Saddle up, seasoned Spartans, because these 10 races, handpicked by Spartan Race Course Manager Steve Hammond, are unquestionably the hardest races on the Spartan schedule, with venue number one being the holy grail of hard. If you are a seasoned obstacle course race (OCR) participant and you are looking for a challenge, you may be wondering what the most difficult obstacle course races in the world are. You start at a surface elevation of 6,224 feet and climb toward 9,900 feet. Hammond described this Vermont course by saying, You wont know until you go, which hints at the never-before-seen obstacles youll face throughout your off-trail descents, enormous Green Mountain climbs, shockingly-cold plunges, and a finish line that resembles a scene from a battle. The average temperature is a scorching 120 degrees and youll be dealing with an 8,000-foot ascent before you cross the finish line and grab the Badwater 135 belt buckle. If we change these times values to an out of 10 scale with the Killington Beast being a 10, you can see this difficulty more easily. So may the odds be in your favor. These things are BRUTAL!Affiliate Links:Amazon Sales: https://amzn.to/3IYc7ZmTitan Fitness Sales: http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-9118682-12674480Bells of Steal. Race type: Super Examples of possible penalties are finding an army man in a haystack and writing I love penalities on a chalkboard. Race organizers closely guard the course and the obstacles for each race location, adding to the mystery and the challenge of the event. The Mount Ogden Trifecta weekend will have you climbing a 3,000-foot vertical to its summit in one of our toughest treks yet. Remember that $10,000 prize at the 2011 World Championships? Orders. All rights reserved. Youll be facing 33,050 feet of climbing with an average elevation of 11,000 feet. We use cookies to optimize our website and our service. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you. Miles: 135 Called the "ultimate test of endurance" by its organizers, the Spartan Death Race is an obstacle race that breaks more than 80% of its participants. Only the most qualified applicants are accepted for this extreme challenge. According to Running USA, the number of participants tripled between the years 2011 and 2013, going from one million to three million. Some obstacles are very challenging because they're heavy, such as the Herc Hoist, it's a 150lb sand back you pull up by a pulley approximately 20ft. If youre insane enough to sign up for one of these extreme marathons, we highly recommend you speak with your primary physician first. Summit Bechtel Reservewas the site of the Spartan North American Championship for the few years before 2021 (when it was held in North Lake Tahoe), and thats because it has the perfect mix of everything Spartans look for in a truly challenging course. You can also find Savage Races all over the U.S., making it more convenient than some of the other options. You probably need to have a sense of adventure and a little bit of craziness to enjoy one of these intense races. Climbing a few feet higher. Read on. Dropping you right in the middle of the Sahara Desert, this 7-day multi-stage race covers a whopping 150 miles, testing your willpower the entire way through. Donoghue says the course is a great mix of mud, water, thick woods and rocky terrain. Thats why all of our races are designed to push you past your limits. SPARTAN Official Climbing Rope The Western States Endurance Run is the worlds oldest and most prestigious American 100-mile ultra. For the rest, the Sunday times tend to be worse by about 10-15% than the Saturday times. Fanon:Bucharest (KittyFan37) | Race Around the World Wiki | Fandom Kids 13 and under are free. This highly unpredictable race takes place in Pittsfield, Vermont and the course varies from year to year. You can choose among four Spartan Race distances: Sprint (three to five miles and 20 obstacles), Super (eight to 10 miles and 25 obstacles), Beast (12 to 14 miles and 30 to 35 obstacles). Weather also plays a part, a rainy day in Seattle can turn an easy course into burpee hell. 2014: Killington, Vermont On the weekend of the second World Championships in Killington, Spartan debuted its first short-course trial. There are many reasons to compete in one of these difficult obstacle course races. Which venue has the hardest Spartan Beast. Its right on the shore of. ), Yet Another Honorable Mention: Colorado Springs, Colorado. It may not be as challenging as the Death Race, but it is still one of the most difficult OCRs out there. The Killington race in Vermont remains the hardest Spartan Beast within the US while Seattle is the easiest. Suit up for mud crawls, jumps, swims (yup, maybe a few), spear throwing and much more. Miles: 100 Location: France and Italy Purchase: $295 Hurt100 Another Honorable Mention:Chandler, Arizona, Yet Another Honorable Mention:Killington, Vermont. Battle the extreme Morocco heat and unforgiving sand dunes all while rucking your own gear and fighting off hallucinations during the energy-sapping journey to test your might. If you have fun dealing with blood-sucking insects, humid weather, and insanity, this ultra is specially made for you. He invited people to the venue to run with him in brutal, ferocious weather, and thus the Hurricane Heat was born. The Asheville Super last year was darn near a Beast in distance, and if you saw the parking lot aka mud pit where everyone without a truck or big SUV got stuck, then you know how difficult the course. Limited to 100 runners, this 100K is the first ultramarathon to be held in Cusco, Peru. Much of the course consists of bounding to, from and over rocks and tree roots. You can also expect to swing on ropes, jump over a heap of smoldering charcoal and fire, lug sandbags on wagons up slopes and then bring buckets of dirt back down. Racers have to swing from ring to ring, hanging 25 to 30 feet in the air, to get to the platform on the other