Just when you thought it couldn’t get any tougher, Spartan Race, the world’s leading obstacle race and Outside Magazine’s Best Obstacle Race in 2012, revealed two new, super-challenging elements debuting at the Spartan Race Vermont Beast presented by Dial For Men in Killington, Vt. Sept. 22, 2012.

“Spartan’s 2011 Vermont Beast was a game-changer in the sport of obstacle racing,” explained Spartan Race co-founder Joe Desena. “The climbs, the insanely challenging obstacles and the technicality of the course left racers breathless and broken. It became the crowning jewel in a calendar of events that just keeps getting more challenging in 2012.

“So, true to Spartan form,” Desena continued, “the game is changing again. We’re kicking things up a notch in two very dramatic ways.”

Desena went on to explain that the new Ultra Beast will be the first-ever, marathon-distance (26.2 mile) obstacle race to coincide with the main race held the same weekend. Double the fun, Ultra Beast will take competitors through two loops of the grueling main course – twice subjecting them to the toughest course Spartan can bring before reaching the finish line.

To qualify for entry in Ultra Beast, athletes interested in participating first must apply. For their own safety and due to the competitive nature of the event, only pre-screened and approved applicants will be allowed to participate. Candidates must email their respective race resumes and three sentences telling why they want to take on the Ultra Beast to ultrabeast@spartanrace.com. Qualified applicants will be notified and registered by Spartan Race.

In addition to the Ultra Beast option, race organizers are making the Beast tougher than ever by offering its first, almost fully unsupported event in the Spartan Race line-up. “Unsupported” is a concept in adventure racing that requires racers to anticipate, plan for and be fully prepared to run the course with everything they will need to finish. Competitors will carry their own food and water from start to finish, increasing both the challenge and the accomplishment when completed.

In preparation for this unprecedented standard of toughness, Spartan Race will be providing helpful information on how to self-support successfully straight from race director and seasoned adventure racer Mike Morris. “One aid station* will up the intensity of this already difficult course. A mostly unsupported race adds a new level of challenge to the game that no other event has,” Morris noted.

To find out more about the Ultra Beast click http://www.spartanrace.com/vermont-spartan-race-ultra-beast-marathon-2012.html.

*Spartan Race will provide one aid station along the course for the Ultra and Beast participants, but its location will not be revealed until race day.

About Spartan Race

Spartan Race, the brainchild of Joe Desena, seven extreme athletes and a royal Marine, is an international obstacle racing series with four levels of courses: three-mile Sprints with roughly a dozen obstacles; eight-mile Super Spartan with 15 or more obstacles; 10- to 12-mile Beast Races; and the newest level, the marathon-distance Ultra Beast. Spartan Races are held in each region of the U.S. with The World Championship Beast held annually in Pittsfield, Vt. The Spartan Death Race, also held in Pittsfield every year, inspired the obstacle racing series and is reserved for the most extreme competitors.

Courses are muddy, creative and extreme – uniquely designed to exhaust and exhilarate as well as test competitors’ strength, stamina, mental and emotional fitness and sense of humor. Family friendly and highly inclusive for athletes of all levels and abilities, the series also is universally respected as a uniquely competitive option for serious athletes. Spartan racers may compete as individuals or teams.

Voted Outside Magazine’s Best Obstacle Race of 2012, Spartan Race has partnered with Athlinks to provide global rankings in the sport and a leader board with a points system. With more than 90 million race records, www.athlinks.com is regarded as the best overall race results site in the world. In a sea of “fun runs” and “endurance challenges” Spartan Race is putting the sport of obstacle racing on the map in a big way.

For more information, a schedule of events or to register for a Spartan Race, visit http://www.spartanrace.com/

To find the Spartan Race points system go to: http://www.spartanrace.com/worldrankings/spartan-race-point-standings.html

Race results updated after each event: http://www.spartanrace.com/spartan-race-results-2012.php