Spartan Race obstacle races, mud run, and OCR information, distance, cost, dates, calendar, discounts, obstacles, reviews, and more

I can only give this race a three star. This was my second time around, the first race was in Temecula, CA sprint. Awesome course, no complaints. This year it was held at Pala which was like hell on earth. Even though it was over 100 degrees and out of everyone's control, not having enough water was a huge problem. People were passing out, throwing up and having serious medical issues. Not having enough water is a huge problem. The course itself was not great. I wasn't impressed at all. And who picked Pala? There was not one single tree to rest in the shade for a few minutes and there the mud obstacle was not until the very end. It would have been great to have some sort of water obstacle in the beginning, or maybe a hose to cool everyone down? Very disappointed in this event. I spent over $100.00 and will not be returning to Pala. Horrible venue and a lot of people are in agreement here.

Palmerton never dissapoints

Palmerton Super is a must for Spartans who want to test their limits. It was a brutal course due to steep climbs, heavy carries up and down the trails and of course the heat! The course was packed with obstacles including their newest rope climb to monkey bars over water obstacle. The only complaint I had was the bottle necking caused by the water stations. I don't wear a hydration pack but many others do.They were told at most stations that they couldn't fill up their packs directly. But, they could do so by using a cup. It didn't make much sense and caused problems. Events on hot days like these need bigger, better prepared water stations. Come on Spartan!

Beautiful Race, Poorly Managed, Worst Customer Service Ever

I've run the full trifecta both years they brought it to Hawaii. The course is beautiful (it's Hawaii, duh), but that's about the extent of the positives. The course set up and management is poor - no variety in obstacles, too few water stations, and really barely enough obstacles to meet the minimum Spartan race requirements for each distance. The "festival" grounds are poorly supported and set up. The first year they had maybe one food truck and ran out of water both on the course and at the finish, and couldn't even be bothered to get a liquor license for beer trucks. The second year, maybe 3 food trucks, still no beer, and the beast course was so poorly managed that racers waited on the trail up the ridge for 45 min+ to go about a mile. This is the third year they are holding it, they doubled the prices (which is unlikely to result in any improvements) and made the registration 100X more complicated. When I made an honest mistake and registered for the 2 longest distance races on the same day, I immediately (within 10 minutes) reached out to their customer support team, asking that they please shift my registration for one race to the next day (since I obviously can't complete both of those races in one day). Instead of actually making any sort of attempt to help me, I was brushed off and told that I would have to pay an extra fee to have my registration moved to a different day. While I understand that Spartan Race Hawaii can't move people between races on a whim if people change their minds about what day to race, the fact that they absolutely REFUSED to help me with my registration mistake when I had already paid over $200 to race with them, is just criminal. If I wasn't already registered, I absolutely would not be racing with them this year. I will never again recommend that any of my friends support Spartan Race Hawaii.

Great First Spartan Race

Course was difficult, but fair. Enjoyed the challenges. Extreme hills on second half of race were difficult due to rain the day before, but great atmosphere and everyone was in good spirits. Will continue to come back to Ohio Spartan Race and plan to compete in Beast next year!

First Beast Complete

This race offered a plethora of obstacles, heavily wooded trails, lots of mud, and excellent weather. I would have enjoyed it more if I had signed up for the competitive group vice open group. Also, I started at 1145 and ended up stuck behind lots of walkers which made it difficult to navigate around on the narrow trails.

The only drawback I had was the spectator pass area was really small. I was really hoping that the ski lift would be open so the spectators could see the racers at the summit. I guess I was spoiled at the Blue Mountain Spartan Super.

Overall, a great time, a great workout, and some breath taking views.

Less muck more obstacles

I have completed two sprints in Washougal WA that were great. From the way cool slip in slide to the rope climb. Both events were great muddy fun.
In Snohomish for 8 miles of muck not as fun. There were two muddy hill climbs that caused the "race" to come to a complete crawl. At least 16 people in my view lost both shoes. Now this is 4 miles into a race in the woods. SUCKS!!! There can be challenging hill and muddy climbs, but these two were fun sucking literally.
I had high hopes as wanted to do the trifecta. Not sure I want to complete again at this location. More real obstacles and less boring, crawling, crying, pits of sludge.
Please Spartans, make the obstacles better at this location. I would love to complete this again. Without having to go through quick sand for 45 minutes. Really takes the race out of the race.

