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54-754: Spartan Race is a series of obstacle races of varying difficulty, ranging from 3 miles to ultra-marathon distances of 50k+. These races are held in the United States and have been franchised to 30 countries, including Canada, South Korea, Australia, the Philippines and several European countries. The series include the Spartan Sprint, the Spartan Super, the Spartan Beast, and the Spartan Ultra. Spartan Race has

108-506: A 5-kilometer course, and is considered a short-distance race. The Spartan Sprint is the first part of the Spartan Trifecta achievement, where participants are encouraged to complete 3 races, earning them The Ultimate Spartan Achievement. The Spartan Super has 25 to 30 obstacles along 6-8 miles (generally a 10k) of rugged terrain, and is considered a middle-distance race. The Spartan Super is known to be significantly more difficult than

162-499: A Spartan Race can include climbing under barbed wire, wall climbing, mud crawling, a javelin throw, a rope climb, heavy object carries, slippery walls, a zig-zag log jump, steep mud climbs, tire flips, and rope swings. Spartan Races hosted the Kids World Championship which was held on November 17, 2018. Boys and girls between the ages of 10 and 13 from around the world participated in the race. Tough Mudder's first event

216-1126: A Sprint, Super, and Beast in one calendar year (Jan. 1 - Dec. 31) is said to have completed the Spartan Trifecta. In the US, the Spartan Race World Championship was held in Killington, Vermont from 2012 until 2015 when it was moved to Squaw Valley near Lake Tahoe. The World Championship has been held in Squaw Valley in Olympic Valley, CA near Lake Tahoe every year since 2015. Prizes for World Championships in 2016 included: Overall Champions (Men' and Women's) 1st place $ 15,000, 2nd place $ 10,000, 3rd place $ 5,000, 4th place $ 4,000, 5th place $ 3,000; Elite Beast Championship (Men & Women's – 40+) 1st place $ 500, 2nd place $ 200, 3rd place $ 100; and Elite Ultra Beast Championship (Men & Women's) 1st place $ 1,000; 2nd place $ 500; 3rd place $ 250; 4th place $ 100; 5th place $ 100. The first Spartan Race World Championship

270-481: A Trifecta medal after completing a Spartan Sprint (or Spartan Stadion), a Spartan Super, and a Spartan Beast in one calendar year. As of the 2016 season, the finisher medal includes both the traditional circular medal and a wedge – one-third of a larger Trifecta medal. Each Spartan event also provides races for children ages 4 to 13: half-mile races for ages 4–8, and one mile races for those older than 8. The Spartan World Championships are held annually, and to qualify for

324-475: A horned helmet. As a shorter event, winning times for a Warrior Dash may be as short as 15 minutes. While Warrior Dash features many of the same obstacles found at other races such as mud crawls, water features, and cargo net climbs. It was announced on July 31, 2019, that Red Frog Promotions would be shutting down their operations including Warrior Dash. Spartan Race purchased some of their assets, and instead of refunds for future events, Spartan would provide

378-576: A military series that is hosted on military bases. In addition, unique events include winter races and team competitions. Spartan Race began as a spin-off of the "Death Race", a 48-hour endurance event founded in 2007. Spartan was founded by Joe De Sena , who intended for it to be a more manageable endurance race for a wider audience. The first Spartan Race event was held in 2010 at the Catamount Outdoor Center in Williston, Vermont and represented

432-576: A replacement entry. Founded in 2016 and named after the near-invincible battle formation from Indian mythology ( Chakravyuha ), the Chakravyuh Challenge is the first obstacle course race to be hosted in the state of Kerala in India . The competition tests the participants' agility, bravery and problem-solving capability by pitting them against obstacles involving slush, water, ropes, inclined slopes, team-building exercises, fun mazes, and more. The race

486-558: A series: “Spartan: The Championship Series,“ on ESPN and ESPN 2 , which is a five-episode series, and features all the action from Spartan's championship events. Obstacle racing The concept of using obstacles for competition has been in use since the 1800s, including the 200m Obstacle Swim at the 1900 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, with the first formal land-based races in the Obstacle Run of military pentathlon , first held at

540-468: A shorter Tough Mudder course that has much more intense obstacles than a normal Tough Mudder and is designed to be more grueling as well. The goal for a participant in World's Toughest Mudder is to complete as many laps as possible within a 24 hours period. The athletes (solo male, solo female, team) who complete the most laps are declared the World's Toughest Mudder. The top male and female each receive $ 10,000 and

