Mud Run Questions (Spartan!)

[Noname123]

Hi All, 

 

So in my quest to get fit I was linked a picture of the trifecta of Spartan medals- and I want it. 

 

Any Spartan Racers out there who have done the Sprint, Super or Beast? I'm planning to do the Sprint and the super in 2015 and the beast in 2016- is this a viable goal? 

 

At the start of May I completed the Warrior Dash (which I hear is not as difficult as the Spartan 5k counterpart) but I did it relatively easily, though I walked a good chunk of it. I also didn't take training for it seriously only starting to work out seriously the week before the event (Did it with friends so it was more social than anything else). I'm now into a couple NF challenges and signed up for a 10 miler in October (Army 10 miler, flat road, not a mud run!). Just a general idea of where my fitness goals/abilities currently are in 2014. 

 

I plan on spinning and weightlifting for my workout routines as well, any additional training to prep would be appreciated!

[QuirkyDM]

I've done the Sprint and I'm doing it again this year, plus two beasts. I would have liked to squeeze a Super in there, but the weekends didn't line up. I should think doing two beasts should count for something extra. I'm doing a few other OCRs instead to round it out.

 

I found the free Spartan eBook as a good resource for prep. I never used their training plans, but there's some good stories and info in there about fitness and obstacles.

http://www.spartanrace.com/spartan-race-guide-to-obstacle-racing-ebook.php

 

I also thought this was a good article in the Spartan Digital magazine about training. (page 6) I'm currently trying to take most of this advice.

http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/f0b992f9#/f0b992f9/1

 

 

For me, personally, I do the following:

- Lots of running. Especially long runs if you're aiming for a Beast.

- Train on hills. All my local Spartan races are at ski hills, and that's a good deal steeper than most people are used to.

- Find a video of last year's race. Many of the obstacles will be the same and you'll have a better idea of what to train for.

- Learn how to do some of the basic obstacles that rely on technique. It's far better than 30 burpees. Rope climb is nearly all technique. Take a broom handle and practice spear throw. For walls, I find a swing set or soccer net (they're 8' high) and learn to jump up and grab on. If you can do that, you can likely scale an 8' wall. (look online for more info because the jump is only the first step)

 

I'm specifically training for Spartan races in my challenge. You can check it out if you want to see what I do. (it's in my sig)

[SpartanGirl]

That's a very very viable goal. Anyone can complete the Spartan sprint. It's tough, they're usually on a hilly area, like a ski resort, and the obstacles plus forfeit burpees are so challenging but it's ultimately very doable. If you have a year or so to train you're gonna be a superstar! The only training I did prior to my race last week was running. My arms were very painful and heavy for 5 days after due to all the upper body work that I wasn't used to but it was worth it! Practice hill runs, pull ups, burpees and climbing. The obstacles vary race to race but there's always gonna be a rope to climb up, walls to clamber over and a spear to throw! The spartan ebook is useful but I found a lot of the exercises in that harder than the actual obstacles. You can't prepare for everything but if you work on your general fitness and strength, the sprint and the super should be achievable.

 

If you can, I would also suggest setting up a group. If you get a big enough group to run in, you get a discount plus the camaraderie helps so much with this kind of race. Mentally prepare to get muddy, think of it was being a kid again- you're actually getting permission to run in the mud and enjoy it. It's so much more fun than any 'normal' race. I want to get the trifecta next year, which you get if you run all three races in one calendar year. It's addictive stuff!! Good luck!

[Iron Centurion]

I want to complete the Trifecta this year. I ran the sprint and Super last year, and the Sprint this year. Two more to go.

 

Anyway, I managed to get the courses done in a decent time (This year's sprint was top 12%), through the methods of brute force and high pain tolerance, mostly because I'm crazy. I do long runs for endurance, but heavy weights as well. For events like the Atlas Carry (Pick up a large concrete sphere and carry it), there is no way around brute strength. I recommend deadlifts, squats, shoulder presses, and pullups. Lots of pull ups. Seriously, like hundreds of them. There are many events that rely on pulling oneself over an obstacle, like walls, rope climbs, monkey bars and other things like that.

 

In short, be well rounded in everything.

 

Oh, and learn to throw a spear. Spartans never threw their spears (I have a Master's degree in military history, trust me, I know these things) but the people running the event don't seem to care.