2026 Spartan Palm Beach Race Review

2026 Spartan Palm Beach Race Review 

By OCR Kings Reporter At Large 

David Best

The Palm Beaches......also known as “The Island or “The Gold Coast. Distinctions include its upscale resorts, beautiful beaches as well as being a winter retreat for the rich and famous. It's also home to an array of celebrities, athletes, business moguls and political figures. Notable residents include Rod Stewart, Michael Jordan, Bill Gates, Sylvester Stallone, Tommy Hilfiger, The Kennedy Family, as well as Serena Williams, Tiger Woods  AKA Mario Andretti and the BIG KAHUNA himself.....President Donald Trump. The Spartan Palm Beaches Race weekend also calls this its home each March and the latest installment was the weekend of March 28 - 29 at the Sunset Cove Amphitheater in Boca Raton, Fl. This race weekend has been held here since 2019 and with participation numbers of 1655 open racers on Saturday and 600 open racers on Sunday, this venue will stay on the Spartan schedule for many years to come. They also had the elite and age group as well as adoubles category to keep even the most hardened Spartan racer satisfied.

This is a Sprint only event....but have no fear....this is the Palm Beaches!!! After your Sprint race is over, there are two lakes nearby as well as a 27 hole golf course on site for your recreational enjoyment. You also have access to the beautiful sandy beaches of South Florida for all your sun & fun needs and are a mere 30 minute drive from the venue. Hotel & restaurants abound within minutes of the venue for your convenience. And speaking of convenience, the venue is nestled between two major airports as well as two major highways. The airports are the Ft. Lauderdale International Airport and the other is the soon to be renamed  Orange Man Bad (Donald J Trump) International Airport AKA Palm Beach International Airport. The two highways are I-95 and the other is the Florida Turnpike. This is truly a very convenient venue to travel to. I drive to this venue from the Sebring, Florida area (Central Florida Trifecta Weekend Venue) and it takes me about 2 ½ hours to complete the trip.    

Weekend Race Review

This race weekend was part of the U.S. National Series South Division which is only another reason make this venue a must visit. There were a total of 19 obstacles featured that included Hurdles, 4 ft Over Walls, a venue specific Cliff Climb with ropes, Monkey Bars, Bucket Carry, Barbed Wire Crawl, 6ft Wall, Vertical Cargo, a combo Sandbag Carry to Plate Drag, place the bag in the sled, drag to completion, remove the bag & carry the bag back to the bin, Spear Throw, Z Wall, Herc Hoist, Slip Wall, Atlas Carry, Chain Carry, Rope Climb, Multi-Rig and end with A- Frame Cargo. There was no fire jump this year as well as last year due to the lack of rain in this part of Florida. A burn ban was placed in effect until the middle of April....so maybe next year. The weather on Saturday was hot and humid even for the end of March in south Florida. We did receive an occasional gift from the Spartan Gods in the form of a beautiful breeze coming from the Atlantic Ocean beaches and it did revive and revitalize you. I heard many a Spartan post race say they thought this would be easy since this venue is “fast & flat” …......but I addressed this in another race review …....Spartan Race speaking in code again!!!! There is nothing we do in Spartan Race that is easy and when you lose your concentration and take the race for granted....THE SPARTAN GODS WILL QUICKLY PUT YOU IN YOUR PLACE AND SHOW YOU NO MERCY!!!!! 

This venue is deceptive as the heat and humidity as well as the placement of and volume of certain obstacles (weighted carries) will zap even the most seasoned of Spartans. The weather on Sunday was overcast and not as brutally hot, but the Spartan Gods weren't being merciful, just wanting to torture us in a different way. They brought the rain!!!! The early morning heats were but a mere drizzle, which made the Monkey Bars & Milti-Rig quite changeling. But the later heats weren't so lucky. The weather was so bad that the race director combined all remaining heats to get them on course so they could complete their race before the real bad weather came in and it did. 

