Austin Spartan Super 10K at Reveille Peak Ranch in Burnet, Texas on May 21, 2022. (Photo: Ralph Arvesen)
Spartan Race is a series of obstacle races of varying distance and difficulty ranging from 3 miles to marathon distances. They are held in the United States and have been franchised to 30 countries, including Canada, South Korea, Australia, and several European countries. The series include the Spartan Sprint, the Spartan Super, the Spartan Beast, and the Spartan Ultra. Spartan Race also has a military series, hosted on military bases.
Spartan Race began as a spin-off of the "Death Race", a 48-hour endurance event founded in 2007. Spartan was founded by De Sena, intended for it to be a more manageable endurance race for a wider audience. The first Spartan Race event was held in 2010 at the Catamount Outdoor Center in Williston, Vermont and represented the city of Burlington, Vermont. Roughly 500 competitors had to "run, crawl, jump and swim" and overcome a variety of obstacles. All finishers received a medal, and prizes were awarded to the top athletes.
Spartan Race's main events include the Spartan Sprint (3+ miles of obstacle racing, 20+ obstacles), the Spartan Super (8+ miles, 25+ obstacles), the Spartan Beast (13+ miles, 30+ obstacles), and the Spartan Ultra (30+ miles, 60+ obstacles). The obstacles themselves also vary from race to race.
Frequently presented obstacles can include a fire jump, climbing under barbed wire, wall climbing, mud crawling, the "over-under-through" (a series of obstacles in which runners must first climb over a wall, then under a wall, then through a square hole placed in a wall), spear throw, rope climb, heavy object carries, "Herculean Hoist", "Tyrolean traverse", monkey bars, Traversal Wall (similar to a bouldering wall), Hobie Hop (a thick rubber band is placed around the ankles and participants hop through consecutive tires), Slip Wall (a wall built at an incline, roughly covered in grease), a zig-zag log jump, steep mud climbs (rolling mud), tractor pulls, underwater submerging below walls (dunk walls), Atlas carries, tire flips, stump balances (skipping on stumps across a pond), and rope swing.
Failure to fully complete any obstacles results in a 30 Burpee penalty (or in some cases, a penalty loop) that runners complete before continuing their race. A participant can obtain a Trifecta medal after completing a Spartan Sprint (or Spartan Stadion), a Spartan Super, and a Spartan Beast in one calendar year. The Spartan World Championships are held yearly, and to qualify for the event, men and women must finish top 5 in a U.S. Championship Series event or a Regional Championship in their respective category.
Every human can become unbreakable. They’ve simply forgotten how. We deconstruct modern-day comforts by tapping into an ancient methodology built on doing hard shit.List of obstacles (in order):
Competition tests us. Our events span from the world’s most popular obstacle course races to trail events, functional fitness challenges, multi-stage mountain bike races and team-based endurance missions.
Training sharpens us. Our Spartan Master Coaches use unconventional tactics to create fitness programming for all skill levels.
Nutrition fuels us. Eating right is the foundation of high performance and a healthy life.
Community empowers us. Spartans the world over support each other as they overcome every obstacle life throws them. Remember, you are strong alone; but together, we are unbreakable.
Join us.
- Over Walls (4' walls)
- Hurdles
- 6' Wall
- Titan Fitness Multi-Rig
- Barbed Wire Crawl
- Inverted Wall
- 7" Wall
- Bender
- Stairway To Sparta
- Pipe Lair
- The Box
- Twister
- Beater
- Olympus
- Usana Atlas Carry
- Vertical Cargo
- Bucket Carry
- AC+Ion Z Wall
- Spear Throw
- Clean Simple Eats Hercules Hoist
- Rolling Mud
- Dunk Wall
- Craft A-Frame Cargo
- Sandbag Carry
- Fitaid Rope Climb
- Monkey Bars
- Helix
- Slip Wall
Austin Spartan Event Weekend
Austin Spartan Event Weekend
Spartan
Founded in 2010 by CEO Joe De Sena, Spartan is the world’s largest obstacle race and endurance brand. Beyond engaging more than 7 million participants in the more than 300 race events, the Spartan lifestyle spans more than 45 countries and encompasses a global championship series, training and nutrition programs, health and wellness products and a range of media entities.
Spartan’s militaristic-style obstacle races have seen more than 7 million participants jump through fire and over the finish line after pushing their bodies and minds to limit across miles of unforgiving terrain while conquering signature obstacles such as the spear throw, bucket brigade and barbed wire crawl.
Race events include three distances: the 5K 20 obstacle “Sprint;” 10K, 25 obstacle “Super;” and 21K, 30 obstacle “Beast,” which, when completed in one race season earns competitors the coveted “Trifecta” medal. All races are timed and feature Elite, Competitive and Open heats, along with Spartan Kids races designed to challenge youth ages four to 14 with special obstacles and trails.
Reveille Peak Ranch
Reveille Peak Ranch is the Texas Hill Country at its finest, combining a love for the land with the spirit of adventure. A 1,300-acre outdoor event and adventure center just outside of Burnet, Texas, Reveille Peak Ranch provides the beauty and thrill of the natural outdoors, while still being just an hour from Austin.
Whether you're looking for some of the best mountain biking and hiking trails in Texas or need a place to stop the RV for a few nights, Reveille Peak Ranch provides an experience like no other.
Spartan
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Reveille Peak Ranch
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Photos by Ralph Arvesen
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