Spartan-Up!

Jenny S

We all have stories of how we became runners. I am a runner. I am a skier. But I am also now a Spartan –– which evolved from friendships that collided with athletic fun. From the Corporate Challenge after college, to a 10K, Half-marathon, then the NYC Marathon, “just to do one.” Then a 2^nd marathon to fix what didn’t go right in the 1^st. Then traveling to run Chicago…and back to NYC for another…because we can – and why not, right? 

All enhanced and made possible by forming strong, special relationships during training. Along with two glorious trips to Boston along the way. After 13 marathons in about just as many years, skipping the years I had each of my two children and recovering from ACL reconstructive surgery (skiing, not running), I guess I really did become a runner. After running the last two, both NYC and Vegas at the end of 2011, my running world was in jeopardy. My “ACL knee” started hurting…a lot. Hence the downward spiral –– the running miles that pushed my knee affected my ski season, my mood…and as so many of us turn to running as our mental and physical stability –– it’s challenging, even unacceptable – not to run.

So what do runners do when we can’t run? When the orthopedist instructs us not to run? Find a new orthopedist? I wallowed in self-pity by spending lots of time at my gym –– Club Fit in Westchester. I greatly reduced my miles, and switched my focus to spinning and strength-training in crazy-fun classes each week: Extreme Endurance and a Cross-Fit type class where we drag heavy sleds, military crawl, swing kettles bells and do burpee-box jumps. By now I’m sure we all know what's a burpee!

In the Spring of 2013, a trainer at the gym formed a team to race a Spartan Sprint, and I had the opportunity to join last minute. People ask, what really is a Spartan race? Click HERE for a good place to start, but in layman’s terms, it is an Obstacle Course Race (OCR) that is run on ski slopes during the off-season when the slopes are not covered in snow. 

Imagine a trail-run up and down those hills, through hiking/biking trails in the woods, in the mud, with lots of obstacles along the way. Jumping over walls, climbing ropes, hauling logs and dragging cinder blocks, just to name a few. If you fail at an obstacle, the penalty is 30 burpees. Crawling in the mud under barbed-wire is always on the course, as are monkey bars, balancing on wooden pegs, climbing up and over cargo rope nets, and jumping over fire at the Finish Line. Yes, real fire. 

Fire Jumping!

I didn’t specifically Spartan-train, but I was getting very strong with my “crazy” classes; I was already doing sets of push-ups, abs, burpees, and more burpees. The Spartan Sprint distance was only “3+” miles, and it sounded like fun…so our journey began.

We had about 15 people on our team, mostly Westchester moms leaving kids at home with the husbands for the day. We carpooled to Tuxedo Ridge in a caravan. Like any race, it’s an event just to get to the starting corral, where waves of athletes are released every 15 minutes over several hours. Parking, packet pick-up, donning race bibs, the Spartan headband, timing chip bracelets –– and checking your bag –– those are obstacles on their own! Deciding what to wear on race day and packing your post-race bag are feats as well, since after a Spartan, you need a FULL change of clothes. Some obstacles require water-crossings…even swimming. Yes, with lots of mud. 

Fortunately, it was a warm day. We stuck together as a team, helping each other out if needed, even though Spartan is an individually-timed race. After jumping over fire at the Finish Line, we rejoiced and exchanged muddy hugs, before heading to bag-retrieval and the shower stations. Here’s where the fun continues, as you have the opportunity to hose yourself down, or someone else…with or without muddy clothes on. Something I’ve never seen before: human power-washing stations, mostly of sculpted men wearing very little….

Our team was hooked. Next came the Spartan Super at Mountain Creek, New Jersey, which was “8+” miles. Our team captain suggested we hire a bus this time, which then became a party bus on the way home…with Tequila and beer…but I digress. One of Spartan’s challenges is that the distance of each race is unknown. Our Sprint was really four miles, and that Spartan Super may have been around 9 miles, but the distance takes much longer than a running race as most of the course requires hiking. 

The types and number of obstacles is kept secret until you’re on the course. A few days after the Super, our team went out for a night of celebratory drinking, which led us to all sign up for a Tough Mudder a few weeks later. Tough Mudder is a similar OCR in LOTS of mud, but you go through the course as a team, and it is not a timed event. Another crazy, fun day, but in October, so weather is more of a factor. Especially with Electroshock Therapy obstacles and something so bizarre it is named the Arctic Enema. 

Tough Mudder

This past Spartan season of 2014, our team earned a “Spartan Trifecta,” in which athletes complete a Sprint, Super, and Beast all in one calendar year. We did the same Spartan races as in 2013, and added the “Spartan Beast” in Killington, Vermont. 12 of us were in this together, and we ramped our training up a notch by working with a former US Marine as our Spartan Trainer. He had us carrying 45 lb. plates in each hand, walking up & down flights of stairs, and effectively taught us techniques to climb ropes. 

Our team achieved our Trifectas together this past September 20th with a weekend trip to Vermont. The Beast is aptly named, but I believe “Insane” is another accurate name. The website said “12+” miles, but our course was 17+!! Too many details to report here, so in summary, it was smart of us to read the fine print, as we needed headlamps to complete the course. 

All athletes were required to carry hydration packs, and we coordinated carrying about 1,000 calories each to get us through our day. Killington was 2014’s Spartan World Championships, and is noted to be the most challenging course. Ever. With our start time, the huge number of athletes on the course, and completing the final 3 miles in the DARK, the Beast took us 10 hours to complete. 

So what do we all do when we’re not satisfied with a race time? WE DO IT AGAIN. Here’s to another Spartan Trifecta in 2015! 

- Jenny S