There are obstacles in every Spartan race that any individual racer may dread. But some things are, objectively, freaking hard. Here I have attempted to rank, in my opinion, the top ten hardest Spartan obstacles based on objective difficulty level. I will put subjectively difficult obstacles in the Honorable Mention section because everyone has different challenges. I am not including the spear throw because, although difficult, this one really just requires practice and isn't as fun to analyze.
10. Beast-Mode Hercules Hoist
Ah, Herc Hoist. Visually intimidating, but generally innocuous for all but the most lightweight Spartans, the M.O. for this obstacle is to use a rope pulley to get a sandbag to the top and lower it down with control. Don't wrap the rope around any limbs, and don't let it slide through your hands on the way down and destroy your skin. Easy, right?
Say hello to Beast Mode! Beast Mode is when Spartan chooses to make a given obstacle more difficult for the people running the Beast (half marathon and 35 obstacles) distance. In Beast Mode, the Herc Hoist gains a lot of weight, generally being about 30-50% heavier than usual. This can cause a lot of fails, particularly for thin men, on what is generally a gimme obstacle. I encountered a Beast Mode Herc Hoist at the end of the 2019 Ohio Beast and I struggled with it. Me. Who weighed almost 170 pounds at the time.
How to clear it? Be strong. Seriously, just strap on your grip gloves (you should bring a cheap pair along on every race), grab the rope high, fall backwards, walk your hands up, repeat. Use your body weight to get the thing up there. If you weigh less than the bag, brace yourself with one foot on the fence and pray.
9. Stadion Multi-Rig
Not every Stadion has a "Stadion Multi-Rig," but you will only find this particular setup at a Stadion race. Normal Sprint rigs have rings only, and sometimes the Stadion you're doing will have this also. But sometimes they'll mix it up with a Stadion Multi-Rig, which is rings followed by a couple of baseball grips. The baseballs are tough to grab onto if you're not used to them.
How to clear it? The ball grip has a screw coming out the top of the attachment. When you put your hand on the grip, let the screw go between your thumb and index finger. Don't attempt to grab this ball with the screw between any other two fingers, or you will fail (unless you practiced that). Maintain your momentum swinging through and reach for that bell as if your life depends on it.
8. Rope Climb
Once you get the technique down, this one is much easier. But that doesn't make it easy. Depending on how muddy the rope is, or how exhausted you are, or how wrecked your grip is, you may or may not be able to easily scoot yourself to the top with flawless technique.
How to clear it? Bring grippy gloves, get that foot lock in tight with good OCR shoes, and try not to take too long.
7. Monkey Bars
Spartan monkey bars are far more intimidating than what you'll find on your local playground. The bars are thicker, making it tough for people with small hands. They're far apart and frequently set at different heights, making it tough for shorter people. And it always feels like there's more bars once you're on them. I swear I'll count 9 bars on the ground, then when I get on there I have to make 20 freaking transfers.
Not that innocent.
How to clear it? Commit. Ape-swing if you can so you spend less time on there. Be ready to save yourself if you miss the next bar. Tune out everything else, just focus on the next bar, and the next. If it's raining out and the bars are wet, go sideways, use a switch grip, and hope for the best (but expect the worst).
6. Muddy Tire Flip
The tire flip is a very straightforward obstacle in dry conditions. When the ground is wet or, god forbid, muddy, it can become nearly impossible. The mud creates a vacuum seal with the tire and all hell breaks loose.
How to clear it? Honestly, you might not be able to. Physics is a funny thing. You are legally allowed to try a different tire, although you cannot switch tires after your first flip (you have to complete both on the same tire). Find the dryest one you can and hope for the best.
5. Twister
The single most notorious grip obstacle in Spartan, Twister is the kind of obstacle that can take years to clear. People generally either easily sail through it, instantly fall off it, or struggle mightily before giving up at around the halfway point. If you want to be in the first group, you will need perfect technique and execution.
No pressure.
How to clear it? Try doing a sideways shuffle. Hands start two handles apart, then one, then two. So on. Through the truss dividing the sections, and continue. Keep the rhythm going. If you miss a handle, save yourself and give yourself a mental slap across the face to get yourself together.
4. Tyrolean Traverse
Is there any more Navy SEAL-like obstacle in Spartan than the Tyro Traverse? I submit that there is not. Crawl across a horizontal rope to the bell. You will cramp.
How to clear it? I've heard the most fool-proof method is to lock your feet together on top of the rope, then drag yourself through with your arms. Make sure you are wearing long tights or socks, because this method will remove your skin.
3. Beast-Mode Multi-Rig
Of all the Beast Mode obstacles, this is the most insidious. Rings, a horizontal bar, and ropes. The ropes. The damned ROPES. ROOOOOOPES. After you fail this obstacle you will curse the day Zeus invented ropes.
Shudder.
How to clear it? Practice. Even if it's just in your head. I have been working on visualization for this particular obstacle, imagining a rig where after the bar you encounter a ring and two ropes. I visualize coming off the bar onto the ring, generating a huge swing, and skipping the first rope to grab the second one. Pull back on that rope to get a decent swing, then match it and lunge for the bell. This should give me less than one second that I need to hang on to the rope. Let's hope to god it's enough.
2. The Box
A few years ago Spartan's sadism experts brainstormed, "how do we create an obstacle that SEEMS easy, but is actually damn near impossible?" From this sick orgy emerged: The Box. Everything about it is demented, while looking totally innocuous. "Basically an 8-foot wall, right? And with a rope hanging down to help you climb up? Psht, where's the challenge?"
"What is this obstac-OH MY GOD"
FOOLISH MORTAL. Dare to underestimate The Box at your peril. First, the rope is short, with a knot at the end that you cannot even properly stand on. This rope is as impotent as an aged Trump. Second, the wall part is no mere wall. It is made of a material so slick it should be sold in the family planning aisle. You cannot walk up it. Third, the top of The Box is the edge of a box. There is no lip to grab. Well, unless you can get high enough to reach for the bar, positioned a couple feet back on the top of The Box. If you are a 7+ foot NBA player, congratulations, you can skip a step.
How to clear it? I mean...just get a boost. Seriously. They say "oh you can lock in like a rope climb and get up there" but I have never been able to pull this off, because of those stupid knots that ruin everything. There are tutorials on YouTube, but they are made by the official Spartan account and I swear they are put there exclusively as a joke.
Honorable Mention: Beater (grip + momentum = fun...for some, not others), Super Multi-Rig (grip + changing directions), Bender (eek, heights), Bucket Carry (hard for those with short arms).
1. Olympus (New)
Of all the ways that Spartan has shattered my heart into a thousand pieces, the worst by far is that, as soon as I finally started clearing the difficult Olympus obstacle, they...it almost hurts too much to type...changed the material. To the same Astroglide greased-pig nightmare that they use for The Box. I don't know whose idea this was, but I hope they get sent to one of the inner circles of Hell.
I'll say this: I have never, NOT ONCE, seen anyone successfully complete the new Olympus. At least, not without majorly cheating. I have seen many complaints about it, but no successful clears. There is not a pair of OCR shoes on this Earth that can stick to this material. It's like that scene in Cool Runnings where they're trying to walk on the ice for the first time.
I had to use a picture of the old Olympus because seriously, there is not a photo of anyone successfully clearing the new Olympus on THE ENTIRE INTERNET
How to clear it? Maybe buy some suction-cup kneepads and THWOCK your way across the stupid thing. Seriously, you can't rely on your feet whatsoever, so maybe just bend your knees and try to laterally hang through? Good freakin' luck, anyway.
