Race Review – Spartan Race Poconos Event Weekend

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2025 Spartan
Colorado Springs
Race Review
By OCR Kings Reporter At Large
David Best
DIZZY....................
I'm so dizzy, my head is spinnin'....like a
whirlpool it never ends!!!
This hit song by Tommy Roe aptly describes the
Colorado Springs
Race weekend held at Fort Carson on May 31-
June 1, 2025. All
four race types were included (Ultra, Beast,
Super and Sprint) as
well as the kids race. The race has been held
here since 2022 and
is one of the two Trifecta race weekends on
the Spartan calendar
where you will receive a special honor series
medal upon
completion of your race of choice (the other
is Newberry, SC the
weekend of November 15 – 16....the Ultra
medals are especially
cool!!!)
Venue
History
Camp Carson was established in 1942 following
the attack on
Pearl Harbor by Japan. The city of Colorado
Springs purchased
land south of the city and donated it to the
War Department. The
city has gotten more then a nice return on
that investment!!! The
name was changed to Fort Carson in 1954 and
encompasses more
then 137,000 acres and was named after the
legendary Army scout
and General, Christopher “Kit” Carson. The
fort is currently home
to the 4th Infantry Division as
well as the 10th Special Forces
Group.
Venue
Logistics
Fort Carson is located about 20 minutes from
Colorado Springs,
so there is a bit of a drive to get from your
lodging of choice to
the venue itself. The city offers an abundance
of hotel, dining and
entertainment options and if you're an outdoor
enthusiast as I am,
then you will be in heaven. You will have two
options if your
plan is to fly in for the event....Denver,
which is about 85 miles
from Colorado Springs or the airport in the
city of Colorado
Springs. I've done the race twice and used
both airport options
and if at all possible, fly into Colorado
Springs!!!! They have a
beautiful airport that's not busy, plenty of
rental cars and the best
part is you don't have to waste your time in
that Denver traffic
which gives you more time to enjoy what
Colorado Springs has
to offer we Spartans.
Weather Conditions &
Oxygen Deprivation
As Fort Carson lies in the foothills of the
Rocky Mountains, it is
subject to weather conditions that seem to
change by the hour.
Cold mornings turn into dry and hot mid days
that turn into rain
soaked afternoons then to cool evenings. This
venue is also
know as being a hail magnet (see YouTube
videos from 2023)
and this year was no different. As the crew
members of Spartan
were putting the finishing touches on the
venue late Friday, a
hail storm hit causing damage to multiple
tents in the venue area.
Once the storm passed, the Colorado Springs
Spartan crew leapt
into action working deep into the night to
repair the damage done
and they did just that with flying colors!!!
The Spartan crew
members NEVER get enough credit for the hard
work and
dedication they bring to give us Spartans the
finest race
experience there is in OCR. But the weather
isn't the only thing
we have to battle on race day....it's
literally trying to catch our
breath. Colorado Springs lies at 6,035 feet
above sea level and I
always thought that the higher above sea level
you went, the less
oxygen there is....but not
so.....it's actually the lack of pressure at
the higher altitudes that allow the oxygen to
spread out so you
are taking in less oxygen per breath then you
do at sea level....
about 20 percent less at this venue. They say
it takes 3-5 days to
acclimate to this, but personally, I think it
would take weeks and
then maybe.
Paul
Lachance &
The American
Warrior Initiative
In previous race reviews, we have highlighted
so many great
causes like the Teddy Bear Crawl and More
Hearts Then Scars,
but I would like to tell you about Paul
Lachance and his work
with the American Warrior Initiative. American
Warrior Initiative
provides fully trained service dogs to wounded
veterans as well
as first responders that need the help and
companionship these
dogs offer our heroes. Paul has shirts made up
and and 100%
of the funds received for the shirts go to the
initiative so they
may continue to service the needs of our warriors. Paul is a
retired Navy veteran of the Viet Nam era and
currently the oldest
Spartan racer in the world which gives him a
platform so he may
continue his work for the Initiative. If you
are interested in
supporting the cause, just look him up on
Facebook by his name
or you may try Spartan 4-0 on Facebook as
well.
