Spartan Race: Hawaii Super August 14, 2016

The next day I did a recovery run, so I ran the Super on the latest heat as I volunteered before and after. I already ran this loop twice so I know what to expect. It was nice to see the Beast loop flag and not having to run that way, a sign of relief that I was already half done. I finished at a relaxing pace, under 2 hours.

Spartan Race: Hawaii Ultra Beast August 13, 2016

Hawaii was awesome! Race was located on the main island of Oahu at the Kualoa Ranch. The views were amazing! As soon as I found out that for the UltraBeast they were giving away the UB belt buckle, I registered myself. Prior to the race, Spartan coach training and the hurricane heat were held on friday. After the the 6 hour hurricane heat, there was a luau being held in the festival area. A luau is a traditional feast followed by some entertainment which in this case was fire dancing!
The UltraBeast heat was the first heat to hit the mountains, we started at 06:00am. I slept in a hammock at the venue so I should be prepared. As i stand by the gate with a couple minutes before the start time, i forgot to take any gels! Luckily a friend gave me a gel, which was enough for one lap. I didn't have a hydration pack but it was mandatory to take a personal hydration, so I ended up running with a water bottle. On the first lap I missed the spear toss and got to the transition tent just a couple minutes after 4 hours. At that time I was 13th. As I lay there relaxing for 20 minutes, one guy who was there just before me left - he ended up finishing 4th place! I put on sunscreen, took some gels, my water bottle, and also my glow sticks and headlamp even though it was only 11:00am! They said it was mandatory for the second lap. While running the second lap, I did realize there was a bloody mud bath the entire route on the beast portion of the race. I ended up losing grip on both rope climbs doing 60 burpees. Finished my second lap just under 5 hours. By the end, I can barely lift this hurcules hoist. I had to stand on the rope and give my hands a break. Pretty happy with my 16th place finish! My suunto watch recorded 40km and 3460m of elevation.

Spartan Race Beast: Montreal Mont Owls Head July 30, 2016

I went to Montreal to do the beast spartan race. This was the hardest spartan race i've ever done! My suunto watch recorded 21.5km with a 1950m elevation! The hardest thing i found was the steep inclines and the steep declines. It was difficult to have any flat terrain to run. I still felt my foot injury so my pace wasn't the greatest. I finished just after 5 hours. A new obstacle I hadn't encountered before was the samurai. This was a couple of vertical logs and pipes where you had to get from one end to the other by basically wrapping your legs and arms around these logs.

Spartan Race Krynica Zdroj July 23, 2016

http://obstacleracingmedia.com/international-race-reviews/spartan-race-krynica-zdroj-poland/

This is my second European race! Took place on a ski resort in the mountain regions of Poland. 22.5km with 1950m of elevation. The hills were continuous and never ending! I really loved the technical terrain. While trekking up those hills in the sun, it was a great relief when there was a creek or a stream crossing. I loved that part! It took me 3:56 to complete the course, and 0 burpees! Click on the link for a more detailed review of the race! :)

Spartan Race Kosice July 9, 2016

http://obstacleracingmedia.com/featured/spartan-race-europe-kosice-slovakia-july-9-2016/

My first european race was in slovakia in the town of Kosice. It was a city race where we ran 6.5km on cobblestones through the central part of the city. There was an arctic pool you had to jump in during the race which was so refreshing! It took me 37 min to complete the course and 0 burpees. Click on the link to see more detailed description of the race!

Spartan Race: Toronto Super July 3, 2016

I raced the super today, 10.5km, elevation of 850m. I believe it was almost the same course as last year. It was a great course again. There was so much incline though that I just didn't have enough energy to run and walked up many of the inclines. Some of the eastern spartan obstacles include a balance beam + slack line, platinum rig, ammo box carry, mud crawl under a cargo net, and of course the famous spear throw. It seemed there was much more competition than last year, reaching over 3000 participants today!

BattleFrog Series: Toronto July 2, 2016

This race was amazing. First of all it was very well marked. The spectator area was really big and saw some of the bigger more difficult obstacles such as "tip of the spear", Platinum rig#2, double jerry can carry, rugsack carry, and monkey bars! Choice of open heat, elite heat, or Xtreme heat. Open heat was 22 obstacles and 8.5km. In the open heat if the racer could not complete an obstacle there was either an 8-count burpee penalty or a small penalty loop with a sandbag to carry. Elite racers had to complete 2 laps and complete every obstacle to remain in the heat. If they gave up on an obstacle, their elite wristband was taken away and they can continue as an open racers and get a DNF. The Xtreme racers had until 2pm to complete as many laps as they can under the open heat rules. I was in the elite heat. 29 elite competitors completed all the obstacles with a remaining 38 elite racers DNF. I ended up taking 13th male finish which I was really happy about!
During the course, the obstacles were marked with Novice, Intermediate, Elite. The difference between the 3 was that the Elite had higher ramps, less footholds, knot-less ropes, and more difficult multi-rigs. Elite male racers were only allowed to do Elite obstacles. Elite female and Xtreme racers(correct me if wrong) had an option to do the Intermediate obstacle route or the elite obstacles. The remaining Open racers had a choice from novice, intermediate, or elite obstacles. Very fun time :) nice to meet the top racers and new faces!