As for the race day itself, the collecting of race packs wasn’t too bad with a few technical hitches and long queues at times. These issues occassionally worried me even though I gave myself an hour to collect them and get sorted afterwards. It is advised to arrive with plenty of time in hand if you’re in an earlier wave. Again, this is to ensure you are relaxed on the day.
When it came to the race area, there were plenty of stands consisting of food, drinks (both alcoholic and non), equipment and kit, merchandise and one offering sports massage services both before and after the race. Amongst the catalogue of stands, were numerous supporting spectators and race teams all with the backing of some upbeat music giving the weekend the same feel as a small festival. With the sun shining as well, it definitely had a feel good feeling to it!
The Race
Before get into it, to help you understand the course I was tackling, here is a map of the course I completed:
With this being my first Spartan Race, all I had to go off for prior knowledge of what to expect was word of mouth, a few YouTube videos I’d watched for a rough idea of the obstacles and my basic knowledge of OCRs from Tough Guy. On the whole, I was actually quite apprehensive due to my known shortfalls, lack of dedicated training and still very sore hand. I had used various different methods to assist in it healing and covering it up on the day however, nothing had been particularly effective.
Though I’d done some research, I was expecting this and Tough Guy to be similar in several ways, which turned out I was wrong! There were very few similarities between the two! Yes, the distance was very similar and a few obstacles were the same in the sense that you have to climb over, under or through something but that’s where the similarities stopped. I guess this was where my naivety and inexperience of the OCR world became apparent. To only emphasise this point, the fact that I took my success at my last race and swapped it for over confidence in my ability meant that I idiotically entered myself into the Elite wave. It was pretty much straight away that the disparity in ability became apparent. So here we have lesson number 2!
The expectation of having a few cross country miles to cover before having to tackle anything too technical was quashed early on with one of the rigs being within the first mile or so. It was at this point I learnt my next three big lessons: 3) This was going to be entirely different to what I’d experienced before, 4) I should have trained even sooner and better, and 5) I don’t particularly enjoy burpees! Much to my dismay, I was going to become well accustomed to the wonderful burpee…
(If you’re wondering, I didn’t choose to do burpees mid race for some extra punishment. For every obstacle that you fail, you are given a penalty of 30 burpees.)
As I went through the course, which I admit was mostly very enjoyable (except for burpees. Burpees certainly aren’t enjoyable), I realised that the kind of obstacles laid out brought about a whole new challenge, with plenty of variety, and my usual method of throwing strength at it didn’t work for all of them. I also realised I was slightly conned by the YouTube videos I watched when it came to the perceived ease that those in them were getting past the obstacles without a penalty. Oh, how wrong was I… (Lesson 6)
One other thing I was conned about was the layout of the course, realising that though the general layout was correct, the order and location of certain obstacles wasn’t true (lesson number 7). So if you do take part in a Spartan Race, be aware of this and don’t get lulled into a false sense of security about what you’re facing nor the order at which they come. Forgetting the hand injury, I found having a long distance double tyre carry followed closely by the bucket brigade was especially cruel! Then to top it off, next up was a hands only climbing obstacle. I’ll let you guess what this resulted in… I’ll give you a clue: they come in sets of 30.
From the spear throw to the rigs; from the rope climb to the tyre flips; from the balance beam to the traverse walls, each obstacle has it’s own technique when it came to completing it. This all brough about lesson number 8) My technique for several of these was poor and needs practicing. And what better to instil this lesson into you? Yep, you guessed it! 30 burpees each time. What surprised me is how much these ruined your momentum but now realise that’s the whole purpose of them.
(If you’re wondering my total number of burpees for the day? 210 reps of such a delightful exercise!)
For my first Spartan Race then, though I may not come across as if I didn’t, I actually thoroughly enjoyed the race. It was a new challenge, had a very different feel to across the board to what I’d participated in before and would 100% recommend it if anyone asked me if it’s worth doing one. It’s once you’ve done one that they’ve got you, as they give a third of the Trifecta medal prompting you to want to complete it, which can only be done in a calendar year.
