveled it down to the ground. I wonder if the military would want to nuke it for missile testing. It felt like it came close to killing me, and like they say, “But did you Die?” No, but that doesn’t mean I need to give it a chance to kick my ass ever again.
I was asked by a couple of folks to post my review of Wintergreen 2014 from my Facebook page:
It’s been 2 days since the Wintergreen Spartan Super, and I’ve had time for reflection. Aaron took a moment earlier today to thank Norm Koch, course designer, for a brief glimpse into Hell. I have to concur with that statement, as I believe we all got to see a piece of all 9 Circles during that day. With that, I believe we should start a petition to officially change Norm’s name to “Virgil”…
Several months ago we all found ourselves in the “Dark Wood”, when we first looked at the information for that Super and decided to register. Slightly intimidating, but too far away to cause immediate fear.
Friday we found ourselves in the “Vestibule”; arrived at the nice ski resort, peaceful, gentle fog all around, pleasant temperatures…with the finishing touches of the “harmless” Spartan challenges dotting the landscape around us.
Saturday morning we entered the First Circle, “Limbo” as we anxiously awaited our start time, while we were surrounded by the “virtuous pagans” (ie, staff, spectators and everyone else smarter than us). The first omen of bad things coming was the fact that it was nearly 11:30AM and the Elite group that left at 7:30 had not yet made it back.
At the starting line, we encountered the Second Circle, “Lust”. Ready to get this party started, high-fives all around. The announcer doing a good job of whipping the competitors into a frenzy using chants such as “you are now Spartans, now and forever!” Oh, what fools we were…
The first mountain uphill run/walk brought on the Third Circle, “Gluttony”. Ascended the hill, climbed over/under/through walls, back down the hill…left everyone challenging for more. Climb that vertical cargo net! (but DON’T HELP FROM THE OPPOSITE SIDE!) Scale that Inverted Wall! AROO!
By the time we reached the Tractor Pull, we entered the Fourth Circle, “Avarice and Prodigality”. Not only did some of us enjoy dragging that chained, concrete block up the sloppy, muddy mountainside once…we decided to do it TWICE just for s’s and giggles…
And then shit got real….
Outside the wall of the City of Dis, we reached the entrance to the Fifth Circle, “Anger and Sloth”. We were greeted by the Monkey Bars (which actually were quite fun) and the Herculean Hoist (mother-effing water-loaded sandbags that sure felt CONSIDERABLY heavier than Charlotte…). And then…the “Bucket Brigade.” First you had to fill your own 5 gallon bucket with gravel. Lava rock, you ask? Vermiculite? Eff NO! They somehow found the most dense pea gravel available. No handle on the bucket either. The buckets were from the Home Depot…I remembered their slogan “Let’s build something together.” OH YEAH? I DIDN’T SEE YOUR ASS OFFERING TO HELP CARRY THAT BUCKET! Yep, there’s the anger. Most had to stop and rest both up the mountain and back down…to rest…to curse that bucket, to yell at that hill, to flip-off the 6 little kids riding the ski lift above us yelling down “Come on! Move faster! That thing is not that heavy!” Then somehow talk yourself into picking that bucket back up…
Following the Bucket Brigade and Spear Throw we entered the City of Dis into the Sixth Circle, “Heresy”. Up the mountain, down the mountain, up the mountain, down the mountain…WHAT THE HELL WAS THE POINT OF THIS AGAIN?! Up the 7ft walls (yes, pleural), over the Big Cargo Net climb and back down again. Log flips (actually kind of too short and too easy) rounded out that tour. Then…
The Death March. One mile up a black diamond class ski slope. This is where we found the Seventh Circle, “Violence”. People started cursing others regarding their pace/attitude, damning themselves for agreeing to the race, hatred at that damn mountain (I personally said “Balls!” at LEAST 6 times when I thought “I’ve finally found the top…no? More to go? Son of a…”). Happiness does belong in this world, but it wasn’t on that Godforsaken mountain. If there ever were a real-life scene of “The Walking Dead,” it was on this part of the course.