It's not supposed to be easy

It seems like some people come to these events looking for luxury. I can tell you first hand that if you race in any spartan event you will find anything but that. I raced in the Pennsylvania super in 2015 and it was brutal. I have always been an active person but this race really pushed my limits. The obsticals were all challanging in their own way and took more than strength to complete.

They seemed to set up the race in a way that purposly pushed you to work harder. If there happened to be large boulders to the left and a clear path to the right they would make you run the boulders. I remember vividly grinding my sun-burnt shoulders into the gravel just to geth through the low-hanging barbed wire. Like i said, this race is anything but luxurious. IF you can finish you will feel like there is nothing in your way.

Happy racing folks
Aroo

I'm Hooked

A friend of mine asked me to run The PA Spartan Super with him. He said it would be fun. I gladly accepted despite never running an obstacle race before.

I must admit, I was doing fitness all wrong... Up until this point I was only running road races (everything from 5ks to Marathons). I had branched out to Ragnars but never had I run a race like this.

The Spartan race was amazing. I loved tapping into the inner beast mode and the course supported runners of all types. Plus they gave away some pretty good swag!

I learned a lot about what I was NOT training for as well. All of the obstacles required different skills and all had various degrees of difficulty. It was challenging and reminded me of playing in an adult sized playground.

I recommend this race to anyone who has a pulse! All you need is to release the beast inside!