I'm so glad I ran first thing in the morning so I didn't have to face the weather as well as the inexperienced Sprint racers on course. I ran n the open race category on Saturday and it only reinforced my hatred for the open Sprint races. I know I was one of those racers that didn't know what I was doing when I started out.....but at least I did my research via OCR Kings to at least know the basics. The vast majority of new racers  have no idea what they're doing and they don't do the research. A case in point....I was at Herc Hoist and a young racer got his bag to the top and just let it go screaming back to earth before making impact. The volunteer then told him of his error and his response was “Well, There Are No Rules Posted”. The volunteer then informed him that another volunteer on the other side of Herc Hoist kept repeating the rules about dropped bags being a fail and to lower the bag back to earth in a controlled fashion. I've commented on other reviews about the two things that piss me off that other racers do, drop the bag at Herc Hoist and walk across the handholds on Olympus. I ended up running in the age group competitive on Sunday and while I didn't qualify for a podium spot , I didn't have to hear the thumping of bags at Herc Hoist or wait in line at Bucket Carry while the inexperienced Spartan racers figured out their footing down hill while carrying their bucket or dodge the dropped buckets the newbie Spartans left on the course. 

But I did find one benefit from running age group competitive... photos!!!!! On Saturday, I had a total of 22 photos taken of me on course......on Sunday.....122!!!!! I'm a sloth compared to the others running in age group competitive, So by the time I get to the obstacle, I'm the only one there and the photographers only have one racer to shoot....ME!!!! LOL!!!!! I outsmarted the Spartan Gods once again!!!! 

Final Thoughts & Recommendations

I just love this race weekend as it is within driving distance of home as well as it being a relaxing Sprint only event. Race, hit the beach, grab a grouper sandwich and just have fun!!!! So, until my next race review, this is your OCR Kings reporter at large, David Best, bringing you all the “Best” Spartan Offers us!!

2025 Spartan Cincinnati Race Review

 2025 Spartan
Cincinnati
Race Review
By OCR Kings Reporter At Large
David Best

She's a vicious, life sucking bitch from which there's no escape...

and we can thank are arch nemesis and Spartan tormentor, the

infamous Darth Vader AKA Tyler Andrew Spencer as he was

the race director for the 2025 Spartan Cincinnati event held the

weekend of June 7-8. He truly painted his masterpiece of pain

and anguish......and the canvas used was the Perfect North Slopes

Ski Resort in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. It was a 15.2 mile Beast

course (before penalty loops) and a soul sucking test of mental

and physical stamina. I participated in this race 2023 and vowed

never to return.....so what do I do, sign up for 2025 and I'm here

to tell you, that this years race made that one look like a walk in

the park!!! All four race types were offered and the only thing I'll

say about the Ultra is there was a 74% DNF percentage rate, so if

you ever meet an Ultra finisher for this race, do your best Wayne

and Garth “We're Not Worthy” imitation and pay homage to these

true Spartans. Now, if you dare, come with me to the dark side,

but beware, you may not come back!!!

Logistics & Venue

Information

I have a love-hate relationship with this venue, so lets start with

love. I love the proximity of the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky

Airport to both the City of Lawrenceburg, Indiana and Perfect

North Slopes Ski Resort. In 35 minutes, you're in town or at the

venue from the airport. The ski resort is one of the nicer venue

sites on the schedule as we Spartans have full access to the resort

and amenities. The resort has multiple outdoor viewing areas that

are taken well advantage of. Part of the race course is run next to

the viewing areas, so spectators are able to enjoy watching us

suffer while drinking their beverage of choice. The Spartan

Members area is indoors as well as bag check and a large open

area for all in attendance. There are also a few dining options

the resort makes available as well as the normal vendors that

travel the circuit with Spartan.

Course Layout &

Obstacles

Now the bad....this is a TOUGH course!!!! And as we've seen at

other Spartan races this season, weather has played a part and

this race was no exception. This area has had its share of rain

which means mud. Combine wet and muddy conditions with

the severe undulation of the ski slopes, you have injuries from

racers losing their balance and hurting themselves and others....

