Race Obstacles
Spartan obstacles are designed to test every facet of your mental and physical strength. If you hope to conquer them on race day, you'll need some intel. Check out a sneak peek of what's in store below.
Walls
Sprint, Super, Beast, Ultra
Spartan walls are solid, slippery, and hard to scale. They double in size as you progress through the course, starting at 4ft and increasing up to 8ft. Taller walls feature a red 'kicker' for female competitors, but that's the only help you'll get. Strength, agility, coordination, and technique are all key in getting up and over.
Bucket Carry
Super, Beast, Ultra
Some Spartan obstacles require skill and dexterity, the Bucket Carry is not one of them. This obstacle is all about grit and determination in the face of plain old hard work. Move a heavy, awkwardly shaped object from A to B, it's simple but effective. Beast and Ultra runners in particular can look forward to an uphill battle...literally!
Stairway to Sparta
Super, Beast, Ultra
The perfect vantage point to scope out upcoming obstacles exists at the top of the Stairway to Sparta. But if you want it, you'll have to earn it and that means climbing! Before scaling the slippery A-frame, you'll need to muscle your way up the smooth 3ft wall that protects its base. In Beast mode, the metal rungs are replaced with rock climbing handholds for a little extra challenge.
Rope Climb
Sprint, Super, Beast, Ultra
To progress through this challenge, all you need to do is ring the bell. Where's the bell? Only 16ft away...above your head...at the top of a rope climb. A Spartan staple, this obstacle is mandatory for all distances and gets progressively harder in cold, wet, or muddy conditions. Don't count yourself out early though, with the right technique, anyone can do it.
Barbed Wire Crawl
Super, Beast, Ultra
Wire obstacles were used during the Civil War to slow the enemy, and since then armed forces around the world have made this a staple of basic obstacle courses. Getting past them unscathed requires precise movement and a willingness to get down and dirty, have you got what it takes?
Plate Drag
Sprint
Dig your heels in and get ready to pull, Plate Drag is a heavy sled attached to a rope that you'll drag, hand over hand, from the starting mark all the way to your feet. Then using your hands, you'll drag the entire sled back to its starting position. Sounds simple, but thick grass, mud, sand, and rocks tend to get in the way.
A Frame Cargo
Sprint, Super, Beast, Ultra
This towering obstacle needs no introduction. Get up and over the giant A-frame as fast as you can, without falling through the unstable webbing. Test your agility, dynamic footwork, and fear in the face of heights. This obstacle only gets harder with mud and water trekked over it, so the quicker you get to it, the better.
Z Wall
Sprint, Super, Beast, Ultra
Test your grip strength on this zig-zagging wall. The slanting hand and foot holds are specially designed to make hanging on as hard as possible. But the hardest part? Navigating around the corners without touching the (strictly out of bounds) top of the wall or the ground.
Twister
Super, Beast, Ultra
Your favourite schoolyard activity, with a literal twist! Imagine monkey bars, but attached to a long spinning bar. This sensitive rig responds to your every move and with every handle being off-set from the next by approximately 20 degrees, getting through it requires extreme control and a clear head.
Ape Hanger
Super, Beast, Ultra
Embrace your inner Tarzan with this rope swing over water and ascending/ descending monkey bar ladder combo. Not to be underestimated, it'll test the skills of even the most seasoned Spartans.
Slip Wall
Sprint, Super, Beast, Ultra
This obstacle does exactly what it says on the tin, it's a wall, and it's slippery. Easy to explain, hard to get over. The sloping metal ramp is wet and usually covered in mud. Sprint Spartans will enjoy the use of long ropes, Super and Beast Spartans have to make do with shorter ones, and Ultras...well they may not get a rope at all.
Balance Beam
Sprint, Super, Beast, Ultra
Strength and endurance are one thing, but balance? That's a whole different ball game and this obstacle will test yours to its limit. You'll need to walk up the incline, across the top, and down the other side without falling off.
Dunk Wall
Sprint, Beast
Wash off all the mud, dirt, and grass you've picked up along the course with a quick dunk! Submerge yourself in our freezing pool, swim under a floating wall, and pop up on the other side. The Dunk Wall is all about your mental game, the water is murky and uninviting, but with enough grit, it's over in seconds!
Fire Jump
Sprint, Beast
The iconic fire finish, not to mention the perfect photo opportunity. Get over it however you want, some go for hangtime, a dive, or hand-hold jump. Anything goes, as long as you don’t land in the fire!
Hercules Hoist
Sprint, Super, Beast
The aim of this game is to get the heavy sandbag to the top of the structure and gently back down, without any free fall. Each competitor will use a pulley system to hoist their bag to its full height and this is where technique comes in handy. Copy the pros and use your body's full weight by bracing one foot on the fence and leaning back.
Armer
Beast, Ultra
As if the Atlas Carry isn't hard enough, this levelled-up obstacle adds a chain and handle to the heavy ball, causing you to stagger awkwardly through the course.
Olympus
Super, Beast
Inspired by bouldering, Olympus is an obtuse-angled wall with a plethora of hand holes, rock-climbing holds, and short chains to grab onto. Some choose to pick a route first, while others opt to freestyle it.
Tyrolean Traverse
Beast, Ultra
This is a classic alpinist and military challenge, and while our version won't have you dangling over a great height, dropping is still not an option. There are a few different techniques for getting across but whichever you choose remember, correct use of the feet is crucial.
Rolling Mud
Beast, Ultra
Rolling Mud consists of a series of deep water-filled mud pits that you'll need to wade, swim, scramble and climb through. Teamwork is often required to navigate up the slippery slopes.
Atlas Carry
Sprint, Super, Beast, Ultra
This one is all about brute strength. The Atlas stones weigh in at a hefty 45kg for men and 35kg for women. You'll need to lift and carry your stone around a flagpole and then haul it back to the start.