At the top of that mountain we found the Eighth Circle, “Simple Fraud and Treachery”. Staff members yelling “you’re almost there! You can do it!” Almost there was right…almost to the 8ft wall climb yet still 1.5 miles from the finish line (can I get another “Balls!”). Then we get the news a storm is coming and if we don’t finish soon they’ll have to escort us off the mountain to safety. Come this far to stop now?! I don’t effing think so. But they still had more…we found the Ninth Bolgia of the Eighth Circle in the shape of the “Log Carry.” Exact same premise as the Bucket Brigade, and every bit as painful and spite-enducing, just replacing the bucket with a log. What’s left?…gotta get back down the mountain…the steep, muddy, slick mountainside (cue the thorn tree that I erroneously decided to grab in an attempt to break my fall on this part). Wrap it up with the truck tire drag UPHILL, and we completed all 10 Bolgia of the Circle.
Almost home…then the Ninth Circle, “Complex Fraud and Trechery” in the form of the Barbed Wire Crawl. How long was it?…long enough to make to consider stopping. Why did it go uphill the WHOLE WAY?…because “Virgil” is good at his job. How many rocks were in all that mud to stab/scrape/cut you along the way?…it’s a mountain, how many freaking rocks do you THINK were there?! People dragging themselves my any means possible past/over each other to get to the end. Then when you finally make that last crawl from the barbed wire into the water pit and submerge under the dunk wall, you climb out to find…the ROPE CLIMB. Now you are cussing the designers. Now you are plotting nasty retribution, if only your body had the strength to carry it out. Whether you successfully tackled the rope and succeeded, attempted and fell, or simply gave it a big “EFF YOU!”, you were not going to be stopped now. Besides, the sweet release of Death cannot be that far away, can it?
Dante may not have found his wife’s soul, but I think everyone out there on the course found there’s. Sure, it’s beaten, bruised, torn, disheveled, and basically a mere shadow of it’s former self. But a look into my own madness says today…yep, I’d probably do it again.
Thanks, Norm…..I love you, I hate you, you’re a bastard, I hope you rot in hell…and I’ll see you at the next one…
If you didn’t enjoy the brutality that was the Virginia Super, than you obviously haven’t bought in to the OCR mentality of training and testing yourself. Better you stick to Rugged Maniac and Warrior Dash. They wont look down on you if you walk around something or decide it’s too hard.
What Adam said.
WOW! I personally thought the harder the better. Vernon, NJ (Mountain Creek) was brutal and the Vermont Beast was insane. However, though I was jelly I want to do something that I actually earned might have to QUIT, since I am no quitter, I kept going.
I would love to hear the next article on the Vermont Beast at 14.5 Miles, over 7000 ft of climbing in 40 degree weather, over 30 obstacles with insane rock bins, sand bag climbs up the incline of the 2nd tallest mountain peak in the North East, Not to mention the 60 degree water and the brutal terrain(To name a few things)….Come on people. If there is one thing that the Spartan Race should do, Is Change their name to the Spartan Challenge. Maybe there will be no more complaining.
My worst part was the parking… paying $40 and STILL having to take a short bus to the start area… what’s up with that!?!
I thought the course layout was better than last year. Tons of challenging obstacles. I did miss the views from all the fog but at least it wasn’t too cold! I laughed & joked with many people along the way. It was challenging, but that happens at a ski resort!! I loved the challenge!! SPARTAN UP!! Off to the next Spartan race!
We are not weekend warriors. As Spartans, we are WARRIORS who wage war against every physical and mental limit that we have so that when we go to face Vermont and go to face our death races and our 12 hour hurricane heats, they are no match for us. “Find your obstacle, embrace it, conquer it.” It might take us 7 hours, 213498723947 curse words, and we might come out different on the other side, we might get pulled, we might have to “try again next time” but if you aren’t ready to embrace the fact that spartan was not made to baby your ass. it’s time for you to go back to color runs and foamtastic 5k’s. NO ONE will tell you to sign the waiver, but the first clause says “IF YOU DIE or COME OUT INJURED….” that’s not a clause to be taken lightly. If you’re not ready to spartan the fuck up, then by all means sit the fuck down.
well said,, Love it!
