Mud, fire and barbed wire

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This article was published 16/05/2015 (4034 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There will be a mud pit to cross, fire to jump and barbed wire to crawl under this summer when the “World’s Best Obstacle Race” comes to Manitoba.

The province’s first ever Spartan Sprint Race, a five-kilometre endurance race through a course featuring 15 to 20 obstacles, is set for July 11 at the Grunthal Motocross Park.

The Manitoba Spartan Sprint 2015 race is open to anyone aged 14 and older but there is also a special Spartan Kids race for youngsters aged 5-10 years.

It’s part of the Spartan company’s larger family of races of varying distances and difficulties in the international Reebok Spartan Race Series. Spartan Races, billed as a unique test of human endurance, are held in 15 countries including Canada and the U.S.

Winnipeg’s Jesse Cox, Manitoba’s only Spartan Group Exercise (SGX) coach, said a big part of the fun is the competitors will not know what or where obstacles will appear until they start racing.

“There’s always mud. One (obstacle) that everyone loves at the end of the Spartan Race is jumping over the fire and, at some point in time, you’re always going to be crawling under barbed wire,” said Cox, who works as a trainer at Winnipeg’s Starke CrossFit.

“The rope climb is fun but it can be a tough one. You’re muddy, you’re wet, you’re climbing up to hit a bell and if you don’t hit it, you have to do a mandatory 30 burpees.”

Cox is working with Dean Stanton, Western Canada regional director of the Spartan Races, and a local crew of Spartan Race volunteers called the Street Team to stage the event. Stanton, in an interview from North Vancouver, said 3,000-5,000 people are expected to compete in Manitoba’s Spartan Sprint.

Cox said “the right obstacle at the right time” is the key to a great obstacle race. “Spacing out the obstacles and making them different levels (of difficulty) at the right time are important.”

He said there’s already a lot of interest in the event and registrations are still being accepted.

“Manitoba has a great athletic community and people are always looking for the next best thing to test their limits,” he said. “It’s great that you can work out at a gym but can you do that out in the world? Can you run a mile and then climb an eight-foot fence? Can you jump over fire? Can you run a distance with a sand bag on your shoulders? That’s the difference. You get to put to use what you’ve learned in the gym and the training that you’ve done.”

Cox has competed in more than 20 events in Canada and the U.S. including last summer’s Death Race — the ultimate endurance/survival/obstacle race, which typically lasts a couple of days and pushes competitors past exhaustion.

There are three levels of races with the Sprint, the one being held in Manitoba, considered the entry-level race. The Super is 13 km long with a minimum of 21 obstacles while the Beast race is 20 km long with 26 obstacles. Anyone completing all three types of Spartan races in a calendar year earns a “Trifecta” medal.

ashley.prest@freepress.mb.ca