When it comes to the competive side of Spartan Races, the experience was a steep learning curve about the vast world of competitive OCR, the talent and ability of those currently leading the way in the sport, and the need for a variety of techniques and types of strength required to complete one efficiently and successfully. Apart from some decent photos (always a good Facebook profile picture to show how tough you are!), I didn’t achieve the result I wanted and was ultimately disqualified from the race for apparently only completing 8 out of 30 penalty burpees at one of the obstacles. To have this result, I am very disappointed and annoyed at myself for allowing it. Personally, I felt I did them all correctly within the rules but the marshall’s decision is final and I can only take this forward as another lesson for future races.
What I Learnt
I’ll summarise the lessons that I learnt from taking part in my first Spartan Race so that you too can learn from them and don’t make the same mistakes I did and can get a result you’re proud of:
- Don’t procrastinate your training and then rush it at the end. This can easily result in injuries or fatigue that will hinder your race performance. Using my injury as an example, though you may see it as something small, such as “only” a bit of missing skin, when you use your hands frequently, it can become something much more and have a knock on effect to your end result.
- When entering a new arena, don’t get cocky about your abilities or else you’re going to make yourself look silly. In your head, you may feel you’re ready for the Elite wave but it’s probably wise to start in the Age Group class and prove that you’re ready for the step up.
- Not all OCRs are the same, be it in layout, style or type of obstacles that you face. Go in with an open mind and don’t plan for one scenario as this can knock your confidence thus hindering your performance.
- Ensure that the training that you are conducting is going to help with the sport you’re going to compete in. There’s no point staying stuck in your old ways and doing a bodybuilding program when you’re about to do an OCR just because that’s what you’ve always done and it’s what you’re comfortable with. The whole point of these events and training, is to get out of your comfort zone and test yourself. If you can, find a gym that can serve your purpose.
- Just in case you don’t pass an obstacle, ensure you’re “happy” with doing burpees and relatively comfortable with doing 30 in one go.
- Don’t be deceived with how easy seasoned competitors get past the obstacles when watching online videos.
- Don’t take the course map sent out as gospel. Be prepared for any layout.
- If you are able to, find replicas of the obstacles you’re about to face or as near as you can get to them to practice on. Many obstacles, such as those involving hanging or the spear throw, have a set technique to get you pass them successfully.
- Doubly make sure that if you do have a penalty, you complete them all as the rules state. You won’t want to go through a 2-3 hour race to only find out that you’ve been disqualified for something you’re in control of.
- Trail running shoes – I used the Inov8 Mudclaw 300 and had no issues with grip at all on the muddy sections of the course. For me, they are a solid and comfortable running shoe providing ample grip.
- Lightweight clothing – You’re going to end up warm and sweaty during one of these so ensuring you have something breathable and lightweight such as polyester is key. Cotton is to be avoided as it’s not breathable and you’re going to end up wet too, which will be absorbed by this material and get heavy.
- Additional gear – Depending on what you find comfortable, you may find the addition of gloves, sunglasses or any other extra gear you want to use during the race to make the experience that little bit more comfortable or improve your performance. Experiment and find what’s best for you.
- Hydration/refuelling – There are stations scattered throughout the course offering water and pieces of banana or sweets. However if you want to keep the momentum or having something more tuned to you, energy gels such as SiS GO isotonic gels are advisable as well as possibly a hydration pack on the longer races, should you feel the need for one.
- Pre/post race food – Ensuring you have the right nutrition before and after the race is going allow you to perform how you want to and refuel and recover quickly. There’s food available on site but is pretty pricey so I would recommend preparing your own meals and bring it in Tupperware boxes. Note: if you’re camping, you’re going to want something that doesn’t go bad quickly. That’s one thing you don’t want when you’re tired and hungry post race!
- Change of clean, comfortable clothes – Says it all really! No one wants to go home in wet, dirty, stinking kit! This includes shoes too.
- Waterproof bags – Ensure that you have two waterproof bags at least to place wet, muddy kit in. Make sure that you deal with this bag straight away. There’s nothing worse than forgetting about it and leaving it to fester until the next weekend. Obviously, I’m not talking from personal experience here…
- Campsite footwear – Having something that can tackle muddy terrain on a campsite may be worthwhile should the weather take a turn for the worse.
- Wash kit – From the race that I went to, there were showers available however these were in the shape of a hose producing cold water out in the open whilst standing on a pallet. Worthwhile if you’re taking public transport home. Note: Refreshing but not for the fainted hearted!
- Sleeping gear – If you’re camping onsite, ensure that you have everything for a comfortable night’s sleep. There’s nothing worse than waking up feeling stiff or tired on race day.
