On June 8th, 2019 Spartans gathered to take on the Spartan Beast (or Ultra) in Garrettsville, Ohio. For the second year, Spartans were welcomed to trek through 1,500 acres of backwoods, technical terrain, and miles of mud at the Southington Off-Road Park.
Memorial Day Mayhem is a local OCR event that takes place at the Black Diamond Obstacle Course in Columbus, OH. Designed by Jason Goggins, the Black Diamond Obstacle Course has been repeatedly nominated for best OCR training facility by the Mud Run Guide “Muddies” awards. The race is enjoyable, affordable, and is an accessible, yet challenging event that proves to hold its own in the OCR community and reminds us of the benefits of racing local.
On March 16, 2019, I traveled to the Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Kentucky to run my first ever Terrain Race. Backstory I’ll admit that prior to the event, I was leery of the Terrain Race series - my skepticism stemming from participant complaints that emerged during the 2018 season, some of which included: inconsistent timing [...]
On September 22, 2018, I ran the Spartan Super at the Michigan International Speedway. This was the second year that Spartan held an event at this venue and the weekend consisted of a Super, Sprint, and Kids Race. (I’ll focus on the Super specifically for my review).
On July 7th, 2018 I traveled to Lawrenceburg, Indiana to run the Spartan Sprint. The event was held at Perfect North Slopes, where Spartan has consistently held their Indiana event for the past few years. Typically a winter hot spot for Midwest snowboarders and skiers, Perfect North Slopes provided a hilly yet fast venue for the summer Spartan race.
On June 16th, 2018 I traveled to Oak Harbor, Ohio to take on the Black Swamp Dash. Founded, built, and run by husband and wife, Troy and Sandy Anthony, the Black Swamp Dash is an impressive local race series.
On June 3rd, 2018 racers gathered to take on the Spartan Sprint in Garrettsville, Ohio. The event was held at the Southington Off-Road Park, where Spartan was welcomed to host the first ever obstacle course race on the premises. With 1,500 acres of backwoods, the Southington Off-Road Park provided a very flat, yet technical terrain with miles of mud along the trails.
For many Americans, Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer – a day to honor military heroes and to celebrate a new season with barbeques and beach trips. But, on May 28th, 2018 while others were enjoying a relaxing day off of work, Midwest obstacle course enthusiasts gathered in Columbus, Ohio to take on the Memorial Day Mayhem.
On Saturday, April 28th, 2018 racers stood at the start line of the inaugural Spartan Tri-State Ultra event. The race was held at a venue familiar to Spartan, Mountain Creek Resort in Vernon, New Jersey. However, many participants agree that the course was more challenging and demanding than the 2017 design.
Inside the largest YMCA in the country, nearly 100 participants were led by SGX-certified coaches Andi Hardy and Dustin Webb through a two-hour body weight workout. Andi and Dustin were also assisted by fellow SGX-certified coaches – Katie Powell, Patrick Harner, and Tom Burns - as well as by members of the Spartan Street Team and Brand Ambassadors during the event.