Agreed. 1000%
I couldn’t disagree more with this article. Sure Wintergreen is hard. Sure it’s even harder than most of the other Spartan Races. I don’t want all the obstacle courses to be the same. Every time I try a new event I want it to be different. There are several courses out there that are too easy and that’s coming from someone that doesn’t even train hardcore. Why not have a couple that have a reputation for being brutal. It’s nice to have a couple events that push you even harder. If you make it then you have that badge of honor. If you fail to finish then maybe it will push you to work harder and get into better shape.
Don’t turn these races into cookie cutter events that cater to the lowest common denominator. Instead lets strive to better ourselves so that next year we do finish the race with a smile.
If you want to go for a Sunday walk/jog then do that instead. I’m here to have fun AND see how far I can push my body.
What Ashley and Adam Said! Stick to Warrior Dash or some other fun mud run if you are not warrior enough to STFU! It’s not for Average people, we are NOT average. And to the group of people I saw burpeeing your way out of the log carry, you should try the Dirty Girl Mud Run instead next time… smfh
I ran the SoCal Beast last 9 days ago. Besides the heat, it was nothing out of the ordinary as far as typical SR. I can’t think of one new obstacle. I can think of it actually being “softer” than past races. Given the heat, there were repeated email and social media warnings sent out by SR to get people to take the heat seriously, which I’ve never seen before. There were 10 water stations. 10!! And the last few had ice. Ice!! Granted, it was heavenly. And it was much needed for the masses that showed up thinking they could run it shirtless, hatless, with no hydration pack (and probably no training). So no, as far as the SoCal Beast, it was NOT too brutal, but a good race. And SR did step up, out of necessity to try and protect people from themselves and provide additional water and ice, and heat warnings. There were somewhere around 1,500 DNFs, and probably several hundred treated for head-related issues. SR canceled Sundays Sprint.. Still a little puzzling. I think they’re offering a free race to everyone in January. Again, SR is going above and beyond.
Hats off to SR for putting SAFETY above all else.
But I want races to be hard. And I want the weather to be an obstacle.
I commend the 300+ lb out of shape guy or girl, who is visibly struggling to walk the course and has no chance at completing some of the obstacles for the tenacity to STFU!! But please, get yourself in shape, take on a few “fun” OCRs and build up to SR. Putting yourself in danger just because “no one tells you what you can and can’t do” could ruin an event, and potentially risk the future of the sport. Train, come prepared, and crush the challenge.
I’m glad there is tough courses for people like me who put in the work and can handle it!!! Do a warrior dash or some other pu**y course!! Know one forced you to sign up!!! Stop crying!! I can’t wait for the ultra beast next year
if you judge a Spartan Race by whether or not you laughed or smiled during the race, it’s probably not for you.
I LOVE IT!! The course that really brings out the SPARTAN in you… I enjoyed every inch of the Wintergreen course, smiling all the way ear to ear baby! AROO!!
I conquered Wintergreen…took me 7 hours! No one can say jack crap to me…..including the soccer mom behind me in Publix! Did you conquer Wintergreen? Well I did so #stfu!
there must be something wrong with me, because I loved every step. I even laughed at myself because I knew I was grinning ear to ear. I was disappointed with my time. Didn’t go off till 3 finished at 8. Unbelievable the amount of people taking selfies on single track, standing up in the barbed wire and walking up the side, throwing 4 spears-not hitting anything and no burpees, oh and the guy who lit up a smoke halfway up the death march. I’m convinced Spartan has a growth problem. So much Facebook marketing of pretty girls and boys showing skin in mud has left a lot of people not realizing what they signed up for. At a Sprint I expect people to be surprised. I was dumbfounded when I saw it at Wintergreen. I get that everyone runs their own race and I’m tired of questioning it. I’m nowhere near elite, but It’s my goal. Props to those who do it and give it their all. But I hope more than one kid lost a phone in barbed wire crawl…oh they probably just walked around it.