Next up Tri-State Spartan Beast

Make Your Weakness Your Next Obstacle to Overcome

With the nickname 'Honey Badger", it is obvious that when it comes to a challenge, I am all in. After finishing the Summer Death Race, I became addicted to Endurance racing and what the human body was capable of doing when all you have is your physical and mental strength to get you thru. The Spartan Hurricane Heats are meant to do just that, challenge you mentally and physically...but they really do so much more than that.
Temecula HH12H was to be my second attempt at the 12 Hour event. After failing to meet the time hack at the one in Dallas, I had to complete this one! I was ready, I was familiar with Kyoul Cha who would be leading the class of HH12HR-016. When you sign up for these races, you do your research. You join the Facebook page to ask questions and watch for clues...you ask questions on the Facebook page!
This events gear list consisted of a Ruck, water supply, all food you would need, a multi tool, duck tape, a towel, reflective vest, sharpie, 12 X 12 board attached to a 3 ft stake, washers, rope, headlamp, 15 lbs of extra weight (I used 3 5lb weights) and a 22 gallon wash tub. You immediately start thinking..."what in the world am I going to use the wash tub for?" This is apart of HH....not knowing what your gear will be used for, but thinking ahead so that you are prepared for whatever!
You are given specific details on when to arrive, and not to be late...If you are late...it is not good for anyone. From previous HH's, I had learned that even if you are on time, you are punished for the late comers....if they have to do 30 burpees for every minute they were late...The rest of the group may get to stand at "rest" in a squat position. Your mind quickly goes into disliking late-comers and secretly plotting how to hide their body later...but this is one of the ways of the HH...tear you down as a team to break you. On Sunday, January 31, we arrived at 6:15 am like we were told. I immediately can see who the newbies are and who the veterans are. We wait for everyone to arrive. Kyoul calls to check us in...then the questions begin. Rule #1 in HH....DONT ASK QUESTIONS!! This is a hard task for those that have trouble keeping their sarcastic comments to themselves. Kyoul yells for us to line up in single file and follow him. He and Cookie are to be our Cadres for this day. We arrive at "The Nest" where we are told to line up our tubs and signs in an organized line. This is where chaos starts. At these events...you will have the natural leader that immediately starts barking out orders and expects everyone to follow. You also have those that don't seem to hear a single instruction being given...but you have to work as a team and figure it out!
We are lined up and told to head down to the water. It was about 44 degrees at 7 am, with a mist. There are 33 of us lined up side by side, then told to take several steps back until we are calf deep in freezing cold water. We were introduced to the hydroburpee...doing 5 of them per minute for 60 minutes....yes , that was an hour of burpees in freezing water! During this time, I see a man running down the hill with his sign, gear and tub, heading for the Nest. Several of us let out a "you gotta be freaking kidding me" groan! This was Mr. Un-Lucky late person. Remember, I said when you are late, the whole team suffers. Mr. Unlucky got to stand on the nice dry land and help instruct us as a team to pick up a telephone pole, walk back into the water, and do hydro squats. Then he had to guide us up a hill as a team with the pole and to tabata squats, then back down the hill for more hydro squats! Remember, there are 33 of us...all different sizes and strengths. All holding this giant telephone pole on our shoulders while we are squatting, using each other for support. This...is teamwork! You want to complain, you want to quit...but you don't. It hurts and sux, but it is a good hurt! At each rest you realize that your body can handle it!
Once we were allowed to place the telephone back on the ground, we were back in the water for more hydro burpees. You will always have different people in your group...the late ones, the captains that try and take charge, the knowitalls that have done every single HH, and then the comedians. Well, our comedian decided to yell out ask Kyoul to run out and get us all some donuts. Enter the rolling eyes and groaning of the team here. As a reward for the question, we all got to go back to the telephone pole, carry it into the water around a tree then back to its exact position. The yelling starts, but you also have those that step up as a leader to help instruct the team and get the task done.
We were back in the water, but this time we had to get a rock and hold it over our heads. Kyoul thought that we had an issue as a team being in sync with each other. Our task was to do 25 hydroburpees with our rocks, all at the same time. For each one we did out of sync, our count started over at 1. This was a really great team challenge. Several people shouted out trying to get everyone on the same page, and I was surprised how quickly we picked a leader to go to the front of the group and lead us in synchronized hydroburpees. This is harder than it seems. 33 people, who have been in freezing water for 2 hours, numb and shaking, all having to count 1,2,3 up all in sync was a sight. Needless to say, the 25 burpees took us about an hour and 15 minutes to complete!
The next task was a team game called "It pays to be the winner". We were divided up and told to tie our legs and arms to another person. Each team of 2 had to do a bear crawl up a hill, then squats down all while tied together. What made this hard, was being in the waiting line. We were all freezing. I was paired with a guy 3 times my size and found myself snuggled up under his arm doing everything I could to stay warm. Next thing I knew, there were 5 of us huddled together banking on body heat to save us until it was our turn up the hill. Teams took longer than expected because they would not work together, or try and go to fast and their towels would keep coming undone. The entire time, all I could think about was what was the point of all of this. It was very simple...Kyoul knew what he was teaching us. One word he repeated several times, teamwork. He never raised his voice. He didn't demean us or make us feel like we were failing. He just kept giving us those subtle hints our frozen minds could not seem to understand, that if we took the time to work together, things would work out better!