594-487: A special on the 2013 Spartan Race World Championships. In August 2015, parent network NBC then approved a Spartan-based television series, Spartan: Ultimate Team Challenge , led by the producers of fellow NBC series American Ninja Warrior . Later in 2015, Spartan Race founded the "Spartan Agoge" which is described as a "60 hour physical, tactical, mental and team based training and testing" event, to be held in Vermont twice

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648-580: A year. ESPN describes the Spartan Race as "a true test of will." Spartan Race acquired Tough Mudder , which had been forced into involuntary bankruptcy proceedings, in February 2020. It purchased Tough Mudder assets for $ 700,000 and the assumption of debts, including honoring prepaid tickets, which was approved by the bankruptcy court for the District of Delaware . Tough Mudder is expected to continue its races, and

702-438: A zig-zag log jump, steep mud climbs (rolling mud), tractor pulls, underwater submerging below walls (dunk walls), Atlas carries, tire flips, stump balances (skipping on stumps across a pond), rope swing, and the now discontinued Gladiator Arena. Failure to fully complete any obstacles results in a 30- Burpee penalty (or in some cases, a penalty loop) that runners must complete before continuing their race. A participant can obtain

756-653: Is a chain of health clubs in the United States and Canada . The company was founded by chairman and chief executive officer , Bahram Akradi. The company was incorporated in 1990 as FCA, Ltd., a Minnesota corporation, and registered the name Life Time Fitness in March of 1992. In 2017, the word "Fitness" was officially dropped from the brand name, and the company became simply Life Time, Inc. The first club opened in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota . Several locations were added to

810-516: Is a non-profit, member-based sporting organization and the sole world governing body for Obstacle Course Racing. As of 2022, World Obstacle had national member federations in 115 countries in four continental regions (Africa, Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe), the largest number being in Europe. World Obstacle applied for membership of GAISF in 2017, with a goal of having obstacle course racing and related disciplines recognized as an international sport by

864-543: Is an event owned and operated by Adventurey, a Brooklyn NY marketing and branding company. The first race took place on October 25 & 26, 2014 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The men's event was won by UK's Jonathan Albon , who successfully defended his crown in 2015 and 2016. and every consecutive year through the current 2019 season. For the women, the inaugural event was won by Siri Englund of Sweden in 2014 and then Lindsay Webster of Canada in 2015 and 2016. With participation of

918-470: Is an official OCR World Championship Qualifier Race. In 2021, the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM) announced that it had approved proposals to replace show jumping as one of the five disciplines that comprises the modern pentathlon , amid criticism stemming from animal welfare incidents that occurred during the modern pentathlon events at the 2020 Summer Olympics . In May 2022,

972-826: Is in Eagan, Minnesota. In December 2019 they opened up a new facility inside of the Southdale Mall in Edina, Minnesota, replacing the former tenant J.C. Penney . In addition to its health clubs, the company has created or acquired, as of 2012, more than 200 annual races in the United States. These include the Life Time Tri Series , the Leadville Race Series , the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival in Hayward, Wisconsin ,

1026-415: Is open to both men and women and held in three variations - Individual Competitive Category, Team Challenge, and Fun Run. With separate cash prizes awarded to the male and female winners of the first two categories. The obstacle race is part of a three-day adventure fest, held annually and the circuit itself is designed every year by former Indian Navy commandos. The self-named independent World Championship

1080-414: Is segmented into 3 different age groups: Spartan Trail is a trail running race that takes place in the wilderness with no obstacles. Races can be either a 10K or a half-marathon. The Honor Series made its debut in 2016. The races occur on military bases throughout the country and are open to current military, veterans, and the general public. The course runs from 4–5 miles and contains obstacles similar to

1134-518: Is unique to the others in terms of obstacles and location. Spartan Race brings a fully immersive training program that balances class time with hands-on practical application of those skills and lessons. The Spartan Agoge is held on The Farm in Pittsfield, Vermont, twice a year in the summer and winter—and in historic locations across the globe including Iceland, Mongolia, Isle of Skye in Scotland, and along

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1188-584: Is widely considered to be the earliest contemporary OCR, with the first race held in 1987. The survivalrun also emerged in the late 1980s in the Netherlands. This began when the setters of a drag hunt trail in the village of Beltrum organized a foot race that incorporated the natural obstacles of the course. There are now more than 30 annual survivalruns in the Netherlands which incorporate both natural and built obstacles and form an organized amateur competition. The HiTec Adventure Racing Series (1996 - 2002)

