Spartan Race Boston Sprint

 So this race is back at Carter & Stevens farm in barre ma. Going into this race I had mixed feelings due to how they handled the super. The super left things to be desired, review here, and then battle frog came in and did a little better, but still have things to learn. So needless to say I was unsure how the day was going to go, but I can happily say I had all of the fun. Spartan stepped their game up for this race. I love hills in a race, they shake things up, push you and you have a sense of accomplishment when you make it to the top, and this venue does not really have any. But there is a small one and we went up it about 5 times, and three of them with weight, sandbags and bucket brigade. The course was wider in more places, the start line was closer to the festival area, Dustin was back at the start line doing great as he always does! The course did not feel as though it was rushed with the design, was done with careful planning. The obstacles were strategically placed, all enjoyable and challenging.

The obstacles in order were: Hay bales, Over Under Through walls, Inverted wall, Monkey bars, Atlas Carry, Rope Climb (1/2 knotted, half no knots, THANK YOU SPARTAN RACE!!! I love a no knotted rope climb) rolling mud pits with dunk wall, Barbwire Crawl, Log Hop, Plate Drag, Sandbag Carry, Stairway to Sparta, Bucket Brigade, 3 Walls (from taller to shorter probably close to 10 ft, 8ft, and 7ft) Hurc Hoist, Spear Throw, Bridge (with cargo net top instead of slatted boards). The Cliff Multi Rig (traverse pipe to 3 short ropes, to 4? rings and bell), A Frame Cargo Net, Farmers Carry ( 2 logs with chain handles), Slip Wall, Verticle Cargo Net, and finally Cargo Net.

The trail running sections were so well done, still plenty technical, and plenty of downed trees and all sorts of things to get in your way and make it hard to run, which was awesome. No walking tight away because of a single track right after the start. Basically any complaint I could have thought of that I encountered at the super they fixed for the sprint. And the course was about 5.2 miles according to my gps, and oh so much fun packed into those miles.
        

And it was not just me, many of the people that complained about the venue were pleasantly surprised by the race. The race was well received by everybody there. I would still like to see a venue with more hills, but if they keep course design with this caliber then I will be happy to come back and race. 

The only problems that I can think of where that the volunteers cutting timing chips off your wrist were in front of the line to get your post race pic taken so if you went back to the venue nobody stopped you. And I forgot because I was in a rush to get to the start line. I went out on a second lap in support of my friend, it was her first race and just wanted somebody to help out if she needed it. It was a blast, after doing these races for 2 years (this sprint in august was my first race in 2013) and I think everybody should do that, it really makes the race more fun! 

Photo Credit Vince Rhee

So my results were unavailable due to the chip reading it twice, Luckily a staff member got it squared away for me, and pretty quickly too, so thanks for that

Also the buses are still have problems, they get to the venue just fine, but take the long way back to the parking lot, and often get lost, it has been the case for each race there it seems, and after speaking with other racers and hearing the drivers on the radio it about getting lost and asking for directions wile driving the bus to the parking lot. I have heard others have had no problem, just to be fair, I may be in the minority, but I had to put my 2 cents in.

Almost forgot, This year Spartan has put a string around the spear so the no longer have to collect them. I have mixed feelings about that. It is nice to not have to wait for all the spears to be picked up. One thing to keep in mind with this is that you need to make sure you put the string in front of the fence otherwise you will probably step on it. I have seen this happen countless times. My beef with this move is that the string is often too short! Luckily when I stepped up to the fence a staff member moved the string to give it more room, and I was about the 1/2 way mark for the elite male wave, I wonder how many may have missed due to short ropes.Keep that in mind folks, WATCH THAT ROPE!!!

Until next time

Stay active

Stephen