Our friendly competition turned into a towel off! If you know anything about Kyoul, he loves his towels! We paired up facing our partners, holding one towel out in front of us as we each did a squat called a "Partner iron Chair". We held this into a position side by side and called it the "Tunnel of love" taking turns doing bear crawls up under the tunnel of towels, then regaining our position, holding the squat until our entire team went thru a few times, with Kyoul finishing off the last run filming his entire way thru.
He then instructed us "Your teams have 60 seconds to choose your strategy wisely". That was it..what did that mean? I somehow was face to face with that same 6'4 massive dude that was 3 times my size. Once we were paired Kyoul repeated, I chose you to choose wisely...I knew I was in trouble. Our next task, Muay Tai Plank Arm Wrestling. I knew I screwed up choosing my partner. He would have me down in and arm wrestle in seconds! Turns out, he didn't! We got down in a plank position, and with both of our right arms extended and not bended, we had to use our strength to push the other one over. I had a simple strategy, hold perfectly still and make him work! That is exactly what my partner did! He strained and strained pushing against my arm to make me fall, and I just held my plank. I was able to wear him down by doing nothing! I eventually lost my plank position and fell to ground, but the look on the other guys exhausted face was priceless! This is one thing I have learned in endurance events...it is not always about how strong or big you are, it is sometimes all about how well you can manage your mental state and though. 95% of these races are mental, if you get that, you are ready to compete in and endurance event!
We all did this back and forth with losers battling losers in different challenges. Eventually, all of the "losing team" had to make a giant circle with each of us holding our towels out to each other by their tips. The "Winning" team and to get on all 4's and assume a bear crawl position. The circle team was then instructed to get into a squat position and hold it, using the towels as leverage between each other, until the bear crawlers made a complete circle around us. All of this was tiring, but honestly it was fun! you find out more about your physical strength and capabilities in challenges like these, and you make a mental note in your head about what you need to do to be better at them for next time.
Now came the time I was dreading, the time hack. I had failed this at the previous 12 hour. This defeated me...It was not because of my lack of grit or perseverance, it was because I sucked at reading a map. I look over and see Cookie getting out maps...crap. We were told to use only the materials in our rucks and assemble a sled that we could use to drag behind us to 4 different checkpoints, fining our item, and then returning back to check in. We were not allowed to use our actual rucks, but had to empty everything out and put it in our trash bag, then put it in our tubs. It was still raining out, so everything was getting soaked. I pulled out my hydration pack, all my food and gear and my 3 5lb weights and threw them in, then ran my rope thru one of the pre-made holes in my tub, wrapped the rope twice around my waist, then knotted it 3 times and took off. All of my strength is in my core and legs, so this was a great technique for me. I was able to run while dragging the tub of gear behind me. My first goal was to go to point B, I had looked at the map and made sure I had focal points that were obstacles from the race so that I did not get lost. We were heading against the flow of Sprint racers, heading up a narrow rocky path, it was really difficult trying to go as fast as I could, while dragging the gear and say "excuse me! Sorry! Please excuse the tub of weights!" as I would run into racers. Several times I heard "Oh Crap, is this part of the race?!" I saw one of my fellow Death Racers Patrick, up ahead and started running as fast as I could to catch him. I made it to checkpoint B right as he did. Patrick is a veteran at these races, I knew if I just stuck with him as long as I could, I would make it! There were a pile of wood planks we had to rummage thru each with B and a number next to it on them. We were each given a number at the start of the hunt and told to remember them. Mine was 3. I found my plank, threw it in my tub and we headed back down the mountain to the Nest. On our way back, we passed fellow HHers heading up a different part of the mountain. Turns out, it was a lot easier than the way we came the first time! Going down hill was so much easier than up, I hauled as fast as I could and made it to the Nest as the first person to check in. Patrick and I reviewed the map again and came up with a plan, we would have to go back up the mountain even further to checkpoint D, passing C on the way and checking out what the item was. The wood plank was not very heavy, so going up the mountain again, now knowing an easier way that would avoid all the racers, was still an easy task. The rope was cinching tighter and tighter around my waist, but when you are focused on getting something done, you ignore pain and push harder. I kept thinking to myself, "I am going to have some sweet bruises tomorrow and possibly not be able to bend over or eat, but I will be a 12 hour finisher!" The rain kept coming, and then the chill wind made it feel like Mother nature was trying to push me to break. I had this feeling once before at Death Race...when you are so focused on one thing, but then it seems like there is that little devil on your shoulder hinting at all the negative things to make you quit..."Why are you doing this? This is too hard. It is ok if you quit, it is raining and cold, people will understand"...But I have found that I have an attitude with myself and every time I think of quitting, I decide that I would rather pass out and be pulled from the course and wake up in a hospital knowing I gave it my all, than having to face people and tell them I gave up.