side. And for the truly gritty competitors, youve got the Ultra Beast (26-plus miles and 50 obstacles). Designed by famed track designer Hermann Tilke, the circuit was in the city centre, and has the Palace of the Parliament in its infield.. While people probably recognize the Poconos as a go-to for skiing and snowboarding, hitting the trails for a summertime Spartan also provides that core-scorching, lower-body burn. Then add mud, rope swings, trekking uphill with crates of rocks and jumping through heaps of fire and your average outing reaches Spartan Race status. Only 145 applicants are accepted for each event. Other Spartans recommend racers wear headlamps to help guide them through the forests during this run. Yes, you read that correctly. If you plan on attempting this menacing triathlon, make sure to reach out to the expert staff at Enduroman for any questions or logistics concerning the obstacles or course. With the Festival Pass, you get a coupon at registration (redeemable at the merchandise tent). Roughly 500 people participated not bad for a maiden event and all finishers received a medal. hardest spartan race locations Because the race is in the thick of summer, Donoghue says, The heat can be as much of a challenge to overcome as the ruthless technical steep terrain. Crazier yet, the course has the most consistently soul-crushing sandbag carry, he says. It would make sense considering that the Sunday Sprint is a Mountain Series while Saturday is a US Championships Series Race. Miles: 100.5 One Cop's Spartan Challenge | Police Magazine I wont explain exactly how I pulled all this data together, but I removed the outliers in races and then averaged some racers together to end up at a final value. Theres also a series of ropes under a bridge, which forces you back into freezing water. Location: Belfast, South Africa. What is the hardest Spartan race? For an ultramarathon to be called Hurt100, it has to deliver the pain boy does this race sound agonizing on the body. Date: December 9-10, 2017 After Hurricane Irene caused the cancellation of a race in Boston in 2011, Spartan founder and CEO Joe De Sena remained undeterred. Mention Big Bear in any start line or changing tent and you'll hear veterans groan about that day. In some instances, youll have to run through snowy trails and then deal with the blazing sun in the next section, challenging your body to adapt quickly. Unpredictability is the name of the game, and the reason that New Jersey comes in at No. While its not the most technical course, the long climbs and descents provide a hefty challenge, Donoghue says. Top 15 Toughest and Craziest Obstacle Races in the World SoCal Spartan Trifecta Weekend (Jan. 28-29, 2023) Taking place just an hour north of the Los Angeles metropolitan area, this course is a great introduction to our harder, hillier races. Well, Ive managed to get some data together from the 2019 race season to answer exactly these questions. Fitness level: Advanced. Extreme activities, such as ultramarathons, are a form of therapy that puts life into perspective. Race type: Ultra Beast and Beast In 2018, Big Bear was the consensus pick for hardest race of the year. Race type: Super and Sprint The Spartathlon was created by British RAF Wing Commander John Foden, who is a student of ancient Greek history. Myfirst OCR was probably my favorite, says Hunter McIntyre, the 2014 Toughest Mudder champion (an eight-hour overnight OCR excursion) and a two-time champion on Steve Austins Broken Skull Ranch. 2023 DailyBurn, Inc. The experience was something of an eye opener for me. This race is comprised of never before seen obstacles over a 5 mile course. Its not just about putting one foot in front of the other either, as your team is required to know various survival skills, like map-reading and first-aid. Youll start this race at the highest point of the course, as Breckenridge is 9,600 feet above sea level. Run one to get your feet wet, feel things out, and get the swing of OCRs. Push your limits with one of the toughest races in the world, relying on your GPS navigation skills and endurance. Thank you for signing up. Whitney. Bucharest has taxis, automobiles, tram, and the choice of walking. The magnitude of the event, as well the purse, would increase dramatically in the ensuing years. On the weekend of the secondWorld Championships in Killington, Spartan debuted its first short-course trial. How difficult is the race really? : r/spartanrace The Enduroman Arch 2 Arc challenge connects two wondrous cities via this grueling triathlon where the average finish time is 100 hours. What are the hardest courses each year? : r/spartanrace 2021marked the first Ultra and Beast in Montana, adding an extra element of difficulty to the already-demanding terrain. 2021marked the first Ultra and Beast in Montana, adding an extra element of difficulty to the already-demanding terrain. Beginners can start with the Spartan Sprint, reach the intermediate level with the Super Spartan and finish up with the Spartan . You may have your entry fee reimbursed if you raise $7,500 or more for the Challenged Athletes Foundation, which is an official charity of Badwater 135. For many, this was when Spartan cemented itself as a legitimate spectator sport. GARVEYARDS SPARTAN CORE LOCATIONS This Spartan Core is in the south-west corner of this central area with the three anti-aircraft guns during the Pelican Down mission. This California race is one that your calves will never forget, and if you finish, you'll have a medal that youll always remember. This race is so difficult that many times, only about 10% of the participants actually finish the race. I hear it all the time at my races and in conversation, things like The Big Bear Beast was brutal! or How hard is Killington really? I also quite often hear Whats the easiest Spartan Beast? and Whats the hardest Spartan Beast? Some people are nervous about their first trifecta Beast, and others are looking to challenge themselves.