The 8:15 wave took off to the usual fanfare and motivation. But the smokebomb was missing. And for that I give you my sincere
thanks. It was not an obstacle. It was a toxic health hazard. Following that huge plus, there were plenty
more to come on this perfect morning for a race.
That blissful state was almost ruined at obstacle #3 when at the top,
some guy accidently kicked me in the face, knocking my contact lens out. That could have been terrible trouble
navigating the single track without stereo vision. Fortunately the lens was still there
miraculously and moved back into place.
A DNF for something like that would have sucked. I guess I would have walked but…who knows.
By far the toughest obstacle out there was the terrain. The steep, rocky, uneven single track was
very technical and extremely fun. And
there were miles of it. I’m glad I was
in an early wave so that I could run this at full pace, not stuck in mule pack
lines of the nearly 6000 runners who competed.
I learned that lesson last year after suffering a 20 minute delay at the
last obstacle just because I had to wait in line.
There were a few new obstacles I have not seen at Spartan. The rig was a three-section apparatus with an
incline bar, four rope knots, and a horizontal bar. It was difficult given its strategic
placement after a muddy barbed wire crawl making the grips almost
non-existent. The Z-Traverse was also
tough given its slippery placement right after another barbed wire crawl. Kudos for that. I slipped on both of these, did my thirty
burpees each, and powered on. They were
my only two fails for the day. Lesson
learned – train with wet, muddy gloves.
Seriously. Maybe I could keep my hands out of the mud if I could roll through the wire like other people. But I get horribly dizzy. Any suggestions?
There were lots of volunteers out there and most were vocal and
helpful. Likewise, the photographers
seemed well-engaged. Unfortunately, and
this is my only negative, the fan viewing area was limited to the bottom of the
course. No chair life rides to the
top. Still, it was nice to have a few
encounters with my support team down there amid the cheering throngs.
I enjoyed seeing some of my friends out there, and thrilled especially
to see Charles “Jazz” Vassallo podium twice in a row in the elite master’s
division. There’s over a decade of age
between us though and given the profiles of yesterday’s top placers, I have to
wonder why Spartan set their elite master’s age beginning at 40. In running races, that age is typically
50. Heck, the top male open division
finisher came in at an elite pace and he was 55. Spartan needs to recalibrate their brackets.
The obstacles were well built, well placed, and well manned. Some of them, particularly the cargo webs,
were almost too good. They were so tight
that they were more like climbing ladders.
Loosen them up like they used to be.
Make them tough and challenging again.
Put a catch net at the finish line too.
After the fire jump, the track was so steep I had a hard time
stopping. It was also very rocky with
loose scree. So it was tough to dig in
and stop. I flew right past the guy with
my medal and the people with the scissors who wanted to snip my timing chip
bracelet.
I loved this race and was very well prepared for it. The tire drags all winter long in flat South
Jersey paid off. I shall return next
year.
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