1242-548: The International Olympic Committee . It has been noted that World Obstacle has no member race organizations. As a not-for-profit sporting federation the only members of World Obstacle are national federations (national governing bodies.) The members of the national federations are athletes and athlete-based organizations. Brands and for-profit corporations are not members of sporting federations but can be recognized or aligned under certain circumstances. In 2017,

1296-460: The UIPM ( modern pentathlon ) tested a laser-run course with obstacles and made an unsuccessful application to add it as a mixed team medal event for the 2020 Summer Olympics . Full medal events for OCR were included for the first time in an International Multisport Games in the 2019 South East Asia Games . Medal events were approved for 100 m, 400 m, and 5 km distances. The SEA Games are under

1350-565: The Unbound Gravel gravel bicycle race, and the Miami Marathon . In August 2014, Life Time, a publicly traded company, considered becoming a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) in response to pressure from its largest shareholder, Marcato Capital Management. In March 2015, Life Time was acquired by private equity firms TPG Capital and Leonard Green & Partners in a leveraged buyout . Several employees of Life Time Fitness took

1404-479: The "Ultra Beast" which is 2 times through the "Beast" course (later changed to "Ultra" for 30 miles), and the "Hurricane Heat" which involves tasks that set up the obstacle course the night before. Average finishing times for the events range from 30 minutes to 6 hours, depending on the particular course and fitness level of the racer. Race venues are located around the world and have included ski slopes, state parks, paintball parks, and more. Any competitor who completes

1458-487: The "over-under-through" (a series of obstacles in which runners must first climb over a wall, then under a wall, then through a square hole placed in a wall), spear throw , rope climb, heavy object carries, "Herculean Hoist", " Tyrolean traverse ", monkey bars , Traversal Wall (similar to a bouldering wall), Hobie Hop (a thick rubber band is placed around the ankles and participants hop through consecutive tires), Slip Wall (a wall built at an incline, roughly covered in grease),

1512-587: The 2019 Ninja World Championships . In August 2020 World Obstacle and the International Parkour Federation ( IPF ) signed a memorandum of understanding to unify Obstacle Sports worldwide under a governance model similar to Aquatics ( FINA ). The MOU expired at the end of 2020. IPF had signed an MOU with Gymnastics (FIG) in January 2018, but were unable to come to an agreement and the term expired. The OCR 100m international standard format (used in

1566-516: The 2020 season starts on April 17 in North London. Spartan Race's main events include the Spartan Sprint (3+ miles of obstacle racing, 20+ obstacles), the Spartan Super (6+ miles, 25+ obstacles), the Spartan Beast (13+ miles, 30+ obstacles), and the Spartan Ultra (30+ miles, 60+ obstacles). The obstacles themselves also vary from race to race. Frequently presented obstacles can include a fire jump, climbing under barbed wire, wall climbing, mud crawling,

1620-670: The 36-hour Agoge. Obstacle Course Races with inflatable obstacles are becoming increasingly popular, including Britain's GUNG-HO race. Spartan Race founder Joe De Sena set a goal to take the sport to the Olympics and tapped event and television producer Ian Adamson for the task in 2014. He subsequently founded the international sporting federation, now known as World Obstacle, the Fédération Internationale de Sport d’Obstacles (FISO), based in Lausanne, Switzerland. World Obstacle

1674-551: The Great Wall of China. “Spartan on NBC Sports” is a five-race U.S. Championship series that airs on NBC Sports Network and regional Comcast Sports Network stations while the World Championship is broadcast on NBC . The 2017 Spartan World Championship was December 24, 2017. In 2016, Spartan launched an editorial website, Spartan Life, which features fitness, nutrition, and lifestyle content. In 2018, Spartan launched

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1728-882: The Military Physical Training Centre, at Freiburg , in the French occupation zone in Germany , in August 1947. Only Belgian , Dutch , and French teams took part in the competition. Since 1950, annual world championships have been held. The sport has grown in popularity, and now over 138 countries participate in the World Military Games . The sport's governing body, the International Military Sports Council (CISM), now also organise pentathlons aimed at naval and air force personnel. Tough Guy

1782-465: The Minneapolis–St. Paul area before the chain expanded to suburban communities in other states. As of mid-2021, the locations include over 160 athletic clubs, 3 apartment home residences, and 10 coworking locations. Most Life Time locations are located in exurban or suburban areas in medium to large-sized metropolitan areas, with some locations in central city or inner suburban areas. The oldest facility