Course &
Obstacle
Review
The course this year seemed to take the same
route as in previous
years with a mixed bag of rock, mud and grass
with a decent
spacing of hills and flatter straightaways to
help with making up
the time lost on those hills and looking for
air (LOL). We did
have an added bonus this year....with the rain
came the wild
flowers. Flame orange and well as purple and
blue dotted the
course and we were also serenaded by many a
happy frog that
enjoyed the ponds created by the needed rain.
The course
obstacles were as follows: hurdles, overunder
walls, 4ft wall,
rolling mud, dunk wall and to slip wall. I ran
both the Beast and
Sprint on Saturday and the difference between
the dunk wall &
slip wall between the two races were night and
day. The Ultra &
Beast racers had to problem with the mud and
slip wall, but the
Sprint racers and Saturday as well as the
Super/Sprint racers on
Sunday were treated to what I call a suicide
mission trying to get
up that wall. The consistency of the mud
changed so much in
just those few hours that racers were only
able to make it up about
half way before tumbling down the wall and in
more then a few
cases, taking other racers with them. One
ingenious Spartan even
sat on the slipwall and pulled himself up to
the top and over the
obstacle. Then on to bucket carry, Stairway To Sparta, 7ft wall,
beater, Irish tables and twister. We then had
to tackle 8ft wall,
Tyrolean Traverse, vertical cargo, Armer and
then Olympus......
my Kryptonite. Just before the Olympus, there
was a water
station with a volunteer overseeing both the
Olympus and the
water station. As I drank my water, he asked
“How you doing”
and I responded “I'm pissed off” and pointed
toward the Olympus
to show him the multiple “racers” that were
stepping on the
handholds to complete the obstacle. I then
proceeded to tell him
how tired I am trying to complete Olympus not
only battling the
obstacle, but the mud and dog **it left behind
by those “racers”
on the handholds. He then told me it's hard
for him to handle both
things and he figures the water comes first.
(I missed on Olympus
during the beast, but completed in during the
Super). Then
Bender, Inverted Wall, Spear Throw, Atlas
Carry, Sandbag Carry,
Z Wall to the last hill of the day and that
one will have you
searching for oxygen!!!! To rope climb, a very
long barbed wire
crawl to monkey bars, A-Frame Cargo, Herc
Hoist, Multi Rig
and finally the fire jump.
Final Thoughts &
Recommendations
This venue is a very deceiving one. You can
look at the map and
say to yourself “That doesn't look that hard”
but when you're hit
with the terrain, weather conditions and not
much oxygen, you
will be feeling all that come fire jump time.
The weather got me
on Saturday as I was doing both the Beast and
Sprint, but an
afternoon thunderstorm came in and I was only
able to complete
about ¾ of the Sprint course before Spartan
closed the obstacles
and made us walk the rest of the course to
finish. Yes, we did do
the fire jump and we did receive our Sprint
medals. Something
that Spartan needs to address is attracting
seasoned racers to
volunteer to man these obstacles and to have
these veterans take
the new racers to school on how Spartan is
properly done. I
purchase the season pass each year since I
race more often then
most, so a free race code doesn't really
entice me to volunteer.
What can we do to entice more qualified
Spartans to volunteer?
If you have any ideas, please leave them in
the comments section
and if they're good, I'll claim them as my
own!!!! LOL!!! Until
my next report, this is your OCR Kings
reporter at large, David
Best, bringing you all the best that Spartan
offers us!!!!!!!!!
2025 Spartan Palm Beaches
Race Review
The 2025 Spartan Palm Beaches race was held at the Sunset Cove Amphitheater and grounds the weekend of March 29 – 30. The amphitheater has played host to many national acts such as The Zac Brown Band, Willie Nelson, Darius Rucker, Sublime with Rome, Yes and numerous others. The venue can accommodate a maximum of six thousand people. The venue also has two lakes for fishing and other water sports as well as picnic areas, ball fields, a dog park and a 27 hole public golf course. There are plenty of things to keep you busy at the venue once your Spartan Race experience is over for the day.
