2025 SpartanAshevilleRace Review By OCR Kings Reporter At Large David Best
Raindrops are falling on my head
And just like the guy whose feet are too big for his bed
Nothing seems to fit
If B.J. Thomas hadn't written this song in 1969, you'd think he
wrote this song describing the 2025 Spartan race season and the
race held on August 2-3, 2025 in Mill Spring, North Carolina was
a non stop drizzle fest that made this Super – Sprint weekend
extra challenging. The weekend festivities were held at the Tryon
Equestrian Center which has hosted this race for the last three
years. This race weekend was part of the Spartan Honor Series
which spotlight our military and first responders dedication and
sacrifice in service of our country. The Super, Sprint & Kids race
was held on Saturday and a Sprint only race was held on Sunday.
Venue And Logistics
The Tryon Equestrian Center is located in Mill Spring which is
about a half hour drive from Asheville and it seemed the majority
of Spartans stayed in Asheville as there are more hotel and dining
options available there and the drive from Asheville to the venue
site is a leisurely one. I flew to the event weekend and used the
Asheville Regional Airport and it is my preferred option as it is a
smaller and more navigable then flying into Charlotte as well as
cutting off an additional hour driving to Asheville. The parking
area used for the Saturday event is a bit of a hike, but just treat it
as a part of your warm-up or if you're wanting to save your energy
for the course, the venue does provide transportation from the
parking area to the festival area with a farm tractor and trailer.
Check in, bag check and merchandise tent were under a large
covered pavilion as well as dining and drink options. One of the
many reasons I love doing the Carolina area races is that Island
Noodles is one of the food options. I love them and that is my go
to post race meal along with my free post race Heineken Silver.
We Spartans earn it on the course and should pamper ourselves
whenever possible.
Race Review and Course Layout
The course had a slightly different layout from last year as they
were building some putting/practice greens where the course was
last year. We started out with a short barbed wire crawl into the
paddock and the first obstacle was the four foot wall, then 6 foot
wall, then
a climb uphill to hurdles, monkey bars, over unders,
to round the outside corner or the coffin corner and reached my
foot to that block and the block pulled out of the wall and tumbled
right down the hill.......but being the true Spartan I am, I hung on
and was able to complete the obstacle without any further
mishaps. On to the sandbag carry that was a bit of a challenge
due to the wet and uneven ground. Atlas carry is next and on to
the inverted wall, bender, 7 foot wall, Olympus, Stairway to
Sparta, Beater, Twister, a creek crossing to Bucket Carry, then a
barbed wire crawl to Slip Wall, Rolling Mud, Dunk Wall, Rope
Climb, Herc Hoist (people dropping bags again and we all
know how I feel about that!!!!!LOL!!!), Spear Throw to the
Multi Rig. I had another first as I was wearing gloves due to the
wet weather and slick obstacles. I employ the hand to hand
technique and my hand grabbed the other pinkie finger part of the
glove and I couldn't advance on the Multi Rig until I readjusted
my hand to free the other to complete the obstacle. Then to A-
Frame Cargo and finally to Fire Jump and completion. The Sprint
course obstacles were the same other then Vertical Cargo on the
Sprint only part of the course. You may see in the photos that I
chose to wear gloves for this race. I don't like doing so, but the
wet, muddy ropes and slick obstacles made it a must. I was never
able to find gloves I liked until a race buddy of mine, Tom
Maming, a Spartan Race veteran with over 500 races to his credit,
showed me the way. A simple pair of rubberized gloves you can
buy at any farm supply store or Home Depot. I got a three pack
for $10.00 and I'm here to tell you.....THEY ARE A GAME
CHANGER.....they were for me and I've been using them since I
saw Tom use them in Jacksonville. Give them a try and I
guarantee you, you will love them!!!!! I also experienced another
first after the Sunday Sprint......a hot post race on site shower!!! I
entered the changing tent before I was to hit the cold water wash
when another Spartan came in and told me they had a hot shower
set up behind the changing tent....well, I wasn't going to miss out
on that, so I went to check it out. Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap had a
shower area set up on a trailer where they sprayed you down with
hot water, their Magic Soap and then a nice warm water rinse.
They also were handing out free samples of their soap to take
home. I love the idea of warm showers using the shower trailer
and think Spartan could do something similar to send us home all
spic and span.
Recommendations & Final Thoughts
I love this venue and only wish they could bring back the Beast
to make this a Trifecta Weekend, but they sold a section of the
property and now it's only big enough for a Super – Sprint
weekend. I took the summer off to rest and recharge before
hitting the course for that second half push and Spartan
immortality by completing 13 Trifecta Weekends in a year and
earning the most coveted Spartan prize.....A Spartan Spear. We'll
find out in December if I'm successful. Another reason I wanted
to do the race was to see how the area was recovering from the
aftermath of Hurricane Helene. I was here last year just before
the storm hit here and I was surprised on what I saw.....recovery
and rebuilding well under way in the cities, but the rural areas
and anywhere near the rivers and creeks along with Lake Lure,
devastation and scaring of the land which will take some time to
heal, but will never be the same. We all need to keep these fine
people in out thoughts and prayers and hope for the quickest
recovery possible. So until my next report, this is your OCR
Kings reporter at large, David Best, bringing you all the BEST
Spartan
offers us!!!!!!!
