Spartan Race is finally coming to Ireland! On the 27th of May this year, Spartan Race will be hosting their first ever Irish races at Punchestown. As one of the biggest and most recognisable OCR brands in the world, this is exciting news. In this piece, I’ll outline what people can expect from a Spartan event.
Race options
Spartan Race offer a variety of race lengths. They also tend to have multiple races over their event weekends. At this inaugural Irish event weekend, they are offering their Sprint and Super options. The Sprint usually ranges from three to five miles, while the Super tends to fall within the seven to ten mile range. In terms of competitiveness options within each of these, there are three to choose from: elite, age group and open. The elite wave offers prize money for top finishers. The elite and age group waves offer qualification for championship level events. For these reasons, they enforce very strict rules when it comes to obstacle completion, as well as mandatory penalties for obstacle failure. The open wave doesn’t enforce these rules, although there is no prize money here. If you’re new to these kind of races, the open wave may be perfect for you.
What to expect
Spartan races have their own unique feel when compared to many other obstacle course races. Love or hate burpess and spear throws, a brand has to be respected for cultivating their own style and philosophy.
The first things to be aware of are the single attempt obstacles. On most of Spartan’s technical obstacles you are only allowed one attempt. If you fail the obstacle, that’s it — you need to complete the penalty. This means its often worth your while taking the time to size up an obstacle before rushing into it.
Spartan also like to include plenty of carries in their races, especially in the longer ones. What do they ask you to carry? Well, there’s quite a bit here — logs, sandbags, buckets full of stones, atlas stones and more. There are even double carry versions of most of these. In a similar spirit to these tasks, there are often tire flips, long long flips, sled pulls, hoists and other such strength based obstacles. They are also notorious for making the terrain an obstacle in itself, so don’t be surprised to find yourself doing carries on hills!
Spartan hallmarks
Spartan races have certain hallmarks which are iconic and unique to them. The first of these are the burpees. These are the standard penalty for failing an obstacle, and you almost always have to do 30 of them. You may even have to do a few burpees here and there as part of the race itself. To do a regulation burpee, you drop from a standing position into a push-up position. You then do a standard push-up with your chest touching the ground. Then you must arrive back at a full standing position. Finally, your feet must leave the ground and your hands must be raised to at least ear height. That is how to do a regulation burpee in a Spartan race. Doing 30 of these is not a trivial task, especially during a race. Be sure to practice a few burpees every day to drill the movement.
The next hallmark is the most iconic part of Spartan races — the spear throw. Every Spartan race will include this obstacle, and it’s normally close to the finish line. You must, in one attempt, strike a distant hay bale with the spear. The spear must also remain in the bale afterwards. Even if you obliterate the bale but the spear falls to the ground, you fail — 30 burpees — enjoy. Even the best OCR athletes in the world fail the spear throw occasionally — such is the nature of an obstacle with a small element of luck to it. The spear throw tests your ability to calm yourself and do something skillful under pressure. The Spartan community affectionately refer to it as the burpee maker.
How to prepare
I previously wrote a piece on how to prepare for an Irish obstacle course race, and everything in that applies here. There are a few additional things to consider if you’re approaching your first Spartan race.
Practice your burpees. It’s not beyond the realms of possibility that you could end up doing several sets of 30 burpees. The single attempt nature of the obstacles means that a slip or misstep is difficult to correct. Have confidence in yourself, but prepare for the worst! Be sure too that you can do them while tired from running, as this will reflect race day burpees. Try a few burpees after some of your runs between now and the event.
If you have access to sandbags, a bucket full of stones or a sled, then by all means use them to train. The majority of people won’t have these, and so training for carries needs to be more general then. Load up a pair of dumbbells and walk around your house for a few minutes with them, or even just potter about in your living room while watching TV. Once you can’t hold them any more, rest for a few minutes before going again. Repeat this a few times. This will get you used to moving your body around while weighed down.
Tire flips, atlas stone carries and other strength obstacles may catch you out if you’ve been neglecting big lifts in the gym. If you have access to a gym, do a few heavy sets of deadlifts, squats, bench presses or other big lifts before race day. You won’t transform yourself completely between now and then, but you just want to prime your body. You don’t want that tire flip on the 27th to be the first compound movement you’ve done this year!
Pride and glory
Spartan Race offer considerable prize money for their top finishers in the elite group category. Both the Sprint and Super will also act as qualifiers for this year’s OCR World Championships to be held in the UK in October. The Super here is also part of a five-race UK and Ireland regional series. Doing well at a Spartan race is an admirable achievement.
If you consider yourself a fit individual, then by all means sign up for the elite or age group waves. The level of competition at these races will probably hit new heights for an an Irish obstacle course race. I’ve even heard rumours that third place finisher at the 2016 OCR World Championships Conor Hancock may be making an appearance.
If you think you’re a fit and tough individual, be there on the 27th of May to confirm that!
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