Venue Logistics
The venue is evenly spaced between the Palm Beach International and the Fort Lauderdale International airports as well as easily accessed by both the Florida Turnpike and I-95 so traffic delays are minimal. The venue has numerous dining and hotel options available within 5 to 10 minutes. The beach is about ½ hour from the venue if you need to work on your post race tan. Parking at the venue was no problem as we parked on the grass near the entrance to the venue.
Festival Area And Race Review
The festival area was in the same area as in previous years with dining options that included Up In Smoke BBQ as well as Travelin' Tom's Coffee and Tikiz Shaved Ice & Ice Cream. Spartan has now partnered with Real American Beer so at least we Spartans now get a real beer post race instead of the seltzer they've been handing out in prior races.
The
race was a Sprint only event week and the obstacles reflected that. The race began with hurdles then over walls
(4 foot) before coming to a slight cliff climb that included ropes to
aid in the climb. Then monkey bars, bucket carry that did include some
undulation, then a decent run before hitting the inverted wall, another
long run before coming to the six foot wall and a shallow lake crossing.
Then vertical cargo, sandbag carry, spear throw, helix and then to herc
hoist. One thing that never gets old at the Sprint events are the new
racers and watching them learn about the obstacles and herc hoist didn't
disappoint. A young man was next to me and got his bag to the top....the next
thing I know the bag was speeding down with him still holding the rope
and he goes head over heels into the metal fencing that surrounds the
hoist. The only thing he hurt was his pride as his buddies got the whole thing
on video. From herc hoist, we hit slip wall, atlas carry, plate drag, barb
wire crawl, rope climb, multi-rig, A frame cargo and the finish line. The
obstacles omitted from this years race were rolling mud, dunk wall, Z wall and the fire jump. The race weekend was well attended with over 2,900
racers on Saturday and 1,100 on Sunday. The weather was partly cloudy on
both Saturday and Sunday with light showers on Sunday morning that did
make the overhead grip obstacles quite challenging. One thing the
venue didn't have this year was a shower area, but since there wasn't really
any mud at this years venue, it wasn't a big deal and if you needed a post
race bath, just hit the lakes.
Final Thoughts And Recommendations
Even though this is just a Sprint only weekend event, I just love this race. After pounding out Trifecta weekends in SoCal, Houston and Atlanta, this race comes at the right time as you can relax and have fun as well as work on your spear throw and grip obstacles. It's also a great venue to try for your personal best time on the Sprint, but if you do, sign up for the Sunday morning Sprint as there are a lot less participants. This is also a great venue to bring the family to as you can fit in two Sprints and have the rest of the day to swim, fish or hit the beaches. Until my next Spartan race review, this is your reporter at large for OCR Kings David Best.
Perris
California
January 25, 26
2025
Introduction
Like you
and everyone who we have ever known, we are proudly living in the Holocene,
which began 12,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age. Our ancestors came
out of that ice age armed with only spears, animal furs for clothing, and a
legendary can-do attitude. The course at the Perris Lake area has geological
remnants of these melting ice sheets (California Glaciation, 2024) and the
artwork of the people (History, 2024) who defined the region thousands of years
ago.
Current
Events
Last
year, the Perris Lake Trifecta Weekend was held in sunny skies, with temperatures
in the 70’s, and provided a great winter getaway. This year, things were
decidedly different. The California wildfires raged for almost two weeks,
shutting down parts of Los Angeles and creating havoc for the local
infrastructure. Travel was questionable leading up to the race, and airlines
did not offer to change flights without penalty until the last minute. Perris
Lake is about 90 miles northeast of Los Angeles, potentially impacting highway
travel. Ultimately, the fires did not create an issue in the greater Moreno
Valley, where the race is held but cooler and rainy conditions defined the race
for many. But going out west is always a good time (Going Out West, 2024).
