Spartan race

Spartan Race
Private
Industry Sports
Founded 2007
Founder Joe De Sena, Andy Weinberg, and Julian Kopald
Brands Death Race and Spartan Race
Website Official website

A Spartan race is a series of obstacle races of varying distance and difficulty ranging from 3 miles to marathon distances. They are held in USA and have been franchised to 14 countries including Canada, Europe, South Korea, and Australia. The series include the Spartan Sprint, the Super Spartan, the Spartan Beast, and the Ultra Beast. Spartan Race also has a military series in which obstacles are designed by the United States military. There are also winter and team events.

History

Peak.com and Peak Races were founded in 2007[1] by Joe De Sena, Andy Weinberg,[2] and Julian Kopald. Peak Races, the parent company of "Death Race", eventually went on to create the current Spartan Race series.[3] The first Spartan Race event was held in 2010 at the Catamount Outdoor Center in Williston, Vermont and represented the city of Burlington, Vermont. Roughly 500 competitors had to "run, crawl, jump and swim" and overcome a variety of obstacles.[4] All finishers received a medal, and prizes were awarded to the top athletes.

In 2012 Raptor Consumer Partners invested in the Spartan Race company.[5] In 2013 Reebok had became the event title sponsor, and the races were renamed the "Reebok Spartan Race Series".[6] On December 7, 2013, Universal Sports broadcast a special on the 2013 Spartan Race World Championships.[7] In August 2015, parent network NBC then reenlit a Spartan-based television series, Spartan: Ultimate Team Challenge, led by the producers of fellow NBC series American Ninja Warrior.[8] Later in 2015, Spartan Race founded the "Spartan Agoge" which is described as a "60 hour physical, tactical, mental and team based training and testing" event, to be held in Vermont twice a year.[9] ESPN describes the Spartan Race as "a true test of will."[10]

Obstacle race

Spartan Sprint (3+ miles of obstacle racing, 20+ obstacles), the Super Spartan (8+ miles, 25+ obstacles), the Spartan Beast (13+ miles, 30+ obstacles), and the Ultra Beast (26+ miles, 60+ obstacles – one of two marathon obstacle courses along with Mudderthon).[11] The obstacles themselves also vary from race to race. Frequently presented obstacles can include a fire jump, climbing under barbed wire, wall climbing, mud crawling,[12] the "over-under-through (a series of obstacles in which runners must first climb over a wall, then under a wall, then through a square hole placed in a wall),[13] spear throw, rope climb,[14] heavy object carries,[15] "Herculean Hoist",[16] "Tyrolean Traverse", monkey bars,[17] Traversal Wall (similar to a bouldering wall), Hobie Hop (a thick rubber band is placed around the ankles and participants hop through consecutive tires), Slippery Wall (a wall built at an incline, roughly covered in grease), a zig-zag log jump, steep mud climbs (rolling mud), tractor pulls, underwater submerging below walls (dunk walls), Atlas carries, tire flips, stump balances (skipping on stumps across a pond), rope swing,[18] and the now discontinued Gladiator Arena.[19]

Failure to fully complete any obstacles results in a 30 Burpee penalty in which you must complete before advancing to the next segment of the race.[20] A participant can obtain a Trifecta medal after completing a Spartan Sprint, Spartan Super and a Spartan Beast in one calendar year.[11] As of the 2016 season, the finisher medal includes both the traditional circular medal and a "pie piece" – one third of a larger Trifecta medal.[21] Each Spartan Race features a Kids Spartan Races for children age 5–13; a half mile race for kids 4-8 and one mile race for those older.[22]

Charity

In 2014, Spartan Race donated a portion of its entry fees to charity, however some critics state that the amount forwarded was only a small portion of the total fees received.[23]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Joe Desena".
  2. ↑ "La carrera más complicada del mundo y sus grandes campeones".
  3. ↑ "Joe Desena Net Worth".
  4. ↑ "VIDEO: The Spartan Race in Williston | Burlington Free Press". burlingtonfreepress.com. Retrieved 2015-10-24.
  5. ↑ Keneally, Scott (2012-10-22). "Playing Dirty". Outside Online. Retrieved 2015-10-24.
  6. ↑ "Spartan Race Growing Through Participation Surge And Reebok / NBC Partnerships". Forbes.com. Retrieved 2015-10-24.
  7. ↑ "Spartan Race Tackles TV". Obstacle Racing Media. 2013-08-08. Retrieved 2015-10-24.
  8. ↑ "NBC Orders 'Spartan Race' Competition Series From 'American Ninja Warrior' Producer". Deadline.com. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  9. ↑ "Spartan Endurance Agoge 001 – Part I: So it begins". ORM.
  10. ↑ "Spartan Race true test of will - ESPN". Sports.espn.go.com. 2010-06-06. Retrieved 2015-10-24.
  11. 1 2 "Family of Spartans".
  12. ↑ writer, Kevin Opsahl staff. "USU employee No. 1 in Spartan race competition".
  13. ↑ "Spartan Race: Atlanta Sprint Weekend 2016 Review - Obstacle Racing Media". 10 March 2016.
  14. ↑ Observer, Erica Beck The Argus. "Spartan Race next in fitness journey".
  15. ↑ "North Berwick teen overcomes all obstacles - The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram". 3 July 2016.
  16. ↑ Staff, Hunter Ingram StarNews. "'Spartan' team bonded through suffering".
  17. ↑ "Spartan Race New Jersey Beast 2016 - Obstacle Racing Media". 3 May 2016.
  18. ↑ "Spartan Race: The Obstacles - The Mountain Times". 21 September 2015.
  19. ↑ "The bizarre allure of obstacle races".
  20. ↑ Keneally, Scott (6 February 2014). "DNF: The True Tale of Failure at a Spartan Race".
  21. ↑ "New Spartan Medals and T-Shirts - Obstacle Racing Media". 15 March 2016.
  22. ↑ "Military Rec: Spartan workout Saturday on Bragg".
  23. ↑ "10 Investigates: Empty charity promises from Spartan Race".

External links

Official website

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