On the way to checkpoint D, I met up with another HH female that was totally beasting her tub, dragging it over her shoulder. We talked for a bit, motivating each other as we arrived to pick up our next token...a sand bag. Yay, more weight added to my tub! I threw it in and we started the what seemed to be 2 mile treck back up, down, up down the mountain to the nest. At this point I started slowing down...my tub just became heavier and heavier. I look back and see that my sand bag has exploded and my tub was full of wet sand. It had seeped into my trash bag covering all of my food and my hydration pack. I was frustrated, and was afraid to empty any of it out because I did not want to "cheat" by getting rid of weight. Everyone started passing me, I felt great and strong, but was just struggling. Why was my tub so heavy?? I had stopped to re-fuel and a fellow HH'er came up to me. I told him my sandbag exploded and all of my gear was covered in it. He looked at my tub and said, "um, I think you have a hole in your tub." Sure enough, the bottom of my tub had worn down and there was a fist sized hole in the bottom. As I had been dragging it, sand and rocks had been getting in, adding about 40 extra lbs to my tub in addition to my gear, plank and sand bag. Well crap. What do I do now. All I could do was laugh and try and figure it out. You have to do this in these events. Remember that ANYTHING can happen out of your control. It is pointless to get mad, you just need to remember that the Cadre's probably thought of this and had prepared you with what you needed to get thru. I dumped my tub, cleaning out all of the caked in wet sand. Emptying my now torn trash bag with all of my gear ruined inside. The volunteer was talking with me and started taking pictures of my "Tub repair" to post on instagram. I realized later after seeing the picture that I am not much of a boyscout when it comes to repairs. I was using my duct tape to try and patch the hole. The sandy, wet hole.....needless to say, the tape was not sticking. So realizing that I was wasting time, I shoved my towel in the hole, piled my weights on top, then added the sandbag on top of that hoping it would by me some time, and off I was. I immedieatey knoticed the difference in weight and was able to speed up, catching some of the teammates that had passed me. On the way, one by one I saw others who had huge holes in their tubs, doing what they could to fix them. I gave ideas as to how I fixed mine. We would vent together, or laugh it off and say "we payed for this!" commenting on how worse the weather was getting. I still had the mission to finish and make the time hack. When I made it back to the nest, I was still in good standings. The Cadre's do not tell you when the time hack is over. Cookie was there checking us in. I loved that he had such a great sense of humor. When you are at a low point and struggling, it is always great to have someone share in your humor or make light of this situation other than telling you you will fail or talking down to you. I checked in, and went back out to checkpoint C. I saw Patrick coming back down and was mad at myself for getting so far behind him. I told him about my hole, (the one in my tub), and told him that I would catch up to him! In these events, you become torn between wanting to help your fellow team mates, and remembering that when it is a time hack, you have to be every man for yourself. My natural nature is to stop and help people. I am well known for this lol. Several times I would start to stop and help others, giving them ideas on how to re-adjust their ropes or gear to make the trek easier. Then you hear the voice again, "Hurry the eff up or you will miss the cut off". Things did not get easier. I put the sandbag on my back to help me be able to move faster, but at this point, my lower body was completely numb. I couldn't feel my legs or feet, I knew they were still there and working, so was ok with not feeling anything. My lower back was killing me and the rope had cinched my waist so tight that I would have to keep stopping to adjust it to breath. In my head, I am taking in all of my weaknesses and plotting on how I will work on these in the future. I need more upper body strength and obviously need to do every single work out from now on with 70lbs tied around my waist! When I finally made it to the Nest, I had one more checkpoint to go! A was about a mile away and I knew I had to cross a muddy, knee deep bog in order to get there. With the weight of the two 30lb sandbags that were now probably about 50lbs each since they were soaked in rain, my gear, weights, food and access mud and rocks I kept picking up thru my now plate sized hole in my tub...I was dragging over 120lbs in a tub tied with a thin rope around my waist. 