I’ve completed 5-6 spartan races, and I agree with this article. I finished in the top 10% at the VT Spartan last year, and at the finish line I said… wow… what was the point of that. I know I can do it, but it took me 10-12 days to recover. I like daily exercise and the ability to walk and enjoy other things too much. I said, ‘never again’ at the time, and I stuck to it. I may do the short or intermediate length again, but never a beast. Not for me. And I heard they made it 1500 of vertical more difficult! no thanks!
Haha its a Spartan Race. That’s their thing. You want easy (ier)? Do another brand of obstacle race (or challenge). Luckily, there are enough choices for everyone. Spartan Races aren’t the toughest thing out there but it has its place at the top of ladder of your weekend event. Many people, like myself, like the brand for their consistent delivery of challenge.
If the market deems a tough event sellable, the brand should continue doing their thing – if that’s their thing. If it’s not your thing, find another brand.
I’ve only been at OCR for two years. I did my (east coast) research and I found out two things that are definite: 1) Killington is brutal, 2) Wintergreen is brutal.
Having that information readily available, and knowing my current limits, I pushed myself at other Spartan Race locations. Nothing needs to change. One season, I will do both Killington and Wintergreen. In the mean time, I look up to all of you who met the challenge. Many of us acknowledge the differences in the courses…and we say AROOO ! to those Spartans who conquered those tough courses.
JP – hit the nail on the head. I just finished my trifecta for this year but have done many spartan races and tough mudders in the last few years. The number of unprepared, untrained, egocentric people on the Killington VT Beast course was unacceptable. People crying (while sitting in the middle of a single lane trail), girls taking selfies, people screwing with their GoPros, it was ridiculous and created so many bottle necks. I’m not elite, but I could have taken 1-2 hours off my time at the Beast without the waits created by these unprepared people. Maybe Spartan needs to introduce a new wave, somewhere between Elite and Open, and you have to qualify to register in that wave by having demonstrated some level of competence at these events (I.e. Completing sprints/supers within top 10-20%). If Spartan isn’t willing to do that then they need to ensure the course is wide enough for people to pass the slower folks. And slower folks need to learn “on your left” means I’m going to pass you and I’d appreciate it if you’d move over slightly. It ain’t a diss or judgement on you, so stop taking it personally and move over. I was amazed at the number of oeople walking that heard me, saw me, and yet refused to move over!!
This was my first OCR so I don’t have anything else to compare it to. I have, however, cometed marathons, half marathons, 19mile trail races, triathlons up to half iron, etc. Was it tough? Yes. Was I fully prepared? No. Dis my research adequately prepare me as to what to expect? Yes. Did I enjoy it once I was finished? Yes. Will I do this course again? Maybe. Am I doing another Spartan? Yes, in less than 2 weeks. It seems that a lot of the complaints I see here and elsewhere are about the terrain, especially the climbs. To that I ask: what did you expect at a ski resort? It has elevation otherwise you wouldn’t ski there. To me the terrain was the obstacle, the rest were distractors.
My time wasn’t pretty but yes I finished. I was absolutely shocked at how many people were out there without so much as a gel. Seriously?? I gave away more than I consumed. I think what frustrated people more than anything was the time it took. The biggest obstacle we all must overcome is to commit to finish, regardless of the time. I ask those complaining was this the longest you have ever spent at a race? I could elaborate on previous races but it all comes down to mental fortitude. Buy the ticket take the ride.
It was everything it should have been with a twist of Mother Nature. She to had a hand in this OCR! I agree with the other Spartans, this is not your weekend warrior game, this is SPARTAN, AROO!
