Among the myriad of races and mud runs that took place over the weekend, a few stood out from the rest. The two race series that people were talking about were Spartan Race and BattleFrog. Spartan Race hosted several races over the weekend in four different countries, but it was the races in the US that got all the attention.
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BattleFrog Chicago
Ryan Atkins continued his obstacle racing dominance in Chicago over the weekend at the latest Battlefrog race. He and his fiance once again took the wins in both the elite male and female divisions. The course itself was a muddy fair made extra muddy with recent rainfall and participants battled through the course.
Atkins would take first place for men in 1:50:50 followed by Viktor II Alexy in 1:54:07, and Josh Zwonitzer would take third place in 1:56:59. On the women's side it would be Lindsay Webster in 2:16:19 taking first place with Corinna Coffin second at 2:21:40, and Rose Wetzel would round out the podium with a time of 2:33:20. Full Results Here.
Also from BattleFrog –
If you have qualified for the 2015 BattleFrog Series Championship at a BattleFrog event this year, check your inbox NOW! Elite registration is live for those of you who have already qualified thru a BattleFrog event only…all other worldwide qualifiers, stay tuned tomorrow for a major announcement on how and when you can register!
Spartan Race
Over the weekend, Spartan Race put on five races in four countries. Arguably it was Killington, Vermont and Fort Bragg, North Carolina that got all the attention. The Fort Bragg sprint race was highlighted by Operation Enduring Warrior sending a large number of participants to run the event together. Notable in this group was Noah Galloway and Joe De Sena himself donning an OEW shirt. The group ran an emotional event, and all who witnessed it saw the courage of those from OEW. Full results from the Fort Bragg Sprint and Parent Race are available here.
In Killington, Vermont the reactions were mixed as participants exited the mountain. Killington, Vermont is home to the first Spartan Race Beast distance and only miles down the road from the original Spartan Race headquarters. Weeks before the event the race was changed from an average Beast/Ultra Beast weekend into a founders race. Founders races often include more organic obstacles and more natural terrain as opposed to largely built obstacles. However, it was not the course that drew most of the attention but issues with water, finisher medal shortages, and lines. To this Joe De Sena left Fort Bragg and recorded this message below and quickly posted it on Facebook. Full results from the Spartan Race Beast, Ultra Beast, and Sprint are available here.
Joe Addresses Spartan Race IssuesHey Spartans – Joe De Sena here. This weekend saw 5 races in 4 countries. But when I heard about the issues we were having in Killington, I immediately left the Ft. Bragg race to come deal with it personally. The issues in water, medals and lines are unacceptable and I'm going to work with the Spartan team to make sure it never happens again. And don't think we aren't listening to the complaints – I love hearing them! And as anyone who knows me can attest, I want to hear them personally so I can respond. Email me at joe@spartan.com with your feedback. This was a massive weekend for Spartans but I won't rest until we learn from our mistakes and come back stronger. – Joe
Posted by Spartan Race on Sunday, September 20, 2015
It’s a bit funny/sad hearing people complaining about not getting their shiny little Trifecta medal the day they completed it. If you’ve completed a Trifecta, shouldn’t you be a bit grittier than having to whine about not getting your medal immediately? I don’t really have a lot of sympathy about the water issues either. Come prepared, be self sufficient. Need a foot massage and breakfast provided beforehand too? Jeez.
I was there on Saturday and I assure you the water issues were pretty severe. With the high temp that day people were having to drink a LOT of water. I had a 3 liter pack and needed to refill towards the end. The issue is that for a 14-mile (16 with loops I hear) there were not enough stations, and not nearly enough water available at them, some stations did not allow replenishment of hydration packs.
Now the volunteers were doing their best, but whomever was in overall charge should be fired. There was one point about oh 3/4 the way thru, where there was a half-hour line to refill packs, i bypassed that and just got a cup or 2, but even that took 10 minutes in line to get, there were 2 volunteers and 2 water jugs they had to fill with a hose.. for Spartan race, and having 5,500 people there… that’s inexcusable.