on NBC, granted in summer, sponsored by Tomtom ™
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Easy: it’s cheaper. Really no different than soccer being more popular than golf.
Yeah, but triathletes are more badass
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I wouldn’t really call Spartan a race. Lots and lots of standing around. Much like the mud runs I can’t understand why it is so popular. I do enjoy my wife showing me her girlfriends workouts to “train for Spartan race”. Typically they consist of a 12-13 minute mile, 1. Followed by some monkey bars at the park and finishing with a sweet Facebook post.
If it gets people out there moving, it’s awesome. I think it’s turning into a bit of a cross fit craze though.
When you refer to her girlfriends’ workouts are you referencing the guys she knows in the sport? Lol! In my opinion it’s good that it gets people out and active on a level just above Go Pokeman and CF.
I wouldn’t really call Spartan a race. Lots and lots of standing around. Much like the mud runs I can’t understand why it is so popular. I do enjoy my wife showing me her girlfriends workouts to “train for Spartan race”. Typically they consist of a 12-13 minute mile, 1. Followed by some monkey bars at the park and finishing with a sweet Facebook post.
If it gets people out there moving, it’s awesome. I think it’s turning into a bit of a cross fit craze though.
I did my first a few weeks ago and I was shocked how hard it was! My HE hit 170 before the 2nd Km and stayed between 170-195 for the next 6km. I will 100% do more and it will reduce how many triathlons I do a year. I will also say I didn’t do Spartan I did Battlefrog because it is chipped timed and more of a race then a easy trail run
I did one a couple of years ago (O2X, not Spartan Race but still an obstacle course race up a mountain). It was really fun and really hard. My heart rate was at max for an hour, it was a full body workout, and I had to problem solve along the way.
Fixed the title of the post for you.
Ben Greenfield had a team in last nights show. Was fun to watch it looked very challenging and different.
I wouldn’t really call Spartan a race. Lots and lots of standing around. Much like the mud runs I can’t understand why it is so popular. I do enjoy my wife showing me her girlfriends workouts to “train for Spartan race”. Typically they consist of a 12-13 minute mile, 1. Followed by some monkey bars at the park and finishing with a sweet Facebook post.
If it gets people out there moving, it’s awesome. I think it’s turning into a bit of a cross fit craze though.
That may be the case, but the races on TV are definite races and reasonably entertaining. 10 times more-so than watching a triathlon race.
Plus, any time we get to see Ben Greenfield on national TV has to be a boon!
I think worlds toughest mudder or Spartan death race might be fun to do. I know some OCR athletes that are in pretty amazing shape, so not everyone that does tough mudder or Spartan race sucks.
I think worlds toughest mudder or Spartan death race might be fun to do. I know some OCR athletes that are in pretty amazing shape, so not everyone that does tough mudder or Spartan race sucks.
It is not debatable, there are real athletes that do those races. Some of the guys and gals that compete professionally are really serious and fast. Its the general idea of accomplishment to stand in line with 2,000 people and get help climbing over a wall, then walk through cold mud, then carry a bag of rocks. It cannot be a race if one of your fellow competitors is wearing a camel back with cigarettes in it. I know it happens because i had a friend do it.
on NBC, granted in summer, sponsored by Tomtom ™
Yeah, no surprise there. I used to like watching the Superstars competitions on NBC in the 1980s. So what?
In real life, a 5K run is waaaaaaaaay more popular than triathlon. And sitting on your fanny watching athletic competition of any type on TV - while eating chips and chugging beer - is about a 1000 times more popular than actually participating in any sport.
I think worlds toughest mudder or Spartan death race might be fun to do. I know some OCR athletes that are in pretty amazing shape, so not everyone that does tough mudder or Spartan race sucks.
It is not debatable, there are real athletes that do those races. Some of the guys and gals that compete professionally are really serious and fast. Its the general idea of accomplishment to stand in line with 2,000 people and get help climbing over a wall, then walk through cold mud, then carry a bag of rocks. It cannot be a race if one of your fellow competitors is wearing a camel back with cigarettes in it. I know it happens because i had a friend do it.
And every single person that lines up to do a triathlon is a super elite athlete with single digit body fat and can bust out a 2:50 marathon if needed? If people feel better about themselves for crawling through mud and getting zapped from hanging wires who am I to tell them that they shouldn’t feel accomplished?
It is a limited time/skill/money commitment to finish one of these races. If you can run, climb, and carry you can do a Spartan race. No need to buy/rent special gear(wetsuit, bike,…). The OWS of a tri turns away a lot of participants. Supersprint tri in the pool are popular for noobs.
I went to undergrad with this girl and have run into her a few times in Chicago. She’s a bad ass, and has probably won more prize money in the past five years than most pro triathletes. She is also a full-time attorney at a Big Law firm. I don’t understand how she does it.
What’s interesting about the whole mud/obstacle craze has been the growth, and now the slowdown that is hitting the events business side of it.
5-years ago these races/events barely existed and, then it was crazy, explosive and unsustainable growth. I recall reading an interview with one of the founders of the Warrior Dash, two years ago, that even back then, they realized they were on a temporary roll, that they needed to start to think of what they could do ounce the craze started to slow down.
I talked to those within the mud/obstacle ranks, and the thing is ounce you’ve done these things, ounce, twice, the novelty starts to wear off quickly. It’s only Spartan that seems to have set itself a bit more and made it more about performance.
Fast-forward another 2 - 3 years and it will be interesting to see where things are at.
One think that I have put forward is, these races/events would be perfect recruiting ground for triathlon!
I think worlds toughest mudder or Spartan death race might be fun to do. I know some OCR athletes that are in pretty amazing shape, so not everyone that does tough mudder or Spartan race sucks.
It is not debatable, there are real athletes that do those races. Some of the guys and gals that compete professionally are really serious and fast. Its the general idea of accomplishment to stand in line with 2,000 people and get help climbing over a wall, then walk through cold mud, then carry a bag of rocks. It cannot be a race if one of your fellow competitors is wearing a camel back with cigarettes in it. I know it happens because i had a friend do it.
And every single person that lines up to do a triathlon is a super elite athlete with single digit body fat and can bust out a 2:50 marathon if needed? If people feel better about themselves for crawling through mud and getting zapped from hanging wires who am I to tell them that they shouldn’t feel accomplished?
I agree here.
It’s only a small % of individuals who are actually “racing” a triathlon. Most are there to participant and as such I think the two sports have much more in common than people think.
Similarly, the front end of a Spartan race field is legit. One of the faster runners I’ve ever tested in my lab is the current Spartan Race World Champion. Has also won Military wave of Kona, Best Ranger (x2) etc. 10K PR of 32:07
I ran into some local spartan racers recently and I while there are some serious good athletes among them, many seem to be of the “bar betting” variety.
Triathlon attendance is way down in my area. OCR racing attendance is up. Has triathlon jumped the shark?
I’ve raced triathlon for 17 years, sprint to Ironman. I just did my first Spartan Race this past weekend. Kicked my ass, but I have never had so much fun in a race. I started in the Competitive Wave, so no waiting, no help over the walls.
Free beer after the race. Works for me.