Spartan Race Tips for Newbies

A little more than a week ago I ran my first Spartan race.  This was something I wanted to do for years but due to physical therapy and a restriction on running, I did not feel I was ready for it until this year.  Before the race I read a lot of articles and joined a Facebook group called Southern Spartans (this group is a fantastic resource for anybody in the South interested in Obstacle Course Racing).  I thought I would take what I learned and my experience as a first timer and write a blog for newbies who have no clue where to start.

What is the Spartan Sprint?

The Sprint is one of three races that make up the Trifecta.  It's the shortest so it makes sense for beginners to start here.  I definitely plan to earn my Trifecta in 2017!  The Sprint is 3-5 miles and 20+ obstacles.  The other two that qualify for the Trifecta are the Super which is 8+ miles/25+ obstacles and the Beast which is 13+ miles and 30+ obstacles.  The race I ran was 5.25 miles and 24 obstacles.  I learned that most races tend to be on the longer side than what Spartan states.  To get an idea of how long the Sprint takes, the average time at my race from the previous year was 2 hours and 15 minutes with the fastest time by the elite male winner at around 50 minutes.  My time was 2:17 and that was done without much running beforehand.  I absolutely expect my next time to be much better.

Training

For my race I started doing the Couch to 10K app about 4 months in advance.  I already did regular cardio and lifting so I just needed to log some miles and needed to ease myself back into running.  I ended up getting extremely sick for 2 months of my training and in the 2 months before the race only ran twice with my longest distance only being 3 miles.  Obviously if I had to do it all over again, I would have run more (like I planned).  One of the guys on my team had only ran 2 miles as his longest run and he managed to survive the race too, so it's possible to do this one without much long distance training.  The longest stretch we ran without an obstacle was a little over a mile at the beginning of the race.  However, you absolutely need endurance to keep running after doing obstacles and/or burpees.  

Trail running is also very important since the race course is usually hilly and through the woods.  Everybody told me how important trail running would be for this race.  It's just a different animal than running through the city or on a treadmill.  My course was on a farm and even the flat ground was full of little holes.  It was described as a flat course in the Spartan world, but we ran up and down hills, through the woods, over logs and in streams.  Trail running really would have come in handy!  My team's coach said most people underestimate the running.  

Upper body strength is also very, very important in these races.  Obstacles include scaling walls (up to 8 feet!), monkey bars, carrying a heavy bucket, carrying a heavy stone, carrying sandbags, rope climbing, etc.  Even though I was consistently lifting for 2.5 years before the race, upper body strength is still a major weakness of mine and it is something I know I need to work on even more next time.  I was obviously not very good at wall climbing, monkey bar type obstacles and ropes.  Thankfully, I had my husband to help me.  Even though other racers can help you over walls, you can never have too much upper body strength for these races!  Dead hangs really help develop grip strength (pull-ups do too, obviously, but not everyone can do those!).  I will work more with dead hangs to prepare for my next race.

Burpees are also key to practice.  Each obstacle you fail you have to do 30!  Going on a run and stopping to do burpees throughout is a great way to mimic parts of the race.  Burpees get really difficult after you've been running and climbing for over an hour.  

In addition to endurance and strength, the biggest thing that's needed during one of these races is mental toughness.  It's one thing to run 5 miles.  It's another thing to do a series of difficult obstacles, to get wet and extremely uncomfortable and still keep running.  I can't wait to do the Super and the Beast and see how those races challenge me.  

What do you need?

Since the Sprint is the shortest, you don't really need to pack a bunch of snacks and a CamelBak.  My race had 3 water stations spread out throughout the course so I never needed any more water.  I ate a Quest bar shortly before the race so I wouldn't end up starving halfway through.  At the end of the race you are handed more water plus a FitAid, plus a Clif bar, banana and beer ticket.  They take care of you at the end!  I did pack some Gu gel chews just in case and ended up eating a pack at the third water station.  I brought gloves to assist with rope climbing but they never ended up coming out of the bag.  I will probably nix the gloves next time.  The rope climb was at the very end, covered in mud so by the time we got there we were frozen and could hardly work our hands so the gloves would not have helped at all.  Obviously, many burpees were done.

Good trail sneakers are also a must.  I saw a few people slide and fall down when running downhill.  I even saw one fall while walking downhill during the bucket carry.  My shoes had such great grip I could run up and down hills without any problems.  I also followed a tip to put some duct tape on the heels of my foot so I would not get any blisters.  I went against advice and wore brand new shoes on race day (thanks to me being too sick to break them in on trail runs) and I did not have any problems at all with blisters or soreness.  The duct tape was amazing.  It held in place despite the water (we ran through a stream pretty much right away) and I did not even notice I had the tape on my feet.

Clothing is also very important on race day.  I repeatedly read people exclaim:  NO COTTON!  So I wore a long sleeved Under Armour cold gear shirt, some Under Armour capris and compression socks.  My race day was very cold and windy but I was completely comfortable in my outfit (until the very end after I was submerged in ice cold water with the wind blowing on me).  Some girls wear short shorts and sports bras...I think that's a little crazy since you crawl under barbed wire.  My race the ground was all rocky.  I'd image if I wore less clothing I would come home with some scrapes and cuts to go along with all of my bruises.

Another seemingly random thing that is good to have with you is mustard.  Mustard helps with muscle cramps.  I grabbed a handful while walking through my mall's food court the night before.  Neither my husband nor myself needed any, but we did give a pack to somebody on the side of the course, rubbing a sore muscle.  So they did come in handy, even if we didn't use any ourselves.  

I go by the motto better safe than sorry.  Between my husband and myself we had 6 Gu gel packs and 4 mustard packs.  On a longer race we would have more supplies (protein bars, other snacks, a CamelBak).

The Spartan Sprint is definitely designed so anybody can finish it.  It's not too crazy long where you need a lot of long distance training runs (like the Beast) and teamwork can help you get through the obstacles.  Everybody is very nice and helpful.  I slipped at the top of my climb up the slip wall and some random man grabbed my hands and hauled me over the top.  It's also a great way to challenge yourself.  If you have been thinking about trying out one of these runs at all, I definitely suggest going for it!  Plus you get a cool medal and a finisher shirt at the end to show off!