1836-542: The SEA Games) was first presented in Europe at OCR Polska's 2020 Polish Championships. This event has over 80 million Facebook views. In recent years, obstacle course racing has been emerging onto the college scene in the United States. Universities, like Texas A&M University, have launched organizations and club teams that feature obstacle course training. World Obstacle provides at-cost athlete and coach development to all member federations. Muddy Buddy (1999 - 2010)

1890-450: The Spartan Sprint. The Spartan Beast features 30 to 35 obstacles along 12 to 14 miles of rugged terrain. The Spartan Beast is known to be the most difficult Spartan Race in terms of completing the trifecta; some participants can't finish and are marked as DNF. The Spartan Ultra features 60+ obstacles along 31+ miles of rugged terrain. The Spartan Kids Race was created for boys and girls ages 4 to 13 to encourage exercising. The Kids Race

1944-742: The UIPM announced plans to hold test events alongside the Modern Pentathlon World Cup final in Ankara , Turkey, in cooperation with World Obstacle. At its Congress in November 2022, the UIPM voted 69–11 to approve the replacement of show jumping with obstacle course racing; if approved by the IOC, this change would take effect at the Olympic level at the 2028 Summer Olympics . Life Time Fitness Life Time, Inc.

1998-465: The World Championship. A hybrid of race and endurance events, the Ultra covers 30+ miles of terrain and features close to 70 obstacles. The Ultra is the only Spartan event featuring strict time cutoffs that must be met; competitors are warned that not all who sign up will finish. Competitors are encouraged to bring ‘Transition Containers’ to supply the participant with food and water at the halfway point of

2052-442: The city of Burlington, Vermont . Roughly 500 competitors had to "run, crawl, jump and swim" and overcome a variety of obstacles. All finishers received a medal, and prizes were awarded to the top athletes. In 2012 Raptor Consumer Partners invested in the Spartan Race company. In 2013 Reebok had become the event title sponsor, and the races were renamed the "Reebok Spartan Race Series". On December 7, 2013, Universal Sports broadcast

2106-637: The event, men and women must finish top 5 in a U.S. Championship Series event or a Regional Championship in their respective category. Spartan World Champions The 2017 Ultra World Championships were held in Iceland on Dec 14-Dec 17. The first Spartan Gym was opened in 2016, in the 1 Hotel in Miami. Additionally, Spartan Strong is a group fitness class offered exclusively at Life Time Fitness . The Sprint combines relatively easy trail running with 20 obstacles, held on off-road terrain featuring water and mud along

2160-557: The other races. These events are typically three-mile sprint-style races with more than 15 obstacles, and are held at baseball and football stadiums across the United States. The name Stadion (running race) (or stade, Ancient Greek: στάδιον) is drawn from an ancient running event, part of the Ancient Olympic Games and the other Panhellenic Games . Some of the stadium-themed obstacles include: The annual Spartan Global Championship Series unfolds across more than 40 countries on

2214-464: The race due to the general tenacity of the course. The Hurricane Heat Endurance Event was created in August 2011 due to the cancellation of a prior Spartan Race caused by Hurricane Irene . In the Hurricane Heat, the goal is for the competitors’ teams to reach the finish line; individual times are not applicable. The Hurricane Heat is composed of 4–8, 12, and 24 hour courses. Each Hurricane Heat event

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2268-752: The regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation (SEAGF) with supervision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA). The sport disciplines of Ninja (modeled after the Japanese television series Sasuke and international adaptations such as American Ninja Warrior ) and OCR became self-governing sub-sports of World Obstacle in 2020, in a model similar to Aquatics. The first non-commercial (Federation) Ninja World Championships were held in Moscow, Russia in

2322-480: The road to the Spartan World Championship. The series sees competitors facing off on the course, battling signature Spartan obstacles on varying terrains and natural conditions. Format : 14 National Series around the world lead into stand-alone championship events in five regions paving the road to the Spartan World Championship. Elite and Age Group competitors must qualify for Regional Championships and

2376-514: The shorter distance but larger number of obstacles. The run ends with an all-day festival of beer, food, mechanical bull riding, adult-sized bounce houses, and sponsor exhibition booths. Spartan Race (2010) was an outgrowth of the annual Death Race (started in 2005), with courses vary in distance and difficulty from "Sprint" courses (3+ miles with 20+ obstacles ), to "Super" (8+ mile with 20+ obstacles), and "Beast" course (13+ mile with 30-35+ obstacles). For endurance enthusiasts, Spartan also offers