I cursed, I screamed, I wanted to stop, but that was no option, I came to finish! The death march was like walking death row, I remember thinking when I finally reached the top, it was a mirage, like I was in the dessert with no water! But it was real, I thought at that point, nothing could be worse, then I met THE BARB…. Finishing was nothing short of amazing and I’d do it again. In fact I’m signed up for the BEAST IN SOUTH CAROLINA IN A FEW SHORT WEEKS AROO!
If you want to smile and laugh your way to the finish line go do a color run. If you want to find out what you are made of do a spartan beast. If you find out you are made of color run material stick to that and know your place in life is not among those willing to do what it takes to be exceptional.
My God, Laura, do you want some cheese with your whine? This is Spartan, not some limp-wristed fairy prance through the mud. If you want to smile, then do Warrior Dash or Color Run or something else. Spartan is about pushing past what you think you are capable of and embracing the suck every aching step of the way.
All in all, great commentary here. I especially agree with Kevin’s assessment on 9/18. Where’s that petition to have Norm’s name changed to Virgil? I’ll totally sign it…
I just finished the SC Beast, and I can vouch for the fact that VA was way more difficult. Strangely enough, it wasn’t just the terrain that was harder. A number of the obstacles were too. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining; not by a long shot. I went into VA “prepared” based on my past experiences with the Spartan Race. I walked away from VA vowing to have my vengeance on the course next year. As Spartans, that’s what we do.
With my first Trifecta under my belt, and prior plans to move on to a more “conventional” triathlon, I now find myself making plans to conquer the Spartan circuit again next year.
If you truly embrace the Spirit of Spartan Race:
You will bruise.
You will bleed.
You will cramp.
You will feel like quitting.
But, the true Spartan will ignore all of this and dig deep to discover something feral and more powerful lurking within. Something quite uncommon.
AROO!
To the author, you end the story by writing ‘This is the first time I’ve left saying I would never go back. But man, I know I will.” You answer your own question with this statement.
Let us examine the people who didn’t finish (and not forget that over 2000 people didn’t finish in 2013 at Wintergreen, when it was 90 degrees, only two water stations and the mile-5-uphill was longer). Of those people, some will never return. They will go back to their lives, maybe do a Color Run someday to stay active. There are others who will get home and think about how they could have prepared better, what they could have done to finish, and then they will put that into action, eating better, training harder, to return the next year and accomplish what they couldn’t a year before. For those who did finish, they may return with the goal of cutting time off their previous year. All of these challenges and accomplishments have analogous application off the course. Take away the challenge and you take away the opportunity to learn and grow.
Furthermore, I’m no stellar runner, I’m usually in the lower part of the upper third of the pack. But more and more often, I’m being held back by hoardes of “weekend warriors” who are effectively not moving through the mud bogs, moving about a foot a minute under the barbed wire or through a cold water obstacle, unsure how to negotiate a rope climb or even monkey bars, taking the downhills like they are walking on shattered glass, causing back-ups and waiting that leads to cramps and other issues . Frankly, I want the course to break these people, to destroy them in the first three miles so that they DO quit and don’t come back until they are ready. There are plenty of beginner-level mud runs and OCRs that people can run to build up to bigger events like Spartan Wintergreen and Killington. Some events aren’t for everybody, it’s that simple. I have my limits too and I don’t step up to the next challange until I’ve accomplished the one below it and trained properly. But that’s my two-cents that I keep to myself when on the course, and I stop and help them through regardless, because it’s the Spartan way.
An example that disturbes me… I’d rather give someone a boost over the wall than see them use the center beams to get a step up. The center beams aren’t supposed to be used for an advantage. But at Winnsboro SC this past weekend, I offered help to a young lady who was struggling and using the center beam, but she refused the help and continued to use the beam. I don’t understand the mentality of refusing help that is within the rules (she wasn’t running elite) yet cheating on the obstacle.
[…] author and regular competitor in obstacle course races said after competing in her Super, “The medical tents were kept busy all day with injuries that varied from lacerations and ankle sprain… […]