Running Your First Spartan Race
Some tips for how you can get involved into Spartan Racing. It’s fun!
tl;dr Tips
- Download (and pay per month) for the Spartan Fit app, they have solid training and it’s $15 a month
- Run at least twice a week, if not more. Run at least 2 miles, get your heart rate up
- Eat well (lots of protein/ milk for recovery)
- Sign up and do your best!
What is a Spartan Race?
Spartan races, a race known as an Obstacle Course Race (OCR) might be familiar to you if you’ve ever seen Ninja Warrior, or heard of a Tough Mudder.
The race involves a mix of (you guessed it) obstacles and running. The course layouts vary but typically involve a lot of changes in elevation and can be really dirty (I’ll get to that) or a lot cleaner (yay no mud).
You’ll carry heavy things, climb and swing, crawl, and do some sort of exercises like slamming a ball or heavy jump rope. Oh and don’t forget the burpees.
I’ve done the most basic versions of the races (a Stadion and a Sprint).
How to train for a race
Cardio
The shortest distance race is a Sprint or a Stadion, which is a 5K (3.1 miles) and 20 obstacles. The obstacles vary but most are related to strength, so I’ll get to that below.
If you want to train for running this event, there’s two types of cardio you’re going to want to do, HI-IT (High intensity Interval Training) and regular running.
I’d start out by running as far as you can, with the goal of being able to run the full distance of a 5K, considering you won’t have the luxury of just running during the race, but will also have to carry heavy stuff. Running is fun right? Hahaha…
Strength
There will be twenty obstacles you do for the shortest Spartan race, and only more as you go to the Beast or Super races. Strength training is something everyone does differently but I’ll say what worked for me.
The Spartan fit app
I really can be lazy about getting over to our gym (yes, joining a gym is a good idea if you’re very disciplined.) What I love most about this app is it has two types of workouts depending on your mood:
- An instructor lead video course where they cheer you along (some of them are funny, some of them are kind of nuts)
- Canned recordings of an instructor doing the exercise with timers for rests and for how long to do the exercise.
Depending on your energy level or desire to get yelled at by a virtual stranger, either of them are good. I think my core strength really went up for both races because I used this app.
The app has good strength training and HI-IT
That said, besides the app, if you don’t want to join a gym, then…
Get some home workout equipment
- A few dumbbells (you don’t need every weight, I have 2x25s and 1x45),
- Maybe a kettlebell
- A workout mat
- Crosstraining shoes
I also go run over to the park nearby and use the monkeybars for pull-ups! It’s closer than the gym.
Gyms
I like gyms; I used them a lot more in college because they were really close. But you have to be in the habit to get over to them, which I am not. Funnily enough, the cell reception is terrible at my gym, so I can’t use the Spartan fit app there. I do go there occasionally, but mostly to do cardio in the winter (but treadmills are so LOUD).
Diet
I really enjoy the diet from the Four Hour Body book by Tim Ferris. I don’t follow it super strictly but it amounts to lots of vegetables, protein (usually meat) and beans/legumes. Here’s a nice diagram showing it.
Everyone’s different diet wise, so my advice is to make sure you drink enough water and get enough protein. If you can shed bodyweight, that will help you on a lot of the upper body focused pieces.
Racing Advice
Having done a couple so far (and finishing in the top 32% and top 13%), here’s my bulleted list of advice for running the race itself:
- Read through the course information they send you ahead of time
- Take breaks after the obstacles. You will probably do a lot of run-walking
- Stay hydrated but not too hydrated (there are hydration stations but no bathrooms on the course!)
- Always pick stuff up with your legs. Don’t be throwing out your back on those sandbags
- Take breaks DURING obstacles (put down the heavy things if you feel like you’re going to pass out)
- Take the penalties and move on (yay burpees/extra running)
My areas for improvement
I still really need to work on grip. I failed the ring swing both times haha. The Spartan Fit app has exercises that are upper body/grip focused, I just need to commit myself to doing them (lots of carrying stuff around). Also I CANNOT throw a spear straight haha.
Hope you enjoyed! Let me know if you have any questions about running them.
Also there’s lots of mud in the Sprint, so be prepared, blegh.
