Are the distances getting shorter?
First off, I am a diehard Spartan guy.
I have been doing the races for four years, have five trifectas and have run over twenty races. I am most definitely not a big deal in the sport but I am passionate about it.
What I have learned in those years is that Spartan race is always changing and this latest news is very divisive. I know most of us tribe members don’t like the idea of easier races but I don’t think the news is all bad.
Ye olde days of Spartan
In past years you never knew how long a Spartan race would actually be. The shortest race, the Sprint, was billed as 3 plus miles. It was never 3 miles and always closer to 4.5 to 5.5. Not only that but the starting announcer would sometimes “lie” about the distance.
I enjoy that mystique. It plays with your mind. Does the distance really matter anyway? Sometimes they would screw with the mileage markers to throw you off. Classic. That is the Spartan way. They were always up to something. I love that about Spartan.
The intermediate race, the Super, is 8 plus miles plus and the Beast 12 plus. I never remember the Supers being 8 miles and the Beasts were never 12 miles.
The rumor is Spartan has decided to do is shorten the Sprint and Super races and make them more uniform. More uniform means having set distances and set obstacles. At least this is how I understand it. In other words, the Sprint and Super courses will be more predictable. Like McDonalds.
P.S. I don’t like McDonalds.
Now that Spartan is a huge corporation, maybe this idea of “mind games” has to go by the wayside. I see it as part of the adventure but maybe others are intimidated by it.
It would be really easy to blame the “soft” millennial generation but I don’t think this is the case. The kids I have met at the races are there because they want to be challenged because they have had soft lives. By the way, if they are “soft” it is because we made them soft.
I am an old geezer trying to relive the glories of my youth. Spartan isn’t targeting me. Or are they?
If you think about it Spartan is targeting both generations because we are all at a weird age. Millennials are old enough to know they have been deprived of something in life that will give them fulfillment but they are too young to know what it is. Spartan has the perfect product to fix that. Us older folk want to prove to ourselves that we can still kick a little ass. So how do you market it effectively? Do you really want to make it easier?
What I am saying that if you make the race easier with the hope of attracting a younger crowd are they going to satisfied with the product? There is always that group that just wants the t-shirt and finishers medal and that is all they get out of the race. Perhaps Spartan recognizes this and has to reconcile this against the ethos of 30 burpee penalties. Can the two different viewpoints coexist?
From my perspective, Spartan has already started shortening the distances.
Traditionally the stated mileage for the course does not include the added length for penalty loops, sandbag or bucket brigade carries. The distances I am quoting are from my TomTom and yes I am too cheap to get a Garmin. GPS is GPS, right? My quotes include the extra distance along with a couple extra yards for me going off course to pee.
- Fort Carson Sprint 4.11 miles
- Fort Carson Super 8.86 miles
- Utah Sprint 3.43
- Utah Super 9.06
- Snowmass Sprint 4.04
- Snowmass Beast 12.43
- Seattle Sprint 4.01
- Seattle Beast 13.86
Subtract maybe 1/3 to 1/2 a mile for the bucket brigade and sandbag carry and you can see what I mean.
Thank the Lord they are keeping the Beast a long, hard race. I also think the Supers being around 8 miles is a good distance. Word on the street is that they may trim this to a 10k distance which would be 6 plus miles. The Sprint would go down to a 5k distance of 3 plus.
That is a problem.
When you are used to running longer distances, it is hard not to feel cheated with a shorter course. I have to travel a long way to some of these races. Personally I like the longer distances and I don’t think it is too much to ask a racer to go a little farther.
It is like when I am training a client and we do an extra set of squats. It is not more work, it is extra value!
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The Pros
I hate to break it to you but the OCR industry is not growing at a meteoric pace. Participation has flattened out and companies like Battle Frog and Warrior Dash have closed their doors. Here in Colorado we get Spartan, Tough Mudder, Rugged Maniac and Terrain Race for “big time” races.
Just my opinion but you couldn’t pay me to do a Terrain race. The obstacles look flimsy and I am just not interested.
Rugged Maniac offers a 5K course you can do multiple laps on if you wish.
Tough Mudder offers a 10 mile and 5K.
My philosophy is that if it takes me longer to drive to the race than to do the race, why do it?
