Tag Archives: Spartan Race

There are three elements to the Spartan Delta's endurance trifecta. Having captured one piece at the beginning of the year by surviving Norm's New Jersey Ultra Beast course, I had decided that I would do whatever it takes this year to get the others and complete the Trifecta. My Hurricane Heat would come from Boston, and the final piece of the pie would come from none other than Palmerton and the HH12HR-021, lead by Mr. Rob Barger.

Welcome to Jerry’s world for the second ever AT&T Spartan Stadium Sprint. I hope you like stairs because you’re about to get a heaping Texas size helping of them. This stadium is home to the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington, Texas. It’s the largest and arguably the nicest stadium in the NFL. I know there are rumblings and rumors of nicer ones being built, but for now, this is the biggest. I ran this course last year at its inaugural debut, so I had a good idea of what to expect. It’s not like a trail where they can re-arrange the route very much. If you have never done a stadium race, it is very different than a regular Spartan race. On top of the usual iconic obstacles you see that are Spartan staples of the brand, there are many exercises included to make things interesting like ball slams, hand release push-ups, and jump rope. By far the hardest part of any stadium race is the endless, energy sapping, leg draining stairs. Even if you’re an extremely fast track runner, these stairs will slow you down considerably.

Spartan issued an email yesterday detailing some advisories for the upcoming Boston Super. The weather is set to be extremely hot and the warning is well deserved. After the debacles at Palmerton, Spartan has put one foot in front of the other and started the journey towards responsibility.

If you have done one, you have done them all. I have heard that plenty of times regarding Spartan Race. The difference between Sprint races isn't really its obstacles, it is the different courses. Palmerton has its own unique characteristics, as does Ohio, and the same goes for Tuxedo. Each year I come back to this mountain expecting something new and different. Each year builds on all the positives from the previous year, with one exception. More on that later.

Over the last few years, I have grown quite comfortable with the Spartan Race obstacles. I can tackle most of them without issue. There are the few like the rig, the spear throw, and the Z-wall that usually have me doing burpees. Sometimes it is because of environmental issues (mud), sometimes it is because of grip strength, and sometimes it is just because the Spartan gods have a great sense of humor. In an effort to stay fresh and learn something new, I wanted to see what the Spartan Obstacle Specialist course was all about, and if the money spent on it would be worth the time and the effort.

There is one thing I love to do more on the course than running; it is talking to people. When I run with a group, we tackle the open heat; it is just more fun. I get the great privilege of talking with people on the course; and for many of them, it is usually their first or second Spartan Race. If there is one thing I can take away from most of these discussions, it is that people had little to no guidance before race day.

Here we are, 14 weeks from Killington and starting a critical turning point in training. This week would be a standard week, but the plans for next week have started already. For the most part, things would remain normal this week, with the addition of a trail run to get some technical terrain under my feet. After all, road running doesn't do much for stressing the ankles. The end of the week will have me at Tuxedo, NY for the Spartan Sprint, no weight training this weekend.