Spartan
I can remember the exact time I first came across Spartan race. I was sat in my car, swiping on social media to kill time before I had to go and see a customer.
Up popped an advert for this Obstacle Course Race with awesome looking obstacles, people doing burpees and jumping over fire. Now that got my attention.
Some searching online lead me to sign up for a trifecta in 2020. A trifecta is completing all three Spartan race distances in one calendar year (Sprint 5km, Super 10km and Beast 21km).
We all know what happened in 2020 so these races were pushed back to 2021.
July 2021 saw me stood on the start line for the Super at their Midlands venue. I was taking part in the open category which isn't competitive, but in my mind I was either doing every obstacle or penalty.
I was hooked! I loved it! The whole running on technical terrain, obstacles designed to wear you down, the community, everything about that first race was brilliant.
The day after I went back to do the Sprint distance, and in October 2021, I completed the trifecta with the Beast race.
First trifecta done. Sign me up for more. I was all in for 2022 with a season pass purchased and a step up to competitive racing in Age Group.
The Age Group racing Spartan used to have was brilliant, in my opinion. You would race against people in the same five year age bracket. This gave people like myself a sense of competition and pride when we stood on the start line. We were held to the same standard and rules as the elite runners. We just weren't as quick in most cases. I think it's a real shame they have changed how they are supporting Age Group racers now.
During the winter of 2022 and 2023 I trained hard to be ready for the season. Unfortunately, an injury (a tear in one of my shoulder tendons), I had picked up during the Beast race meant I had to defer my season pass to 2023.
A few months of rehabilitation and I was on the start line of the Super at Midlands once again, but this time in the competitive wave. I was back doing what I loved to do. This was also the weekend that my eldest son took part in his first Spartan Kids Race. Very proud Dad moment.
Roll onto October 2022 and the UK were hosting the Spartan European Championships. Whilst I will admit I had no expectations of being competitive, it was great to be on the start line with athletes from all over Europe to compete in the Beast distance. The Sprint followed the day after and another trifecta completed.
2023 was the year I was all in on Spartan racing and also taking part in the Ultra. The Spartan Ultra is a 50km version of their races. Basically, two laps of the Beast course with an extra loop.
By this point I had already ran a few non-OCR Ultramarathons and knew this was where my passion lay. Something about the grind of long distances really appealed to me.
The year started off with a trifecta weekend at Henly on Thames. The venue and the course were brilliant. All three standard distances done. My plan for the year was to enjoy the races whilst getting practice in for the Ultra in October.
The next race weekend was Midlands but at a new venue. For those that don't follow OCR, in 2020 Spartan purchased Tough Mudder. These two brands are the "powerhouses" of OCR. Unfortunately, it seems that in the UK Tough Mudder are calling the shots not Spartan. This new venue has been a Tough Mudder venue for a number of years and the weekend before this race had hosted a Tough Mudder event.
Whilst I have nothing against Tough Mudder, in my opinion it is completely different to Spartan. Tough Mudder is advertised as non-competitive, whereas Spartan is competitive. Helping others is encouraged in Tough Mudder. In the competitive waves at Spartan it is against the rules to help other competitive racers.
This new venue did not have a Spartan feel to it. Next to no technical running and the reuse of Tough Mudder obstacles lead to a very frustrating weekend. But all three race distances completed again. Trifecta number two for the year.
August was the third race weekend of the year. Again this was held at a Tough Mudder venue, the day after a Tough Mudder event. I will give credit to Spartan they did a better job this time. Minimal use of Tough Mudder obstacles and better penalty loops led to a enjoyable Beast race.
Now it was onto the "A" race of the year, the Spartan Ultra at Pippingford Park. Pippingford is my favourite Spartan venue in the UK. It has loads of hills and technical running. Just what I like.
I won't go into too much detail on the Ultra as I've already done a long Instagram post on this, please check it out if you want to know more on the race. In short, it was hard and I overcame some mental battles to finish. But finish I did, and I'm very proud how I turned the race around.
The Spartan Ultra feels like a good ending to my Spartan journey. Whilst I will still do some races, I can't see myself ever chasing the whole race series again.