Spartan Race Beast Windsor 2016

On the 2nd October, I took part in my very first Spartan Beast! This was the longest race I had ever signed up for with the approximate distance of 21km-24km. The setting for this race was Windsor Great Park, which boasted varied terrain, mud and a very big challenge ahead. This was also my final section to complete my first Trifecta. Seeing as I had been building the Medal since the Spartan Sprint way back in April, its an understatement to say that I had been waiting for this day for ages!
Preparing for the Beast
The first step was preparing for such a task! The idea of running further then a half marathon, plus adding 30+ obstacles in the mix is almost insane, so the training needed to be rigorous and specific. I combined various HIIT, Endurance and strength training together to get myself ready. As I had taken part in the Spartan Super a month earlier, I knew exactly how to tailor my strength training. Focusing on body weight movements like pull ups, press ups, dips and squats correlated with a lot of the movements that the obstacles make you do. You may find it beneficial to reduce the amount of weight training done before a big race to one: make sure you don’t have any post work out soreness holding you back from 100% and two: reduce the chances of injury before game day. You never know what could happen.

The HIIT training was to increase my explosive ability and endurance. The times where you must go from a steady state running to jumping 3 walls in a row seriously increases your heart beat and the effort you put out. What HIIT training helps you do is increase your heart rate recovery and boosts endurance. Even though throughout the entire race your heart is going to be pumping, the increased endurance this kind of training offers will help you massively.
Lastly the long distance running is paramount. I don’t tend to run anymore then 10km on an everyday jog, so the stretch to 24km was incredibly daunting. By slowly increasing the distance ran each time I went for a jog, eventually I managed to reach 15-20km without stopping (or fainting with exhaustion). Doing this just leaves you more confident in the fact that you have got as ready as you possibly could for each section of the course.
Just before the actual day of the event, I heavily increased my carbohydrate intake so I could  load up the stores in my body. This would ensure I had the energy to actually run the full event. Along with this was being hydrated. I aimed to drink a few litres of water, a few hours before the event. Dehydration on a long distance run is probably not the best thing that could happen to you.

Logistics
The distance turned out to be around the 25km mark so it was already double the amount I would normally run . Like the Spartan Super race before, a lot more of this race was set in the forest, on uneven ground and across ravines and ditches; for me thats the advantage of a non City event.
The event village was teaming with Spartan sponsors and a great atmosphere. Sponsors included SIS Nutrition who always supply the much needed energy gels throughout the Spartan races, David Lloyd health clubs and of course the Reebok team. With various pre-game activities to keep you engaged whilst waiting for your wave to start, there was definitely a buzz in the air.
Queues were fast and there never seemed to be a hold up at any stage from registration to obstacles. This kept the flow of the race steady without to much stop and start. Event staff were friendly and helpful as always and seemed to give you that extra bit of encouragement when you seemed shattered (which most of us were) and slowed down. The real feeling of ‘we want you to complete this’ is always there. Thankfully for all racers, pit stops were evenly placed around the course so there was an ample supply of water and SIS gels.

As for the obstacles themselves, the Spartan regulars return…just harsher. Sandbag carries seemed to be double the distance and multiplied throughout the race. The addition of log carries through the woods at one stage was a challenge of both balance, stamina and strength. If you were unlucky enough to pick up an awkward shaped log (lucky me) this definitely made it harder. The bucket brigade returned but it was soil you had to carry rather then stones from previous events. That was a welcome change that I definitely wasn’t complaining about. Wall climbs, Monkey bars and barbwire crawls were obviously dotted around the course.
The hardest section of the entire race wasn’t actually an obstacle itself, but the distance of the run. As I’m not the longest distance runner in the world, running this far was my biggest challenge. At the beginning of the year, I wouldn’t have been able to go this distance but thankful I have come a long way from my Spartan Sprint days.
My favourite sections were actually the things I haven’t seen in a Spartan race before. The tunnels that you had to crawl through (that you could barely squeeze in) were great fun. The random wells of water that you have to wade through are also strangely refreshing (bar the smell and quicksand like mud). Followed by a steep climbing wall whilst your still wet is always fun. The overall race was a great success and every small detail was paid attention too.

My Thoughts
I really did think this was an amazing event and definitely my biggest OCR achievement to date. Great organisation coupled with that typical Spartan feel led to the execution of a challenging yet seriously enjoyable event. With the layout of the course being well thought of and spread out, it’s easy to understand why Spartan races are some of the most popular in the obstacle course racing world. The initial ‘oh my god, how the hell will I survive this’ quickly gets washed away with the overall adrenaline and excitement you get by being part of such an event. It just goes to show what you can achieve when you put your mind to it in the end.
Did you compete in the Spartan Beast? How did you find it? Did you complete your Trifecta on October 2nd at the Windsor Beast? What were your thoughts on the final race of the Spartan season? Tell me your thoughts in the comments section below.