Spartan Sprint Minnesota 6/22/19 Welch Village, MN
Weather: 70 degrees, sunny
Terrain: Grassy ski hill, some dirt trails
Distance: 3.5 miles, 22 obstacles
Showed up at the parking lot about 90 minutes before my wave started and got a nice close parking space and a pretty short registration line. This gave me plenty of time to walk around and enjoy the (surprise!) flawless weather (none of the predicted rain/thunderstorms, just blue skies) and scenery. I noticed a lot of elite women and age groupers of both sexes were failing the monkey bars, which didn't look difficult. This made me a bit nervous, but I channeled my inner Skip Bayless and thought "confidence!" Bag check was easy. Bathrooms were line-free. Elite men were shirtless.
My wave started at 9 AM. Lots of first-time Spartans in this race! First was an easy 4' wall, then we climbed a very long hill to get to the top of the "mountain" (which sits about 350 feet up). A single Hurdle at the top, then a 6' wall which was easily walkable. This course isn't known for mud, thank goodness, so we were dry...for now. Halfway back down the hill was Herc Hoist which was NOT in Beast Mode and therefore quite easy for everyone. At the bottom of the hill we wound past the festival to the aforementioned Monkey Bars so I could see what all the fuss was about. The bars didn't look too far apart, and they were all set at the same height. They go slightly uphill but only slightly. What could be so tough?
I tell ya: they were surprisingly tough! The bars felt farther apart when you were on them, and I think what threw a lot of folks off was they seemed to be such different distances apart. I had to take each one as its own separate event and swing to get new momentum on every single bar. The fact that they were sitting out in direct sunlight made people's hands a bit sweaty too. I was really struggling about halfway through, especially when a Negative Nancy came up behind me complaining about "I can't do this, this is too hard, this is ridiculous," which is the friggin' WORST thing to be hearing when you're on the strugglebus yourself. I tuned her out and REFUSED to fall off the bars. Continued until I rang the bell, extremely relieved and surprisingly tired. It took me around 90 full seconds to cross those. Thankfully there was a water stop afterward.
After the water stop was the dunk wall, followed by Rolling Mud. And my, was it muddy. And sandy. I ended up with lots of sand in my shoes, and my hair, and my pants, and my mouth. The water was also pretty cold but I enjoyed that part. Lots of others did not, so caveat emptor. The slip wall wasn't too bad as long as you had good technique with those muddy/sandy feet. We continued uphill back to the top of the mountain for a very scenic trip up the A-frame cargo, followed by a trifecta of heavy carries: Atlas carry, plate drag, and bucket. The bucket had logs to step over but was otherwise a vast improvement over the Ohio Beast. A welcome and fun jog downhill to the mile 2 marker and the spear throw! Which I missed to the right by INCHES. First fail of the day, and I definitely predicted it. The burpee pit had nice soft grass and was downhill so the burpees were easier, at least.
Another downhill jog to the barbed wire crawl. Yay, it goes downhill! Oh dear, it is LOW. This crawl was the lowest I have ever seen. You essentially HAD to roll through it, which I had never done before because I get dizzy easily. Tried it and I actually liked it. A very nice lady near me got bitten by a Mystery Bug, which was both amusing and horrifying. Downhill again! Then we turned and went back uphill. Look, Crawl Tubes! Tubular. And this time they go uphill!
At the top of this big hill we found the inverted wall, which was nice and dry, then went downhill again to vertical cargo, which was nice and tight and had no platforms to mount, thank goodness. A nearby gal and I bonded over our love of the Packers, which I didn't expect to find in Vikings country. We truly found love in a hopeless place. Next was the sandbag carry, which was tough, not gonna lie. We went straight up a super steep hill where a photographer was waiting for us. I did my absolute best to fake a smile.
Back down the hill with the sandbag, then we turned and climbed the freakin' black diamond run for the steepest hill of the day. And it just kept going. You'd think you were near the top, then you'd turn and find a whole new section. It was like the queue for Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyworld or something. I read that the maximum incline on this course was 45%, and we probably reached that in this section. Finally we reached the tippy top, where we found a water stop and the multi-rig, which was rings only in typical Spartan Sprint fashion. Thankfully I had spent the entire uphill hike trying not to let my hands get sweaty. And there was another photographer, yay!
We went back DOWN the hill for the last time today (this hill is so steep they had to give us switchbacks for the down portion) and came out in the finishing gauntlet. Z-walls went well. The rope climb was the last official obstacle (before the fire jump) and there was quite the crowd gathered 'round. I picked a good looking rope and locked my feet in...and realized my hands had zero friction. None. It was as if my fingerprints had been sanded off by the Gestapo. Since it wasn't raining, I'd left my dollar-store gloves in the car, and now I was regretting it a bit, although I'd hate to carry them the entire race for just one obstacle. I tried a different rope hoping it would be grippier, but gave up and did burpees instead. In retrospect I should have tried taking my damp shirt off and wrapping it around my hands to see if that would have worked. Live and learn. Next time! After my burpees I leapt over the flames and finished in about 1:37, which was a major Sprint (non-stadium) PR! Woop!
Post-race goodies and love from volunteers (the lady handing out water was so supportive and nice), a line-free cold wash and change tent, and easy exit from the parking lot. This race could not possibly have gone any smoother. It was amazing. Such a vast improvement over last year's Minnesota Sprint, and it definitely confirmed my suspicions that this venue is absolutely incredible...when it's dry.