in other words, gravity is a bitch!!! The course started out with a

muddy Armageddon into the corral, then onto the course where

you hit a nice knee deep mud bog to start the day off right, then 4

foot wall to the first creek crossing of the day. This is the first time

I've ever done a Spartan race where they had to have a guide rope

and a volunteer stationed at the creek to insure safety. With the

rain the venue has been receiving, the creek was at a 4 foot crest

and flowing hard, so hard that a young lady next to me in the

creek lost her balance and was being swept downstream, but have

no fear, Maximus Bestimus Delirious leapt into action and saved

her from impending doom. In hindsight, I'm sure that young lady

would have preferred the impending doom over finishing this

race. Then on to hay roll wall to over unders. Spartan used what

was on site and the over unders were just that, part Spartan and

part venue...large metal pipes. To 6 foot wall, then multi-rig and

to the second creek crossing just as the first, but we were given a

bonus of a rope climb out of the creek and up a muddy bank to

Atlas Carry, rope climb, bucket carry, spear throw, rolling mud &

dunk wall. That part of the course was relatively flat, but now the

hills begin and we hit Helix, Twister, Olympus, Beater, another

hill to Bender and then a snow climb....that's right.....SNOW in

June. I did stop for just a minute and play in it and it did feel

good!!! Up hill to 7 foot wall, Stairway To Sparta. Now downhill

and into the jungle for the Beast part of the race.....very few

obstacles and a lot of trail running to 8 foot wall. Darth Vader

placed the wall on an incline making that 8 foot wall more like a

10 foot wall ( The Ultra course actually had a 10 foot wall on their

course......good luck doing that) then up another hill to a home

grown Mini A Frame that was made of wood and pipe stuck out

in the middle of the woods. Then up and down multiple muddy

hills dodging downed trees as well as the occasional downed

racer to Irish Table. More muddy hills that seemed to go on

forever to Tyrolean Traverse. There was a water station near so I

stopped for a quick drink the the volunteer told us 3 miles to go...

man, was that a lie...more like 5 miles!!! Then to Armer, then an

uphill climb to a corded snow crawl which felt so good to roll

around in. On to hurdles, A-Frame Cargo and now begins the

ski slope part of this “Endurance Challenge” Down the hill, most

sliding on their ass as the hill was so beat up and muddy that

keeping your footing was close to impossible, back to the ski

resort area where inverted wall as well as Herc Hoist, Monkey

Bars and barbed wire crawl....and not a 50 yard crawl, not a 100

yard crawl, but a 200 yard crawl uphill with muddy deep holes,

all the while being bombarded by water ALL THE WAY up the

obstacle. It reminded me of a scene from the movie “1918”. Then

up the slope where many were crawling due to the poor footing to

the peak where a nice sandbag carry awaited taking us down and

up another hill to dump your bag, then downhill once again to the

bottom where Z Wall awaited. This was a high failure obstacle

due to it being at the bottom of the hill where all the water ran

from the barb wire crawl causing a muddy quagmire where

footing was almost impossible. One more hill as well as slip wall

and fire jump ended my day. I was never so happy to see a fire

jump in all my life.

Final Thoughts &

Recommendations

There are three race venues on the USA Spartan schedule that will

give you a true evaluation of where you are in Spartan...Big Bear,

Killington and Cincinnati. Where you rank them really depends

on what race director you get and how bad they want to torment

you. I spoke to Darth post race and told him not to take personally

what was being said about him because it wasn't that Spartan

talking....it was their weakness talking and I should know because

mine was talking more then once during this survival challenge.

Weather again effected the race as more rain Saturday night

caused those creek crossings to crest at over 6 feet and at that

point, it was deemed unsafe so the Sunday Super/Sprint had to be

rerouted to omit the first four obstacles....it looks like to me this

Spartan season is going to be dominated by weather. As far as

recommendations are concerned, sign up for the Beast only on

Saturday as I signed up for the Beast/Sprint in 2023 and found

out very quickly how sadistic and unforgiving this venue can be.

Only high end seasoned athletes should try to do both in one day.

I would also buy the insurance for the Sunday Super/Sprint events

as your body will be talking to you and telling you “NO” as it did

me after the Beast on Saturday. Spartan isn't just about brawn, its

also about brains and knowing when its better to withdrawal so

you can fight another day. So until my next report, this is your

OCR Kings Reporter at large, David Best, bringing you all the

BEST Spartan offers us!!!!!