10 minutes into the trek I see Patrick, I was so happy because I knew he was going to make the time hack and I was so close behind him! He told me how far I needed to go and where to cross on the bog to get to the next mountain to get to the last checkpoint. I was exhausted and at this point, I was so excited about making the time hack that I wasn't eating or drinking, just going. It had been 3 and half hours since starting this scavenger hunt. Once I reached the bog, my spirits went way down. If you have ever seen The Never Ending Story, imagine the scene where Atreyu is trying to cross the quick sand with his horse Artax? That was me...but the tub of gear was my horse and instead of yelling out "ARTAX!" I was calling my tube obscenities. The half mile to the mountain probably took me 45 minutes. I was starting to cry randomly, so mad that I did not feel strong enough to drag my tub thru the bog while sinking in. I tried taking out the sandbags and carrying them both on my shoulders and back, but with the freezing wind and trying to steady my core while sinking, I kept falling over. There were not other racers coming back from checkpoint A or heading behind me. I kept looking over at the Nest, seeing no-one, so I had hope and kept pushing myself. I finally made it to the top, I saw about 20 other blocks of wood! I found mine and headed back as fast as I could. The elements were still against me, and at this point I kept thinking people were following me and watching me. I finally made it back thru the bog where I could see racers in the Sprint again. I was so close to being done, I looked over to the Nest which was about 150yards away. I collapsed...there in the nest was a group of about 7 our 8 HH'ers ,heading off in a line. I knew I had missed the time hack. I asked one of the racers running by what time it was...it was 3:11. I was so close. I sat there in the mud ready to give up, leave all my gear and walk back. But that is not me, I knew I still had to finish. I had collected all 4 of my tokens and was going to make it back to the Nest no matter what. As I stood up, I fell down. I couldn't seem to get coordinated enough to keep my balance. Racers going by tried to help me asking if I was ok. I remember not being able to answer them and feeling like I was drunk. I think I even screamed at one person to not touch my stuff because I could not have any help! With every ounce of anger in me, I drug, pushed and threw that stupid tub towards the nest. My hips, thighs and stomach hurt so bad from the rope being tied so tight around them for 4 hours that I had to unwravel them and wrapped each rope several times around my wrists, walking backwards and pulling the tub of gear one side at a time. This 150 yard distance, took me 45 minutes. Just to get to the Nest. I remember being so happy I made it, but I had already known I missed the time hack. There was guy there with his tub, already preparing his things to go home. I remember walking up and two of the volunteers approached me asking if I was ok, and that is all I remember. I woke up once in a car with people yelling around me trying to help, then remember a guy picking me up out of the car and running, carrying me to a truck. I kept apologizing because "I'm sorry" seemed to be the only words I could cognitively think of. My teeth were chattering so bad I knocked out one of my crowns. My hands were shaking so bad that I kept hitting things around me, everything was out of my control. The medic driving the truck took off, speeding across the race course to get me to the med tent. Once there, he rushed me in to where there were more staff that carried me and put me on a bed. I remember being wrapped in foil and being undressed. At one point, a guy was at my feet and said "Ma'am, we need to cut off your pants". Funny enough, I screamed "NOOO" and kicked off everyone around me, because I was wearing brand new $70 race pants lol! They let me take them off and continued to undress me. I was still shaking so bad. Everyone was asking me questions and I could not answer. The tent was full of people wrapped in foil! Remember that comedian from the beginning of the HH12H? Well, he happened to be there. He ran over to me recognizing me trying to warm me up. I was completely naked, wrapped in foil and blankets, just sitting there with people asking me questions and all I could think about was how was I going to get warm again! Finally, thanks to the AMAZING HH volunteers that helped me at the Nest, they got word to a friend of mine who got my dry clothes and found me in the med tent!
What did I learn from all of this? That no matter how well I prepare, no matter how hard I train, there will always be the possibility of something that could make me fail a race! There are things you can control, and things you cannot. All you can do is learn from each experience and be better prepared for next time. I also discovered that once you have had hypothermia, you are prone to it again in conditions of 35 degrees or less environments. I also learned how to better read my body and what exactly I needed to be more aware of in order to be able to keep doing these races, but also staying healthy. The Cadres all along prepare you for what you need. They have your safety always first! It is up to you to know when you need real help and be honest with them about it. The human body is amazing. I am only 135lbs and maintained 9 hours of intense strength, mental and physical challenges. I truly believe that the mind can push your body further than you physically think it can. I am living proof. I will take this DNF as just another lesson. I was ashamed at first. Disappointed in myself, but I quickly got over that and started planning my next endurance race. My goal is to be the first female to complete the entire Spartan Delta in one year. This was just step one. I am in no way planning on quitting. The year has just started and I learn with each race what I am capable of. I am so thankful to Spartan and the men and women that come up with these endurance races. I believe anyone can finish. I believe that everyone can fail. It is what you do with the failures that make you a better human being. Figure out your failures, and make them your next obstacle.

What race?

Drove two hours waited in line three hours all the start times for the events had passed. Turned around and drove two hours home. Apparently parking is a recurring problem at your venues. Figure it out already. Mother Nature was a factor, but if you need to improve the parking area, do it. While forecasting the weather is not an exact science, it still helps you see what's coming. This wasn't a surprise. This review should actually read as minus one to represent all those who spent big money to fly in and did' get to race.