How to tackle your first Spartan Race.
I’m three Spartans deep now, and after a semi-good performance at my last one, I’m starting to think about incremental gains as well as some more specific training.
That said, this isn’t a training blog, but I will say: Put in the miles, run hills, do a lot of burpees in sets of 30, climb things and practise your grip. Get used to the idea of doing something intense, then learning to recover on the fly. Consider doing a DNAfit test to understand how your body responds to exercise, and see how much recovery time you need.
What this is, is a time saving blog: How to take 5 mins off your “Super” time (the middle Spartan distance), simply by being prepared and having the right kit.
Sport sturdy attire
I was feeling pretty smug about my Peak&Flow shorts with ‘tight’ inners going into the Orte Spartan Race — what more could I need? The race before, in Pennsylvania, some 3 years prior, was dry for the most part. Orte was the opposite. Wet from the outset, my shorts did me proud, preventing all thigh chaffing. My shoes, however, epically failed.
I realised this about 1 km in when we had to dive though three ponds of brown sludge and clamber up greasy mudded slopes. My comfy (aka sponge-like) Brooks did not serve me well as I squelched about for the rest of the morning. Aim for proper obstacle course shoes with better purchase and less water holding capabilities.
Also, consider more lycra. You need to cover your shins, your forearms and maybe your knees. Why? Because you’re heaving yourself over walls and climbing out of rivers. Some kind of thin lycra wet suit might be the answer ;)
Fancy tech?
Nah. I didn’t bother with a watch or HR monitor for fear of a) smashing it and b) getting the fear of the distance remaining. Perhaps if I were doing a Spartan Beast, I may consider consider monitoring Heart Rate, but for around 2–3 hrs of activity, you’ll be OK so long as you don’t go too wild. Most courses have some kind of distance markers to help you out on pacing.
Definitely don’t think about running with your phone or with headphones — that would be a tragedy in the making.
Pack a day bag
You need water, snacks, a change of clothes and the shower essentials. We left the hotel around 6am to get to the race, so all food was consumed on the way. Pack toilet tissue and hand sani also — the toilets were worse than Glasto.
I pre-empted blisters by adding Compeed to a problem area on my arches. I think, owing to the amount of water on the course, this saved me from trashing the hell out of my feet.
On the course
When you’re exercising for over an hour, electrolytes do make a difference. I had packed an effervescent SIS tab in a contraband-like baggie, tucked away in a zip pocket. Another fail! You need a water proof sachet that you can tear open with muddy hands. Use this at re-fuel station. Consider a gel also, for the last 45 mins.
Over the obstacles
I had to do 3x 30 burpees over the course of the day. After 45 and I was in trouble. Take this point as a training guide, but also as a prep tip. 30 of my burpees were needless as I did the obstacle wrong, putting my foot on a handhold. Another massive fail that had me hating myself for the next 10 mins.
Just in case
I never pay too much attention to the “emergency contact” on the entry form and typically throw in my Dad’s number. However, a girl in our group did fall off a net and break her arm! In this case, choose a next of kin who is with you, ideally on the sidelines.
That’s all for now. Spartan actually have a fantastic blog and podcast that I encourage you to look at.
This blog is a distant, smaller cousin to my good friend, Ian McCaig’s blog, “Marathon Des Sables 2019: tent life, Forrest Gump & earning my Ultra Running stripes.” If a Spartan is s mere walk in the park, give that a crack.
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Simon is the Founder of STANCE, a brand storytelling agency.