My wave started at 9 AM. Lots of first-time Spartans in this race! First was an easy 4' wall, then we climbed a very long hill to get to the top of the "mountain" (which sits about 350 feet up). A single Hurdle at the top, then a 6' wall which was easily walkable. This course isn't known for mud, thank goodness, so we were dry...for now. Halfway back down the hill was Herc Hoist which was NOT in Beast Mode and therefore quite easy for everyone. At the bottom of the hill we wound past the festival to the aforementioned Monkey Bars so I could see what all the fuss was about. The bars didn't look too far apart, and they were all set at the same height. They go slightly uphill but only slightly. What could be so tough?
I tell ya: they were surprisingly tough! The bars felt farther apart when you were on them, and I think what threw a lot of folks off was they seemed to be such different distances apart. I had to take each one as its own separate event and swing to get new momentum on every single bar. The fact that they were sitting out in direct sunlight made people's hands a bit sweaty too. I was really struggling about halfway through, especially when a Negative Nancy came up behind me complaining about "I can't do this, this is too hard, this is ridiculous," which is the friggin' WORST thing to be hearing when you're on the strugglebus yourself. I tuned her out and REFUSED to fall off the bars. Continued until I rang the bell, extremely relieved and surprisingly tired. It took me around 90 full seconds to cross those. Thankfully there was a water stop afterward.
After the water stop was the dunk wall, followed by Rolling Mud. And my, was it muddy. And sandy. I ended up with lots of sand in my shoes, and my hair, and my pants, and my mouth. The water was also pretty cold but I enjoyed that part. Lots of others did not, so caveat emptor. The slip wall wasn't too bad as long as you had good technique with those muddy/sandy feet. We continued uphill back to the top of the mountain for a very scenic trip up the A-frame cargo, followed by a trifecta of heavy carries: Atlas carry, plate drag, and bucket. The bucket had logs to step over but was otherwise a vast improvement over the Ohio Beast. A welcome and fun jog downhill to the mile 2 marker and the spear throw! Which I missed to the right by INCHES. First fail of the day, and I definitely predicted it. The burpee pit had nice soft grass and was downhill so the burpees were easier, at least.
Another downhill jog to the barbed wire crawl. Yay, it goes downhill! Oh dear, it is LOW. This crawl was the lowest I have ever seen. You essentially HAD to roll through it, which I had never done before because I get dizzy easily. Tried it and I actually liked it. A very nice lady near me got bitten by a Mystery Bug, which was both amusing and horrifying. Downhill again! Then we turned and went back uphill. Look, Crawl Tubes! Tubular. And this time they go uphill!
At the top of this big hill we found the inverted wall, which was nice and dry, then went downhill again to vertical cargo, which was nice and tight and had no platforms to mount, thank goodness. A nearby gal and I bonded over our love of the Packers, which I didn't expect to find in Vikings country. We truly found love in a hopeless place. Next was the sandbag carry, which was tough, not gonna lie. We went straight up a super steep hill where a photographer was waiting for us. I did my absolute best to fake a smile.
The guy's face captures the general mood quite well.
Back down the hill with the sandbag, then we turned and climbed the freakin' black diamond run for the steepest hill of the day. And it just kept going. You'd think you were near the top, then you'd turn and find a whole new section. It was like the queue for Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyworld or something. I read that the maximum incline on this course was 45%, and we probably reached that in this section. Finally we reached the tippy top, where we found a water stop and the multi-rig, which was rings only in typical Spartan Sprint fashion. Thankfully I had spent the entire uphill hike trying not to let my hands get sweaty. And there was another photographer, yay!
Sun's out, guns out, tongues out.
We went back DOWN the hill for the last time today (this hill is so steep they had to give us switchbacks for the down portion) and came out in the finishing gauntlet. Z-walls went well. The rope climb was the last official obstacle (before the fire jump) and there was quite the crowd gathered 'round. I picked a good looking rope and locked my feet in...and realized my hands had zero friction. None. It was as if my fingerprints had been sanded off by the Gestapo. Since it wasn't raining, I'd left my dollar-store gloves in the car, and now I was regretting it a bit, although I'd hate to carry them the entire race for just one obstacle. I tried a different rope hoping it would be grippier, but gave up and did burpees instead. In retrospect I should have tried taking my damp shirt off and wrapping it around my hands to see if that would have worked. Live and learn. Next time! After my burpees I leapt over the flames and finished in about 1:37, which was a major Sprint (non-stadium) PR! Woop!
Flames! Flames on the sides of my...ankles!
Post-race goodies and love from volunteers (the lady handing out water was so supportive and nice), a line-free cold wash and change tent, and easy exit from the parking lot. This race could not possibly have gone any smoother. It was amazing. Such a vast improvement over last year's Minnesota Sprint, and it definitely confirmed my suspicions that this venue is absolutely incredible...when it's dry.
Pros:
-Course. Awesome obstacles (very beginner-friendly, but still challenging enough to be fun for experienced folks) and the terrain is dope. Steep but not ankle-breaking.
-People. The volunteers and participants were all extremely, ridiculously nice. Everyone I talked to was in a good mood, open and friendly. "Minnesota Nice," indeed!
-Organization. This went so smoothly, I honestly don't know how it could have been better.
-People. The volunteers and participants were all extremely, ridiculously nice. Everyone I talked to was in a good mood, open and friendly. "Minnesota Nice," indeed!
-Organization. This went so smoothly, I honestly don't know how it could have been better.
Cons:
-...I got nothin'.
Race Grade: A. Fabulous. Fantastic. Delightful. Might be my best race experience ever.
No comments:
Post a Comment