What I am trying to tell you is that we don’t have a lot of options for OCR races in Colorado. We have even fewer choices for longer races. That is a shame. I like the long, tough courses but like everything else in my life, I see to be in the minority.
The general public wants to have fun, get muddy and have a beer afterwards. There is nothing wrong with that. It is just a different mindset.
To be honest, I can’t blame anyone for not wanting to beat the crap out of themselves. That was why Warrior Dash existed. That is the market. Companies have to get the pulse of the industry and change to stay in business. That is the bottom line and even Spartan may need to change.
The bottom line is I want them to be around and if this is something they have to do to stay in business, let it be.
The second pro to this is that there are a lot of people who might actually enjoy a Spartan Sprint but the logo and aggressive reputation of the race makes them apprehensive. Making the course more inviting will bring in more people and hopefully a percentage of them will buy into the Spartan way of doing things and stick around.
The new Spartan motto is to tear people off the couch and get them moving. This is very different from the original Spartan concept but this is not the same company. You grow and become successful as a company and you need to start asking different questions. For my money Spartan are still the best races. I race both Saturday (the longer race) and Sunday (the Sprint) so I guess the changes will give my tired bones a break.There is nothing wrong with that…I think?
The Cons
Let’s talk about the cons.
First off, these races are expensive.
As a Spartan SGX coach I get a discount on races. Incidentally if you subscribe to their email you will also get the same 20% off or better. What’s the deal with that? No pun intended.
When it is all said and done, a Sprint will still be well over $100. That is a lot of money to run three miles. Did I mention the prices are going up for next year? I realize that putting on an experience like this is expensive. They have to deal with site fees, labor and insurance but even diehard Spartans get price sensitive at some point.
Okay, who am I kidding. Of course I will still go to the races. I bought into this a long time ago. But will newbies fork over that much? And if they do, will they come back for more?
Second point.
Who cares about making the distances 5K, 10K and 13.1? I know those are the standard running distances but they don’t translate well to OCR.
Just do the distance. That is the purpose of the race. Get a little tougher than you were when you started.
Look at it this way.
Is there a big difference between 3 and 4 miles? You are there for the experience. an extra mile means more value for your money. It means the beer will taste a little better at the end. Conversely, taking away a mile has an major negative impact. It just doesn’t feel right. By the time I get loose from the previous days races, I am almost done. Seattle felt like it was too short and I felt kind of ripped off. I wanted to wander off and do see if the beast obstacles were still around. I really started feeling ripped off when they offered me some kind of seltzer water at the end of the race instead of a beer. What’s up with that?
Is there a big difference between 6 miles and 8 miles. Yes there is a big difference and that is why I am upset. Those last couple of miles are the ones that kick my butt. Someone could say, “Just run the race faster” and they would be right but I would still feel I am being robbed out of the 2 miles. See my point?
I am used to a distance and if Spartan is going to use taglines like “Earned never Given” then make it harder not easier. If you want to tinker with a race to make it more appealing to the masses, the focus on the Sprint and leave the Super out of it.
Warrior Dash was a fun 5K race I used to do with friends and I never took it seriously. Spartan was always taken seriously and I am afraid that the brand will be affected by watering down the races. Again just my opinion but by making them shorter you make them easier.
Conclusion
Let me say this for the record. I am loyal to Spartan. I go to the races, buy the gear and read the books. The race has changed my life for the better and I am not ashamed to say that. They are simply the best.
Just like anything I care about in the world, I have a vested interest in preserving it. Especially preserving the idea that the race will continually evolve to test my body and mind because…well…there aren’t any other alternatives that compare to it.
I remember when Mercedes came out with the Baby Benz in the 80’s. Mercedes were the epitome of design and performance back then. They tried to make a more affordable, appealing alternative and what they came out with was a cheap sh*tty version of a car. It was ugly, underpowered and became a joke. Those kind of decisions break my heart.
I always tend to rally against corporate America. They are an easy target and it makes me feel better. I picture guys in suits crunching numbers. Guys who have never done a race but have “expertise” in running a company. Spartan has a great thing going and I am not privy to the numbers but I don’t want them to change so much that the original product is gone and replaced by a Baby Benz.
Again, just my opinion.