Spartan
Relief Efforts
Spartan
announced a relief program and accepted non-perishable goods from racers to aid
those impacted by the wildfires. Since Moreno Valley is a sprawling suburb, picking
up donation necessities for the relief effort at the local Walmart was very
straightforward. When I dropped my bag off at 6:15 the pallet was nearly full
already, solid effort by Spartan Racers and for Spartan who partnered with a
local WMCA to handle distribution.
Logistics
I
booked air travel to Los Angeles (LAX) at a favorable but non-refundable rate 3
months ago. As we got closer to the race, I explored some other options. I kept
in touch with the airlines and American Airlines announced a no-penalty change
fee a week before the event. At this point, I decided to change to San Diego at
the same rate and drive the 2 hours to a Best Western hotel I stayed in last
year in Moreno Valley about 15 minutes from Lake Perris. It has a reasonable
rate, a working outdoor whirlpool, 15 minutes from the event site, and plenty
of fellow Spartans. Palm Springs Airport is an option if you can fly out on
Monday, but I always opt for the red eye to reduce costs and get back to work
on Monday.
Weather
The
weather on Saturday started in the low 40s for early heats and got up to
mid-50s with strong winds by noon. On Sunday, temperatures were cooler with a
light rain, but the wind abated. I packed compression and a rain jacket that
was utilized on Sunday. Since I never wear gloves, I also used Hot Hands for
the first mile or so on both days in anticipation of overhead obstacles in
cooler temperatures. I stopped in at the Med Tent for injury information and
there were more than a few cases of borderline hypothermia. Compression gear
solves most of these issues but in the war between fashion and utility, utility
is fighting an uphill battle, “there is no bad weather, only bad gear.”
Historical
Significance of the Area
Perris
Lake Recreational Center lies within Moreno Valley, a portion of the home of
the Luiseno people who began populating the region at the end of the last ice
age 12,000 years ago (History 2024). The Luiseno were part of the larger
Uto-Aztecan language family that inhabited the coastal and inland area of what
is now the larger Southern California region. They were skilled hunters who
hunted deer, big horn sheep, and antelope utilizing spears, bows and arrows and
combined with teamwork and an understanding of animal behavior. The Luiseno also
created petrograph artwork painted onto rocks that detailed their hunting and
cultural practices. There is a prominent petrograph painted on a huge boulder at
mile 8 of the Beast course that utilizes a red pigment, the Luiseno, made from
the iron oxide gathered from the hills in the region (Luiseno People, 2024).
The
Course
The
Beast course was nearly identical to last year. We spent the first 7 miles in a
big loop around the lake with no real elevation. The terrain had no trees but
sparse vegetation that was dead and nearly black from lack of rain. It’s not
hard to imagine how a spark or small fire could ignite this type of brush and
it would burn for days. The second half of the race sent us along the shore of
the lake, running on the beach and wound its way along the shoreline for six
solid miles. Part of this was beach running, parts running on a path, and parts
in small groves of trees. There were no real technical portions or any of this
terrain, and the beach was compact and not much of an issue. The Super course
eliminated the loop around the lake while the Sprint cut to the beach early in
its routing.
Obstacle
Placement
Critics
of obstacle placement will have a field day with this set-up, obstacles were
heavily backloaded along the beach. For the Beast, there were a series of
easier obstacles, such as Horizontal Beams and Walls, before they sent us out
on the Lake Loop, which had virtually no obstacles. Most obstacles were
backloaded on the Super and Sprint courses.
There
was talk going on about a new obstacle Lattice Wall. Well, when we came up to
Lattice Wall it was nothing more than a 7-foot wall with horizontal slats, a super
simple obstacle. I have no beef with the obstacle itself but in the name of Mirriam-Webster,
it is not a lattice. Lattice has a myriad of definitions in physics and
computer science but in carpentry lattice is a series of interconnecting
horizontal and vertical patterns that create a crisscross design (Lattice,
2024). Lattice can be used for stability or purely ornamental purposes, but
this obstacle had nothing to do with lattice. I propose a write-in campaign to
change the name of this obstacle to something based on reality, and I implore
all Spartan racers to join me in solidarity.
