Running the Spartan Sprint Race builds more than a ‘win’
How I got into it
Upon the suggestion of a friend and fitness enthusiast, I joined our team about three months prior to the event. This was an adventure I had not really contemplated, other than watching it on TV, and knowing that I would have to prepare, train and plan to qualify for a Spartan Race (the television series). It was something that I would have to carve out lots of time for training, and at the moment it was not an option (still isn’t…lol).
Then the race happened
Last Sunday I ran the Spartan Race Sprint with a team of three other women. The four of us had never run a Spartan Race, however, two of us are fitness trainers/martial artists, and the other two are fitness enthusiasts.
When this opportunity was presented to me, I researched, and discovered that it was a ‘Sprint’ type race. IOW, it was much shorter, and less time involved than the longer Spartan races. The best part, is that it was for people who had never done the Spartan Race. Sort of a touch-toes-into-water type of event.
Would it be a true challenge?
Still, I should’ve known it would be challenging. Most probably, I already knew that. Spartan races are designed to challenge everyone at every level. My decision was to do it, as challenges are a way for me to see how far I’m willing to go. OK, actually, I love them!
This is how it went down:
In order to even get in the start line at the gate, we had to get over a wall. Not too bad…sort of easy-peasy for most humans. A few people needed help getting over, and others were more than willing to help.
Our first obstacle was the mud-pit. If you weren’t careful, you could easily sink one or both feet up to your knees in this thick quick-mud. People lost shoes, socks, and who knows what else attempting to get thru that. I made sure to avoid the center as it appeared to be the deepest (although people’s feet were sinking in different parts of the pit).
Then we hit the murky water, given that it’s dark brown liquid, and that’s how we are supposed to ‘rinse off’ after the mud-pit…lol. Mud is inside our shoes, coating our socks (if we’re lucky enough to still have them on), and when we ‘rinse,’ the murky water goes up our legs at least to the knees. For some people, the water goes deeper.
Sorta kinda this is what we did
The exact order of how we ran this is quite accurate, however it’s not really relevant to getting thru each particular obstacle, which has its own challenges.
We climbed hill after (steep) hill. Most people walked them, as you truly needed leg strength to be able to run these hills. My training and instructing at the studio allowed me to jog up some of the steep ones (yep, I passed a lot of walkers much younger than me!).
Most people crawled under the barbed wire (twice). Sometimes rolling under it as in a barrel roll, was the best option. Bear crawling also worked, as did walking on all fours. Then came more hill-climbing.
Oh what a surprise
At the top of that hill, here comes another ‘wall.’ OK, many needed assistance from other Spartans, as it was a 4″x4″ beam anchored about 6 feet high. No supporting wall, just the 4×4 to get over. Challenging for sure, as our feet/legs had nowhere to go except swing about in the air. Another hill climb came next. Every time we climed another hill we could see the runners in front of us. They looked like ants.
Monkey bars showed up just over the next ridge. These were a real disadvantage for those with small hands, as the diameter of the bars were 2.5” – 3”…easy enough to grab, not easy to hold as small hands slipped easily. Without a firm grip, we were just not having these—I kept slipping off (time for 30 burpees).
We tackled weighted sacks (belt part goes around the neck and both sacks hang in front of the body. These weighed about 30 lbs each for a total of 60 lbs. Legwork was on fire as we walked uphill about 200 yards and walked back down; then we take them off any which way we release them. Yeah, people’s bodies did weird things to get them off lol. Our next obstacle was— wait for it…another steep hill.
Did we think we were done with walls?
No one was even close to being done with walls, as these are now even higher than the first ones. And there are two walls, almost back to back, for this obstacle. So many of us needed assistance getting over these high walls. How do we get help? Let’s just say ur fella Spartans had to put hands on butts and push us up so we could get at least one leg over. Everyon was ok with that!
Oh the rocks…
Next up was a ‘bucket o’rocks.’ The bucket was fully sealed up, with no handles. So we pick it up in any way that we can hold it (strong legs are a plus here), and then walk, again about 200 yards up and 200 yards back, and stack it properly for the next person to pick it up. My fingers barely held on for the last 10 feet, however, I did it. My team all did it. This one made several people hurl.
Now here comes yet another hill (yes, steep this time). It seems we keep on climbing and seeing other teams in front of us, way up the hills. They almost look like ants. Fun stuff (lol).
Are weighted ’squares’ easy?
Weighted squares are placed on the ground, with a rope attached in order to pull the weight to one end. You need to sit on the ground to get this one done. At one point I stand up to ‘unhook’ it from a large bump in the ground that is stopping it. Yeah, I pretty much have to jerk it up and over the hump. Standing works for this.
Time to go back down to my butt to finish pulling it. Now we get on the other side of it, grab the short chain and pull the chain to get the weighted square back to the other end (ready for the next person).
OK, now we have to turn over a huge tire, ala CrossFit tires. We accomplish this as a team. One of our team members turns a smaller one over by herself. That was too cool so everyone celebrates her, and then move on.
Cement balls weighing about 50-60 lbs each are the next obstacle. First roll it out of a hole, then pick it up and walk it about 20 feet, place it down, do 5 burpees, pick it back up, and bring it back for the next person. Thank heavens for BodyPump.
Yay…more hills (not)
Great that at some point, the hills do start to actually go downhill.
Well now—wait…more walls. This time they are the highest yet. More people than not, need help. Everyone helps each other get over them. There’s no cushion to break our fall when we get over. Our shoes are used as breaks along the wall as we slide down the back side s-l-o-w-l-y.
