Lessons Learned From a Spartan Race

The long story short is that the event was tough but far from impossible. I finished in 3:02:27, meaning that I averaged about 13:48 a mile (we were told the distance was actually 13.5 miles). To me, this felt pretty good considering I’d stop and take some time figuring out how I was going to approach 75% of the obstacles and it was a sunny, hot day in the middle of Texas.

That said, there is clearly a lot of room for improvement for me, both physically and in terms of race day logistics, that I think is worth sharing.

Physical Performance Takeaways

Let’s start with a few skills I now know should be emphasized in preparation for this type of obstacle course race (OCR).

Pull-Ups Are King

Probably the single most important skill, besides obviously the ability to physically run or walk 21 kilometers, is the ability to hold and pull your body in opposition to gravity. I failed three of 32 obstacles, and I’d have been much better off in each had I been capable of, say, 30 pull-ups per set instead of just 10-15. This was especially true as the race wore on and I was fatigued.

My training from now on, both in preparation for a Spartan Race and in general, will include a lot more pull-ups and bodyweight training. If I can reach a place where pulling myself upwards is just plain easy for a few reps, I’ll be in a much better position to move fluidly through many obstacles that I failed or that were a challenge.

Part of getting better at pull-ups might also include dropping a few pounds so there is less weight to pull in the first place…

A Spartan Race Requires Grip Strength

I noticed that people seemed to be failing most obstacles for two reasons: 1) they weren’t tall enough to reach said obstacle or 2) they couldn’t hold on long enough.

I am 6’3” (which is helpful) and have arms closer in length to those of an orangutan (not a good look but also helpful) than those of a normal human. This meant that certain obstacles were easy for me to start on or complete simply because of my size. Not necessarily fair, but it worked for me.

What I couldn’t compete on was grip strength. I did fine on things that required normal grip strength – monkey bars, rings, and other objects conducive to a human grabbing them. But what was hard were the oddball things like ropes, chains, and small rock-climbing holds.

I’ll start working a lot of grip strength into future workouts, too – things like dead hangs, forearm curls, fingertip pull-ups and so on. Besides an obstacle course race, this is probably also useful for tasks such as opening a jar of pickles. Not that I’d ever do that. Pickles are gross.

More Pre-Race Mileage Is Ideal

I never ran more than 10 miles for training, and all of my running was done at a rather leisurely pace. This meant that I was capable of making it 13 miles, but it was a long, tough 13 miles. What would be better is for 13 miles to feel like a breeze.

Next time for preparation, I’ll either do longer runs (think 15-20 miles at an 11:00 pace) or run shorter distances faster (think 10-13 miles at an 8:30 pace). Either option would require me to build up to those numbers, but both would be valuable.

It is not a good feeling to get done with an obstacle, take a breath of gratitude for having completed it, and then realize that you are not feeling up for another several miles of pure running.

Spartan Race Day Logistics

Take Less “Stuff”

I also learned another, non-physical lesson about myself during my race: I am a chronic over-preparer.

I actually already knew this, but it became acutely apparent as I traversed over 13.5 miles with way too much stuff in my bag. For example, why did I even bring a bag at all?

Most of the pre-race reading I did said, “If you are doing the Spartan Race Beast (21k), you probably want to bring your own water, some more calories, electrolytes, etc. with you.” So, I carried my unweighted rucksack with a hydration bladder sufficient to keep a camel alive for a year, enough gels to fuel an Olympic track team, ample electrolytes to keep me hydrated through the end of the Biden administration, and a GoPro that I never bothered to pull out.

Meanwhile, I saw two guys that finished around the same time as me carrying nothing. They would get water from the aid stations and might have had one gel pack in their pockets. Additionally, these gentlemen didn’t find it necessary to even bring a shirt. Heck, I’d argue they weren’t even wearing pants, just glorified briefs, compression socks, and shoes.

They looked both more fit and much happier than I did.

I think the idea of “doing a Spartan Race” felt like a big thing to me. The reality is that I could probably go pretty hard for three hours with just water and maybe a single gel pack if I hydrated and ate well pre-race.

Next time I am going to take almost nothing with me for a race of this distance and duration. To be fair, I was guessing I’d take at least four hours to finish so I came extra prepared.

Things to Consider Packing for a Spartan Race

While I generally overpacked, it is worth noting that there were two very optional items that would have served me well specifically for my first race. The first are compression socks.

Two weeks later, I am still recovering from a nasty rope burn on my Achilles. There is an obstacle I did called the Tyrolean Traverse where you basically have to climb across a rope with a lot of slack in it.

Proper technique for this obstacle is to go upside down, wrap your legs around the rope, and pull yourself with your upper body. I saw some people ahead of me do this, and their legs/ankles just glided effortlessly along the rope as they pulled themselves.

What I didn’t account for was that these intelligent folks were wearing compression socks, so the socks were actually what was gliding effortlessly along the rope. Note: human skin does not glide effortlessly along thick, coarse rope. In fact, the energy produced by such friction could power a refrigerator for about four hours.

I tried to replicate their form and the skin on my Achilles was promptly burned off. I realized halfway through the obstacles that I couldn’t continue this method if I wanted to retain my Achilles tendon itself. I started moving my legs in unison with my arms and, while I probably looked like I had an IQ of 43, that helped get me across.

Point of that long story is, compression socks for a Spartan Race are probably are a good idea. I could get by without them now using my new technique for that obstacle, but it might just be easier and less humiliating to get better socks.

The other item I didn’t use were gloves. I’d read mixed things about whether or not they were necessary. I brought some but showed up and noticed nobody seemed to be wearing them. I figured if the people that looked like actual real-life Spartans and the people that looked like they’d just come from Krispy Kreme were both not wearing gloves, I didn’t need them.

And I didn’t, necessarily. But either gloves or having meticulously calloused hands would have been helpful for a few of the more rigorous obstacles. I think I’ll probably work on my callouses before my next race, but either option could work.

I certainly learned a few things the hard way in my first Spartan Race (and OCR in general) but had a blast doing it. Almost anyone could do a Spartan Race, but if fitness isn’t really your thing and you can’t do a pull-up, you’ll probably spend a lot more time doing penalty burpees than getting through obstacles. And that would not be fun.

Quick shoutout to my friend Jake, who graciously joined me for this race on a whim. He did great, and we are already talking about what kind of crazy thing we can do next. I’m betting we come up with something good.