Spartan Pac West Race Report
- bradleyhaag
- Aug 12, 2015
- 2 min read
Background
Early in this season I knew I wanted to do some obstacle races so signed up for this "Spartan Pac-West" race in advance. I wouldn’t say I was training to “peak” for this race specifically, but the races I competed in prior to this event definitely complimented my preparation. As this race got closer I was excited and prepared, but still a little hesitant as this type of event was unknown to me.
As I arrived at the race site Saturday morning I quickly realized there was a lot of competitors (I later learn over 2600). Although I was still excited to compete my focus started to wander into an attitude of “just having fun” and not so much racing like my life depended on it (like I do in most races). This being said when I toed the start line for my wave, as if out of habit I was instantly in race mode and ready for battle!
The Spartan Race (4ish miles with 20ish obstacles)
The race started with a steep uphill climb which I happily powered hiked and still maintained a position with the top three guys of my wave. For the next 2-3 miles the obstacles were fairly quick to get through and spread out allowing for a good amount of running time. At this point I was having a blast and kept thinking how freaking awesome this all was! In the last mile the obstacles become much more vigorous and condensed (most were just a few yards apart). An incredibly long barbwire crawl, a heavy uphill bucket carry, rope climbs, and slippery wall climbs were just a few of the more time consuming obstacles. There were only two obstacles I struggled with, the first being the spear throw which I wasn’t too upset about as I have never thrown a spear before. The second being the weighted bucket carry, while I did complete the obstacle faster than everyone around me, carrying a roughly 75lb bucket filled with gravel up and down a steep/technical hill required me to rest more times than I would have liked.
After completing all the obstacles (expect the spear throw, which I had to do burpees at as a penalty) I crossed the finish with tons of energy. I was a little upset I didn’t use this energy to run faster between obstacles, but it’s difficult to gauge how much energy I would need to conserve for the next coming obstacle. I think this skill will come with experience and soon I will be able to truly “give it my all” in an obstacle race.
Overall Thoughts
Seriously, this was one of the funnest races of my life. I didn’t even feel like I was racing but rather just having fun. I finished 2nd in my age group of over 300 and 17th overall out of over 2600 competitors. After seeing those results I’m encouraged to do another spartan race, as I know I wasted several minutes waiting for others and asking volunteers what to do at each obstacle. On any note I look forward to some more obstacle races!
Comments