SPARTAN ULTRA - ONE OF THE HARDEST THINGS I'VE EVER DONE!

Episode 21 *Apologies for the audio issues (dead spots, music breaks, etc)...the copyright FREE music I used got flagged by someone claiming they owned part of the music so youtube cut it out so that I wouldn't be violating terms. Thanks for understanding!* For a couple of years, I've been thinking about trying a Spartan Ultra Race. Well, I finally decided to pull the trigger, take the plunge, and give it a go! For those not familiar with Spartan Races the distances are Sprint (3-5 miles), Super (6-10 miles), Beast (11-14 miles), and then the Ultra (30+ miles). Spartan did just release a statement saying that in 2020 the races will be more standardized with the following distances: Sprint - 5k Super - 10k Beast - Half Marathon Ultra - 50k There are no Ultra's in Florida (at least at the time of this video) so I signed up for the one in Dallas. The finishers received the coveted Spartan Buckle (It's a medal but can also be used as a belt buckle). So, Hey, if you are going to get a Big Ole Buckle...might as well get it in Texas!! And it says Dallas, TX on it which is fitting for a Big Buckle! Plus it's a great reason to go out and stay with one of my best friends - Adam Jonas. I signed up for the Ultra about 1 month before the actual race. I'm already in pretty good shape and have been running Spartan races so the biggest thing I need to implement into my training was more distance and more endurance!! My longest race up to this point was a 14 mile Spartan Beast that took me a little over 3 hours. And now I need to be prepared for about 12 hours of running and obstacles! That's a BIG jump! I get out to TX and wouldn't you know it...a cold front moves in...with severe thunderstorms! Now that I live in south FL, my blood has thinned and I get cold easy so this isn't what I was hoping for. It was 46 the morning that I started but thankfully it stopped raining and the sun eventually came out. Which actually made for good Spartan weather (not too hot and not too cold). I did finish the Ultra and it ended up being 32 miles (according to my Garmin Felix 5) and there was 72 obstacles. I did "fail" 3 obstacles. The twister (twice) which really makes me mad because I haven't had any issues with that obstacle in a long time! Then I failed Olympus on the 2nd lap. The boards were a lot more slick and I just couldn't get any traction. I'm guessing all the racers that had gone through since the morning just made the boards that much more slick. So I did have 90 penalty burpees on top of the 32 miles and 72 obstacles. I finished in 11 hours 17 mins. Which is certainly nothing to brag about but I finished! The course was VERY rocky and it was just punishing on my feet! My feet were hurting pretty bad and every step was painful. But I knew I had to push through the pain and keep moving forward! Music Credit: Murph Squad Intro Song - Justin Stone "Brightside" Justin Stone YouTube: @JustinStoneMusic Justin Stone Spotify: play.spotify.com/artist/5Vu87j6vCvfwc7FNVGnBwk