Geez…the sideways wall…lol. All the points that can be grabbed to move sideways along this wall are set enough apart for long limbs. Very challenging for shorter limbs, and we attempt anyway. Lots of laughs and decide to do 30 burpees.
Staying together is important
As a group, we move on to the long spears. These are thrown towards bails of hay, and we’re expected to make them stick into the hay bale (as they do on TV’s Spartan Race)…annnnd here comes another 30 burpees. A few people can actually make them stick. Most can’t, as propelling them 20 feet is a feat. The burpee area is now full.
An inverted wall is in front of us now. Everyone is helping everyone. Really challenging to climb up a back slant. But we make it with each other’s help.
Moving on to a net in an ‘A-frame’ slant was a piece of cake, as we just climbed up, got over the very tip, and walked backwards down to the bottom (so easy). For people with fear of heights, it was a really tough one. They felt stuck, and they got help.
Weighted sacks connected to a rope that goes thru a pulley was a huge big ole challenge. Several people got a little part way up, then kept losing grip as our hands slid (wrong type of gloves…lol). We were on our butts for this one too, using our legs against the fence, and everything we had to get that weight off the ground.
Up next were hanging rings and what a fun challenge. You truly need upper body strength for this one too—think Kasey Castanzo on American Ninja Warrior. Most of us kind of just hang there before dropping to the ground, and then get on with our 30 burpees.
Oh yes, we now have a rope climb. A few years back, this one worked for me. The diameter of this particular one, once again, is suited to people with bigger hands and good gloves (now I understand why they kept pushing their booth selling gloves…lol). 30 burpees.
Hanging rings were not our thing (and not many people’s either). I saw a couple guys complete this one easy, and that was it. Upper body grip strength is critical to complete this as it’s really challenging for most people. You guessed it, 30 burpees.
I’m thinking maybe I’ve done enough burpees for the entire year.
We’re almost there! (about 5 miles total)
Oh…we get over the next small hill (we are def on the downside here), and there it is—the mud-pit/water-pit/wall. Only this time we are supposed to go under the wall. Only in the very middle can you barely hold your head up without fully submerging your entire body to get under the wall and up on the other side.
The water looks totally gross. If you paid me, I would most probably dig in. However, with all those people dunking into that water, everyone needing to pee by now, there was NO WAY I would allow myself to submerge. So, 30 burpees. lol. Not kidding. I was not gonna do it. Pay me, and I will. And by now it was cold. Most of you who know me, know that I ‘hate’ being cold. Just.no.way. (except for big bucks. I would do it for big bucks).
Can I get over the mud wall?
Last is the mud wall. Yes, it’s muddy because everyone just came out of mud. Everywhere it’s slippery and wet. So I strategically study the wall and see that there’s a path about two feet wide that is ‘dry.’ When my turn hits, I grab the rope to ascend this wall. It’s doable, as my shoes can grip the (mostly) dry area. I get to the top and then just stop. There’s no more room to ‘reach and pull.’ I’m at the top.
So I hang there, pondering my next move, and the guy to my left is at the top (there’s about 12 inches for me to reach top). He grabs one elbow (and says “oh no, you are not gonna go back down” lol) and pulls my elbow up and onto the very top 3” wide platform. I’m then able to get my other elbow over, and then one leg and then my entire body over. This does’t happen fast, but it comes along just fine. Again we need ‘shoe brakes’ on the other side. We’ve reached the end.
There’s a ‘walk thru’ where helpers cut off our ‘trackers’ and our crew goes to get our Spartan Finisher medals (plus 1/3 of a Trifecta medal), and our Spartan Finisher t-shirt. Done. Super. Yeah.
Are we spent? You bet. Are we elated we made it. Absolutely.
Here’s what I learned:
1) Our entire team needs to train on upper body strength ‘pulling’ muscles. I do plenty of pushing exercises (pushups, overhead press, clean and press, overhead extensions, etc), however, no where do we have a pull-up bar or pull-up machine. I need to get this fixed. I’ll be ready for the next challenge.
2) Teams are the best. At several points, we were all on the same ‘team.’ Everyone helping everyone. I love this aspect of the event. People who don’t know each other, supporting each other. I see this over and over again in society at large.
When we share a common goal (getting to safety, making sure a structure gets built, raising enough money for a cause, getting thru disasters, etc), we suddenly all accept each other without judgment. And we are so willing to help anyone. Just.love.this.
3) I am stronger and have more endurance than many individuals much younger than myself. This means that the workouts I’ve chosen to offer at Minorsan actually WORK! And I kept my body safe from harm and injuries. High-five on that one!
4) Pushing personal limits accelerates self-worth, confidence, skill-set, and know-how, and the ‘yeah!’ factor. Yes, I have self-worth and confidence; and yet there is always more to learn/be/do/accept/acknowledge/celebrate.
I also know many people do not have self-worth, confidence, acceptance of self, knowledge, skill-set, or self-love. This is a great way to build up these aspects of someone who might feel less than. Love this part of it. A team can help you get thru it all, even as you must be the one to push yourself.
5) Be ready to pee in the bushes if need be (be properly prepared) lol.
6) These type of events are popular. It takes a huge team to put them together. They happen throughout the year. Everywhere. More teamwork.
7) Entering an event closer to home is the way to go!
8) It was freaking fun. I will do it again. LMK if you wanna be on my Team.
Til next time….
Sincerely,
Ms Clara E Minor
MINORSAN Self-Defense & Fitness
Master Instructor-Trainer
Cultivating #BadassCourage for those who are ready…
Contact me HERE