But
there is good news! For the Beast, we came into the breach right after
Multi-Rig, where they had a Dunk Wall set up in the lake. Spartan did something
fantastic here for the Beast, given we are in Southern California, home of Navy
Seal training (Navy Seals, 2024). They designed a preschool, baby version of
BUDS. This meant a 20-foot swim out into cool, choppy water, under the Dunk
Wall, and back to the beach. After we got out of the water, there was an uphill
Barbed Wire Crawl on the sand, and then we moved onto the Kayak Carry. The kayaks
were legitimate, made of plastic composite; not heavy but unwieldy. We only had
to carry them 20 feet into the lake for the turnaround. However, this was long
enough for 4 guys I fell in with to yell “Who’s going to carry the boats” about
ten times”. It seemed redundant of me to point out that in fact, we were
carrying the boats, but I got the point. This series of obstacles was a memorable
obstacle set-up and put a local spin on the race. Sad to say, after the Beast,
they shut down the Dunk Wall due to increasing wind. This meant Super and
Sprint racers missed out on this experience, a tough break for them.
This
course always has a long first sandbag carry that uses a paved section of the
lake. This year they threw in a second longer sandbag carry with those green
sandbags used for building dams during a flood. It was about a mile to get to
Multi-Rig, Hercules Hoist, and Slip Wall coming in for the final obstacle A-Frame.
There was no fire jump; I spoke with the race director who said they never have
them in California anymore; for obvious reasons.
T-Shirts
and Medals and Debts Unpaid
The T-shirt
has a nice design; the Spartan Logo is larger, and the back has a design that
incorporates the Boar. This year there are only unisex sizes, and they seem to
have a more athletic fit. So, if you are still in a bulking phase, you might
consider sizing up. The medals this year are a great design, and the Trifecta Weekend
Medal almost looks like a multi-trifecta medal.
For
those of you who have not gotten your shield from Greece yet or a back owed multi-Trifecta
medal, they had some on hand for racers. They plan to ID what you are owed and
if you are registered and provide them to you at a future race. If you fall
into this category, you may consider contacting customer service to let them
know. To avoid another incident with my good friends in TSA (who knew Calamine
lotion could be used as an explosive), I opted to pick mine up in Jacksonville
next month since I am driving to that event.
Festival Area
It
was somewhat sparse this year, primarily due to the larger issues in
California. There were some local gyms, our friends at the Border Patrol and
the Army as well as some local food vendors. A protein shake with the
perfunctory name “Don’t Quit” (I mean, we just finished) was given out, which
is new this year. It's not bad and probably a better post-race option than in
past years. Regin Energy was not at this race, and I get the feeling they will
not be back.
Summary
I’m glad
we have a January race, instead of the Jacksonville kickoff in February/March.
With any early season race, we’re rolling the dice on conditions, but we still
can get some miles in and a Trifecta under our belts so we can adjust our
training. In December, I re-did my entire strength, running and lifting program
and I found out a lot about how I am responding to a new approach. Races are
feedback and it was great to get feedback early in the season so I could make
some adjustments in my training, nutrition, and recovery This is a solid venue
to get feedback; it is runnable, and the conditions are reasonable for this
time of year.
I
also want to thank my ancestors (through genetic and cultural links) who got us
through the last ice age; you will never hear me complain about the weather.
References
California
Glaciation (2024) https://scripps.ucsd.edu/news/research-highlight-researchers-uncover-new-details-about-californias-ancient-shoreline
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_SKZVyJDlo
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luiseño
The
Holocene (2024)
https://research.amnh.org/paleontology/perissodactyl/concepts/deep-time/holocene
Lattice (2024) https://www.lowes.com/n/buying-guide/what-is-lattice
Luiseno People (2024) https://www.californiafrontier.net/the-luiseno-of-southern-california/
Navy Seals (2024) https://navyseals.com/buds/
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