Spartan Race San Francisco
Diablo Grande, CA
- Super
- OCR
- Official race website
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Toughest Spartan Super in Norcal!
This was by far the toughest Super I have done so far. The Hills were brutally, STEEP and Long! The heat played a role too as July in Patterson/Diablo Grande, … MORE
This was by far the toughest Super I have done so far. The Hills were brutally, STEEP and Long! The heat played a role too as July in Patterson/Diablo Grande, CA is pretty hot. Also, this is a LONG ways away from San Francisco just a heads up.
Spartan Heatwave Fest
This is a new course location for Spartan Race. As usual, Spartan Race has put on a great production for everyone to enjoy. It's noteworthy for any first timer that … MORE
This is a new course location for Spartan Race. As usual, Spartan Race has put on a great production for everyone to enjoy. It’s noteworthy for any first timer that this course is not for beginners to trail racing. The main nemesis is not the obstacles here, but the heat. It’s better to race during morning while it’s cool than during afternoon. Many afternoon participants were dehydrated due to the heat. If you don’t train properly, it is not advised to race the afternoon waves even if it is non-competitive.
Spartan Race is an obstacle race, which means it is innately challenging for average people. However, some races are doable for people who trained for it. My course difficulty rating is primarily a comparison with my past experience with the World Championship Tahoe Beast as 5. I have rated this course 3/5 with a couple of considerations. First, Spartan Race is known for burpees as penalty for failure to complete its obstacles. Since there are primarily 3 categories of distances, super means 8-10miles with 25-29 obstacles. This race is 8.7 miles with 26 obstacles. Different courses have different obstacles, but among those, there is 1 obstacle no one are allowed to skip, Bucket Brigade. This obstacle is one of the toughest because you are asked to carry a bucket full of rocks or dirt and up a loop with incline. In addition, there is an inspection at the end of the obstacle, where a staff will make sure your rock/dirt are above the fill lines as indicated on the bucket. Failed to have the appropriate amount will result in a redo or disqualified. I remember vividly the World Championship has a quarter mile loop with 40% incline, it took me 90min to complete the obstacles with multiple breaks. However, the Bucket Brigade at this course is particularly short, which is why I lower the difficulty rating significantly. Beside this, I also consider the barbed wire obstacle here as easy because it is a much shorter distance to crawl and no requirement to roll on your side , which I personally is thankful for. I hate the obnoxious and dizzy feeling from rolling under barbed wire for 5 minutes straight. No fire pit is present in this course, which is understandable with dry grassland throughout the course and average 90s during the afternoon. Beside the usual obstacles, this course includes multiple steep hills, you better be ready for some steep incline. Add hill workout to your training routine.
As for my performance, I had to do 90 burpees to make up my shortcoming in failing the spear throw, Z-wall and Hercules Hoist. Spear throw is one of those obstacles you don’t want to fail, or the penalty will add up the time significant. To complete the Z-wall, you must go slow, or you can slip off the blocks easily, which I did. And Hercules hoist is one that requires shoulder, back and core strength to lift a sandbag 40ft up in the air by pulling on a rope. It’s not easy for a lightweight guy as myself.
Overall scenery is average with rolling hills and open oak woodland, typical for obstacle course.
Race swag includes finisher T-shirt and medal. They offers banana, protein bar and 1 can of fitaid. Personally, I am not a fan of protein bars. I wish there are more drinks to be offered especially with the heat. However, you get to show off your accomplishment with the battle scars. Very few finish the course unscathed. That’s the beauty of obstacle courses.
AROO!!!