Spartan Race Unveils World’s First-Ever Marathon-Distance Obstacle Course
March 15 2012 - 9:12AM
Business Wire
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