Race Review - Spartan Race SoCal 2024
Preamble
Spartan Race announced a new Trifecta weekend at Perris Lake
in Southern California to start this race season. In previous years, the venue
hosted a Super and Sprint weekend. This year, the addition of a Beast brought
in over 8,000 Spartan Races who participated in a Beast and Sprint on Saturday
and a Super and Sprint on Sunday. I only participated in the Saturday Beast,
Sunday Super, and Sprint. I decided to run in the Open Wave on both days in an
effort to try out some new racing approaches before my competitive season
starts in March.
Venue
Perris Lake is a large man-made lake and reservoir about 60
miles east of Los Angeles. The 3-mile by 2-mile lake is the centerpiece of an
8,200 nature preserve and large boating recreational center in a mountain-ringed
valley.
Logistics
Logistics for the race weekend were smooth. The recreational
center boasts a large, paved lot directly before the center entrance. The
parking lot was large enough to accommodate all the cars for the race, and no
shuttle buses were needed. I did not see any traffic jams. I arrived early both
days, and it was a short walk to packet pickup. Standard Spartan packet pickup
was smooth, and the line after the Sunday Super for Sprint packets was short.
The new competitive wave seeding was in place for this race, with competitive
waves starting at 7.00 and the first open heats at 8:00. Because this was a
trifecta weekend, Spartan hosted the Spartan Plus Tent, with the standard
snacks, coffee, foam rollers, and massage guns.
The course for all three races was relatively flat and fast,
with some impressive times posted by the elite racers. The beast started with
an 8-mile loop north of the lake through rolling, hard-packed sandy terrain
that cut through scrub brush and loose rocks. The course had no tangible
technical aspects, and I saw many runners wearing road shoes with no problems.
After the 8-mile loop, the Beast course cut across the lake, essentially a
beach that ringed the southern portion of the lake. This was not a big problem
since the sand was tightly packed and did not considerably slow down runners.
The final two miles of the Beast course returned to the festival area with some
stretches on access roads used by the recreational center. The Super course
eliminated the 8-mile loop and offered a shorter two-mile loop before heading
to the beach but included the final Beast section. The Sprint course eliminated
the Super two-mile loop and cut out the back section for the Super and Beast
course for the standard 5k distance. Overall, this was one of the more
beautiful courses on the schedule, right up there with Montana, Big Bear, and
Utah. The mountains were a stunning backdrop, and the lake was crystal clear.
Obstacle Placement
Obstacles were heavily front-loaded and backloaded due to
the apparent difficulty of getting vehicles to the nature reserve area north of
the lake. All three distances included a medium-length barbed wire crawl on the
beach, with some water and a plate drag on the breach, which required
additional pulling strength due to sand friction. The Beast had two sandbag
carries and a bucket on the back third of the race, which was unusual. There
was talk of a new obstacle, “Lattice,” I may be wrong, but I believe this was
just a modified Olympus or Z Wall. Standard obstacles were offered, including
rope climb, Hercules hoist, Spear Throw, Z Wall, Olympus, Bender, Slip Wall,
Multi-Rig, Monkey Bars, and various Walls. There were no obstacles I had not
seen before or trained for during the two-month off-season. The biggest
standout was a dunk wall in the lake, which was cold on both days but was a
welcome change from the muddy goop we are used to in this obstacle. There was
no fire jump due to California wildfire restrictions.
The weather was sunny in California weather over the
weekend. Early start times were colder, and most of us with early start times
ran in sleeve compression shirts, but by the end of the race, many were
shirtless as the temperatures got into the high ‘60s. The weekend was windy and
sunny, and I was glad I ran in sunglasses.
T-Shirts, Medals, and Festival Area
Finisher shirts this year have a more straightforward design
than recent years, with the Spartan Logo on the front highlighted with the race
distance color. But they are standard in fit and material from recent years
since Craft took over the apparel merchandise. Medals differed slightly from
last year; they did not include last year’s tab design. The weekend trifecta
medal is very different and includes three spinning elements, which Spartan has
not done before for domestic races. The festival area was extensive, with about
twenty local vendors and organizations.
Sprint Fun
If you are a regular Spartan racer, you undoubtedly know
Yara, who currently owns the yearly Trifecta record at 35. Yara is incredibly
supportive of everyone and has a great attitude and personality; she is
regularly seen on Spartan ads online. Yara celebrated her finalized divorce from
her now ex-husband during the Sprint; she invited about 25 racers in full
wedding attire to run with her. Yara ran in her wedding dress; others wore
tuxedos, ball gowns, and flower bouquets. Yara and many of these racers regularly
podium and make up the heart of the Spartan community, and it was a real thrill
to see them gather up the Spartan Plus tent and help her celebrate her divorce.
It was an entertaining end to a great weekend of racing, and I seriously don’t
know how they could run in that clothing.
Final Thoughts
At the end of the weekend, Spartan announced early pricing
for next year's race at Perris Lake. A Trifecta weekend in January is a great
way to kick off the season. I highly recommend flying into Palm Springs Airport
or Ontario Regional Airport; I mistakenly flew into LAX, and traffic from LA to
the greater Moreno Valley was challenging. There are also numerous hotels
within 30 minutes of the race site, but I suggest booking early for next year.
Typically, hotels in newer race venues increase rates based on the race's
success. Booking early can offset this price hike. I enjoyed the venue, and the
course, and I think this course setup is a great way to kick off the race
season
