In two weeks and 6 days I get the privilege of running with several members of the BaackPaack on their first Spartan Super Obstacle Course Race. For some of them, this is their second Spartan obstacle race, and the furthest distance that they will have run in competition. Spartan races come in several flavors, ranging in distances from 3-5 miles (Sprints) to all the way up to 30 miles (Ultra Beast). Several years ago, Spartan Race got a really cool idea to try to get folks moving and exercising, and as they say “rip them off the couch”. The developed the Spartan Trifecta, where one person completes all three of the popular distances of Spartan race (there are more than three distances and we will get into that in a later post) in one calendar year. The distances are:
Sprint: 3-5 miles, 20-23 obstacles
Super: 8-10 miles, 24-29 obstacles
Beast: 12-14 miles, 30-35 obstacles
Yes, that Beast distance is a 1/2 marathon, plus about 35 obstacles (they always go high on the obstacles). Not your normal 1/2 marathon by any stretch of the imagination.
For many of the BaackPaack, this will be their second race, having run the AZ sprint in February of this year, and will mean that they will only have one more race to complete their trifecta.
A brilliant marketing effort by Spartan Race was how they got all the “Type A” racers to want to continue to complete their trifecta. In addition to the finisher medal, Spartan Race developed a “pie piece” medal to complete the first Trifecta medal.
You will also notice that the “pie piece: matches the color of the race distance! So for my fellow racers of the BaackPaack, they will have two (Red and Blue) of the three parts after finishing this race. No finish, no medal, no pie wedge. I know even with how hard this “Super” will be to accomplish for many of them, they are not going to stop until they have all THREE parts of the medal to complete their trifecta.
A Trifecta is a great accomplishment for someone who runs 10ks and 1/2 marathons during the year, but an even BIGGER ACCOMPLISHMENT for several members of the BaackPaack, as most have never raced over 5 miles, forget 13! Every weekend I see improvements in all the members, from pushing the distance traveled underfoot hiking and jogging, to lifting more weight, do more confidence on the obstacles. It is such an amazing experience to be part of.
With less than three weeks to go, my focus has three parts:
- Get my fellow racers comfortable on the obstacles that we have access to
- Work on increasing cardio capacity
- Stay injury free
If we hit these three mini goals, we will have a great race, and awesome experience, and memories that none of us will ever forget.
AROO!