Spartan Beast Utah Race Review

Guest post by Connie Lewis

The heat at Soldier Hollow was already starting to peak at 9:00 a.m., as competitors waited their turn to begin the Spartan Beast race on June 30, 2012. 

It looked like racers were doing whatever it took to gear themselves up for the 13+-mile race and the 25+ obstacles they would face. Some were painted for war while others sported Hello Kitty knee-high socks. There were a few Spartan capes and a pretty great Wonder Woman outfit. Some of the competitors sported temporary or real tattoos of Spartan helmets and there were lots of t-shirts proclaiming “No Burpees!” People held up signs to motivate their friends;“Pain Now, Beer Later.”

Some of the racers had started in the first heat at 8:00 a.m., but the competitive heat started at 9:00 a.m. and the racers were geared up and ready to go as the Spartan Man led them through a positive energy-building chant. The music grew louder as it was finally time to start the race. Not only would the racers end in a muddy crawl under barbed wire, they started in a muddy stream--just to get their feet wet right off the bat.

Looking up at the trail that was visible on the mountainside was an intimidating experience. You could see the trail crisscrossing across the steep hill and finally disappearing. Several rope climbs were visible and off to the east was the final leg with a traverse wall, wall climb and the mud crawl and mud bogs. Racers were also faced with loading a bag of rocks and carrying them for a distance, target shooting and leg binded tire jumps. People were standing by to douse them with fire hoses and hit them with gladiator sticks.

Racers at the finish came in dirty, tired and dizzy from the long roll under the barbwire, but most of the competitors were still smiling. Happy to have finished and happy to cool off in the wet mud and happy just to realize they could complete such a grueling race.

Utah's own Hobie Call finished in First Place. His time was 1 hour and 26 minutes. It was his 24^th race and 21^st Spartan win.

Compared to the 3-mile Spartan Sprint and 8-mile Spartan Super Race, the Beast is definitely a challenge. Racers who complete all three races in a calendar year can claim a trifecta. Many of the racers travel from city to city just to keep competing through the year.

The Beast also offers a relay race for teams of three. Runners complete a loop of the race before handing off their timing chip to the next race. Of course all three loops have a mud section, so no one escapes unscathed.

Upper body strength and endurance are the keys to finishing the race. Training and being prepared for the heat and altitude also help runners make it to the finish. The obstacles, many of them based on military-style training, are what keep the runners coming back year after year. They just can't seem to get enough.