2430-587: The show, the Rugged Maniac event has expanded to Canada, increased in sales from $ 4.2 million to $ 10.5 million before and after Shark Tank, expanded to 28 cities, and created a second race called "The Costume Dash 5K", which debuted in Boston in October 2015. Rugged Maniac features 25 obstacles over a 5 kilometer (3.1 mile) course. It is designed to be more family-friendly and catered to people of all fitness levels, due to

2484-503: The sport growing, the organization added a 3 km course and a team event in 2016. First staged in 1987, Tough Guy claims to be the first official and toughest obstacle course race in the world. It is held on the last Sunday in January in Perton , Staffordshire, UK. The race is held twice a year in winter and summer. The winter event requires competitors to compete in near freezing temperatures and contend with ice and snow. The 2013 event

2538-405: The top team receives $ 12,000 (total). The Warrior Dash was founded in 2009. Because Warrior Dash does not assign penalties for skipped obstacles, it is often considered an obstacle course event rather than a race. While Warrior Dash does not meet all the requirements to be considered a race, organizers do award their top finishers with non-cash prizes. All finishers receive a "warrior helmet" –

2592-479: Was an early version of the contemporary race and included "special tests" (man-made obstacles with walls, nets, etc.), mountain biking, and kayaking. The Balance Bar races in the United States expanded on the success of the Hi-Tech series, including a televised national series and championships. The Muddy Buddy races in the United States were a national obstacle race series produced by Competitor Group from 1999 to 2013 and

2646-650: Was founded in 2010 by former lawyers Brad Scudder and Rob Dickens. The very first race was held in October 2010, in Southwick, Massachusetts . It has since expanded to 24 cities over the United States and Canada. In 2014, they were featured on ABC's Shark Tank and secured a $ 1.75 million deal with Mark Cuban , the billionaire entrepreneur and owner of the Dallas Mavericks . On January 16, 2016, Rugged Maniac (Under their company name Rugged Races LLC), appeared again on Shark Tank in an update video. Since first appearing on

2700-723: Was held in December 2011 in Glen Rose, Texas as an eight-mile Spartan Race course comprising 36 obstacles and included a US$ 20,000 prize purse. Beginning in 2012, the Spartan Race World Championships were held annually in Killington, Vermont, and at Squaw Valley, CA since 2015 with a total of $ 500,000 in cash and prizes. Spartan Races have occurred in more than 30 other countries around the world.  According to event organizers, obstacles vary from race to race. Obstacles during

2754-503: Was held in May 2010. The Tough Mudder is not technically a race and is instead focused on teamwork and completion of the event rather than finishing under a certain time. Tough Mudder courses are between 10 and 12 miles and contain various military-style obstacles. The final event of the Tough Mudder season is the World's Toughest Mudder. This is a 24-hour event in which competitors will run

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2808-864: Was the first major series to introduce mud elements and remove additional equipment. Muddy Buddy was the event format that transitioned adventure racing to obstacle racing as we know it today. There are many variations of obstacle race courses that accommodate a wide variety of athletes. Ninja races such as the Wolfpack Ninja Tour are typically 50 m to 100 m in length with many obstacles and little running. OCR track races are typically held on athletic tracks and vary between 400 m and 5,000 m. Cross country courses range from one mile and up, with most races between 5 km and 10 miles. Longer endurance races vary up to 100 miles, including Spartan Beast, Ultra Beast, and Agoge. Fixed-time events include World's Toughest Mudder (24 hours), Spartan Ultra World Championships, and

2862-413: Was the first national OCR series in the United States emphasizing man made obstacles and mud. Unlike later OCRs it included a bike leg, making it a "ride and run" OCR. The event series was produced by Competitor Group and sponsored by Columbia in later years. Muddy Buddy ultimately went out of business under pressure from Tough Mudder and Warrior Dash which had simpler run-obstacle formats. Rugged Maniac

2916-559: Was won by Knut Höhler . THE IMPI Challenge Obstacle Trail Run is staged in South Africa. Warrior Race is South Africa's largest obstacle course race with up to 9000 participants per event. The Warrior Race offers race distances ranging from 5 to 21 kilometers. Carrera Sucia was the first OCR race done in South America. ROC is the biggest race in South America with 2000+ racers. The 8K course includes 35 obstacles. Since 2018 it

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