Spartan Race is an obstacle course race set up by Joe De Sena, this 82-year-old man has managed to create something big out of nothing. That alone makes his story worth appreciating. The organization boasts an ever-expanding family of like-minded individuals who all want to see their lives become the lives they have always dreamed about but never thought possible and it’s rapidly spreading.
The company was founded in 2010 and more than 1 million people have taken part since then. These races are for everyone from kids to elderly people, there’s even one for dogs (yes you read that right). There are also many different options when it comes to obstacles with multiple different levels of difficulty so you’re able to make them as hard or as easy as you’d like.
You could run the race with friends or do it on your own, either way, having people to support makes these races a lot more fun and there’s a great sense of community at each event. It can give you that extra push when you’re feeling tired or worn out because even if you don’t win first place in your age category everyone still claps for you at the end, whether they finish last or last but one, it doesn’t matter. The aim really is just to get around each obstacle without giving up. This alone encourages a very positive attitude towards failing too which means that it’s ok not to succeed every time and that helps everybody feel better about themselves when they’re struggling. Failure isn’t fatal, it doesn’t mean you’re a bad person.
It might be just the thing to give us all that bit of courage we need to get out there and make some changes in our lives. After all, what’s the worst that can happen? It can be a really fun day either way! If you enjoy running or even if you don’t but still have an interest in doing something different then it could be worth checking them out. There’s something for everyone at A Spartan Race so why not try one out? All obstacles are completely optional too so nobody forces you into anything you feel uncomfortable with which is always nice. It means they’re suitable for everybody no matter how much experience they have with physical activity or none at all.
Of course, being so chaotic and disorganized is also what makes the race so much fun and keeps it exciting. If you have people in your life who are pressuring you to do something that feels suspiciously like exercise then the silly obstacle names help too, because things like ‘spartan leap’ or ‘battle rope’, sound kind of dangerous but in reality, they’re pretty easy if you just give them a go. It’s all meant to be done with good humor anyway. There’s no shame in having fun while still working hard because that seems to be a very spartan way of approaching things – plus there will always be some people who can’t handle the pressure! And this can make running around obstacles even more entertaining. There are seven different obstacles that everyone has to complete as part of the race, but people do it in their own time too which makes each competition unique.
If you’re a bit nervous about running then just remember – if you fall over it’s not a big deal and everybody else is falling over too! The spartans closest to the finishing line will even try helping out those who need a hand getting back up again so don’t worry about feeling embarrassed. It doesn’t matter how many times or how long it takes, eventually you’ll finish. Just make sure to have fun on your way around the course.
The atmosphere at each event is great because there are some real characters involved in organizing these events and they always seem to be having a great time organizing them. They just seem to be people with a good sense of humor who love seeing other people enjoying themselves so I think that helps make the atmosphere fun for everybody else too. The races have seven different obstacles which are worth varying degrees of points each, from 1-5 depending on how hard they are.
You get three attempts at each one during your run around the course, but you can stop and try again if you fail an obstacle before moving onto another one. Or indeed you can ignore them completely on your first couple of laps so that you give yourself more energy for later in the race when better athletes might take advantage of weaker earlier runners! It seems like there’s a lot going on but everything’s kept simple. The obstacles are clearly marked too so it’s not hard to find them and you don’t have to worry about running around all day looking for something that might not exist! It makes the course much easier to negotiate as well when everything is clear.
The nature of these obstacle races means that they’re suitable for men, women, children, old people, young people – anyone can do it because they’re not testing your strength or speed but instead your courage and perseverance. Everybody has a different strength whether in terms of their mind or their body so there’s no reason why one person should be better than another at an obstacle race. It doesn’t matter how fast you run or how strong you are because nothing really matters except getting around the course as fast as possible. The obstacles are all optional too and if you’re not interested in doing them then you can just run around the course without bothering with them at all – your time will still count of course.
The race starts off with a sort of obstacle warm-up where everybody has to jump over a ten foot wall. It gets everyone started quickly and it’s something fun to do but it also serves as an obstacle for later on when people are tired. It helps get everyone enthusiastic because even if they struggle getting over the ten foot wall they’ll find that they have no problems clearing the six or seven foot walls further into the race. This really is just meant to be a fun time so it’s good encouragement for anybody who’s struggling.
It might seem a little odd at first to be doing something as intense as an obstacle race using the London Marathon course, but it really does work very well for an event like this! The route is closed beforehand and so people get to run around on their own without having to worry about other runners or vehicles getting in their way – that makes the location great for events like this. And of course, there’s plenty of access from one point to another so it’s very easy to navigate through the whole area while you’re running – that makes things much more enjoyable too.