The Snowcapped Mountains of Åre, Sweden to Host the Third-Annual “Spartan Ultra World Championship” 24-Hour Obstacle Course Race
World’s Largest Obstacle Course Race and Endurance Brands Brings the Word’s Most Challenging OCR Event to the Alpine Heart of Scandinavia November 9-10
Åre, Sweden (February 7, 2019) – Spartan, the world’s largest obstacle course race (OCR) and endurance brand, will bring the third annual “Spartan Ultra World Championship” to the picturesque mountain village of Åre, Sweden November 9-10, 2019. Combining the beauty of the Scandinavian country with the grit of Spartan, the 24-hour endurance event will test the world’s best athletes as they face harsh winter conditions, high elevations and miles of technical terrain, just 350km below the Arctic Circle. As in the first two editions of the Spartan Ultra World Championship—held in Iceland—competitors in Åre can expect full-spectrum extremes of Mother Nature’s beauty and fury.
“The Spartan Ultra World Championship is the most difficult endurance event on the planet. Åre will feature all the conditions of the course in Iceland with added elevation and the element of the unknown, creating a more challenging event for racers,” said Spartan Founder and CEO Joe De Sena. “We’re going to push athletes further than we ever have before and I can’t wait to watch the action unfold.”
Location
Hosted by Åre Ski Area, the historic mountain village is an adventure seeker’s dream destination, next door to the birthplace of Spartan’s official performance apparel and footwear partner, Craft Sportswear. The internationally renowned ski destination is also home to the Alpine Skiing FIS World Championship, one of ski racing’s biggest events.
Course
The 2019 Spartan Ultra World Championship will challenge the mental and physical capacities of racers as they compete on a looped course with more than 20 obstacles for a 24-hour period. The ultra-endurance race is fully gated at the elite and age-group levels, with only 300 total spots available to qualified racers. The male and female athletes who complete the most laps in the 24-hour time period will be crowned champions, with the top 10 competitors in each gender category sharing close to $36,000 in prize money. The Ultra World Championship is also the final event of Spartan’s Million Dollar World Championship bonus system, which will return with new criteria for the 2019 season. Details will follow at a later date.
Qualifying
To qualify as an elite, racers must finish top 10 in the men’s and women’s elite categories and top three in their gender for age groups via one of Spartan’s 18 regular season “Spartan Ultra” events across the globe, and a roll-down system takes effect should spaces remain available. Open category racers may freely register without prior qualification and can choose to complete the minimum Spartan Ultra distance of 50-km to earn a finisher’s medal. A one-loop “Spartan Sprint” is open to racers of all skill levels, age 14 and up.
Spartan events focus on sport, athleticism and transformation, pushing the bodies and minds of competitors to the limit across miles of unforgiving terrain while they conquer signature obstacles such as the Spear Throw, Bucket Brigade and Barbed Wire Crawl.
To learn more about Spartan events and save up to 50% on registration, check out Mud Run Guide's Spartan Pass
About Spartan
With more than 250 events across more than 40 countries on six continents, Spartan is the world’s largest obstacle race (OCR) and endurance brand. Providing transformation through sport, Spartan attracts more than one million annual participants across all fitness levels, from beginners to elite. More than five million participants have finished Spartan events, creating a lifestyle that extends beyond races including health and wellness products, training and nutrition programs, and popular media content, which has made OCR one of the fastest growing sports in the world. Spartan events feature races at various distances: Stadion and Sprint, 3-mile/5-km and 20 Obstacles; Super, 8-mi/13-km and 25 Obstacles; Beast, 13-mi/21-km and 30 Obstacles; and Ultra, 30-mi/50-km and 60 obstacles. Visit spartan.com for more information and registration.
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