Spartan Race - 5k Obstacle Course Race

[inferno]

Anybody here planning on running this on June 24, 2012 ?

Ive never run any 5k before so thinking of signing up for this as a goal. That gives me 5 months to prepare with no running background. Anybody joining or can share some stories from past races?

Link to official race page and registration:
http://www.spartanrace.com/toronto-o...rint-2012.html

Its $60 to signup, which is a bit steep but currently there is a Groupbuy deal going on

$64 for 2 Entries
http://www.buytopia.ca/deal/746?a_ai...lsLmNvbQ%3D%3D

And some random info :

An article on the previous Toronto Race:
http://www.thestar.com/sports/articl...me-to-all-pain

All racers receive:
- Finishers Medal
- Free Spartan Race T-Shirt
- Scrapes and Bruises
- Stories, stories, and more stories

Map
402 Old Barrie Road, Oro, ON, L0L 2E0

[invictus43]

Some general running guidelines: start slow and short. Make sure you have the correct shoes for your running style/fitness level. Pay attention to pain when you start. You can easily injure yourself (not broken leg..but chronic, fatique issues) if you're not patient and aware. For instance, if you give yourself Plantar Fasciiitis (from poor style or shoes that have poor support) you could be off your feet for 6 months, killing your race obviously. You'll be using muscles and putting strain on joints that is abnormal and they need time to build up. Just listen to your body.

Having said that, I'm 30 lbs overweight and I can do 5k's, so just about anybody can I would say. Have fun!

[RockerGuy]

Some general running guidelines: start slow and short. Make sure you have the correct shoes for your running style/fitness level. Pay attention to pain when you start. You can easily injure yourself (not broken leg..but chronic, fatique issues) if you're not patient and aware. For instance, if you give yourself Plantar Fasciiitis (from poor style or shoes that have poor support) you could be off your feet for 6 months, killing your race obviously. You'll be using muscles and putting strain on joints that is abnormal and they need time to build up. Just listen to your body.

Having said that, I'm 30 lbs overweight and I can do 5k's, so just about anybody can I would say. Have fun!

Not every can!
Since it seems like you have prior knowledge of long distance. I am willing to bet you've done a bit of training in the past

[inferno]

Some general running guidelines: start slow and short. Make sure you have the correct shoes for your running style/fitness level. Pay attention to pain when you start. You can easily injure yourself (not broken leg..but chronic, fatique issues) if you're not patient and aware. For instance, if you give yourself Plantar Fasciiitis (from poor style or shoes that have poor support) you could be off your feet for 6 months, killing your race obviously. You'll be using muscles and putting strain on joints that is abnormal and they need time to build up. Just listen to your body.

Having said that, I'm 30 lbs overweight and I can do 5k's, so just about anybody can I would say. Have fun!

Thanks I'll keep that i'm mind. My feet hurts a bit when running on the treadmill but wasn't sure if it was my shoe our just me whining. I've done biking and martial arts before but was never a runner. Max id do would be a 10min mile. Couldn't turn my mind of and id be bored in no time.
Any shoe store recommendation? Running room or any other shoe store will sell me a$100 shoe without me being any wiser

[Amazon]

I did the Warrior dash last year, which is pretty much the exact same thing. It was brutal, try and run earlier during the day, the sun will kill you. The warrior dash was a lot of running up and down ski hills, which is killer. Oh, and don't wear runnign shoes you plan on keeping, there's no point, they get destroyed.

There's also the Tough Mudder for anyone who wants a greater challenge. http://toughmudder.com/events/toronto/ it's a 10-12 mile run up and around Mt.St. Louis Moonstone.

[invictus43]

Thanks I'll keep that i'm mind. My feet hurts a bit when running on the treadmill but wasn't sure if it was my shoe our just me whining. I've done biking and martial arts before but was never a runner. Max id do would be a 10min mile. Couldn't turn my mind of and id be bored in no time.
Any shoe store recommendation? Running room or any other shoe store will sell me a$100 shoe without me being any wiser

If you get pain in the bottom of your heel, like bottom of the foot right where the little circle cushion thing is in the heel part of most insoles, that's a warning sign for plantar fasciitis. Be VERY careful with this! Don't treat it lightly. You need to adjust your style or your shoes. It's especially bad in the morning when you're getting out of bed. There are different worries with the little foot bones if you overstress them as well. Just ramp up your mileage slowly. You may feel like a loser for a few weeks, but it's worth it. I was a cyclist mostly then did more running..don't believe that because you're resting your fitness level isn't up. Just remind yourself you're preventing injury.

Running Room isn't bad..$100 for shoes is normal. Ask for their most experienced shoe fitter..they usually have one good guy at least. And just wait until he's in. In general, they classify their shoes as lightweight, support and cushion. It has a lot to do with how much you pronate while your run, or how heavy you are. They also have different shapes so try a few on. I have a wide heel so I need more space there. Other people have narrow heels..etc etc.

One other thing, treadmill is great but running on a normal surface is different. Do some trail runs, as Amazon says, they do uphill and downhill and those use different muscles...exercise them all.

[invictus43]

Not every can!
Since it seems like you have prior knowledge of long distance. I am willing to bet you've done a bit of training in the past

I was really mostly a cyclist..road and mountain bike racing. The running thing came later. I started trying 10k's some time ago and got plantar fasciitis in a couple of months. Terrible thing..it can take months to go away. So I decided to stick to 5k's and trying to keep some fitness in running so I don't hurt my feet again. If I could just un-clip this 30lb bag of dogfood I'm carrying around... My last 5k was a 25:12..I figure if I lost 30lbs I could actually have a half-decent time!!

[rmemedic]

5K ain't too had to train up to. When I joined the military, I was definitely over weight, but due to having a very heavy job before that, I did have quite a bit of muscle mass.
In the 3 months of Basic training, I went from finding a km a bit of a breather, and at the end of it, we were doing 9-10 km jogs pretty much every morning.
Just take your time, and enjoy it. You'll find a "rhythm" that you like and then it seems like a breeze for a bit. I have nagging ankle, knee and hip issues from racing them thar dirtcycles, so once I hit about 8km it's nothing but joint pain for me, which I hate because I would really like to go and do a half marathon.

Shoes are important, don't be surprised to spend $150. I spend a few hundred a year on running shoes. When you use them every day, they are shot in a few months. The last pair I bought, I wasn't too keen on the way they fit me. I should have listened because the design of them didn't support my foot properly and I just about sprained my ankle because of it.

If you're doing this spartan race, you need to also train for some sprinting, core and upper body muscle. Cross fit would actually be a pretty good workout to help get you ready, plus it's one of my favourite work outs!

The race sounds like a blast, a few guys at work do them regularly. I would participate but I'm usually off at the track most weekends.

[sauga_rider]

my friends and i signed up back in november, it cost us $35 then

[braveheart]

i cant believe people are paying for this kind of self-torture/abuse.

im tired just thinking about running 5 k

[inferno]

sweet thanks for the input. Will definitely have to get a new pair of shoes soon. Was just looking at the Vibram 5 finger and cant figure out if they are gimmick or not. If not itd be awesome cause i used to love sprinting on bare feet when i was a kid. It didnt matter grass or asphalt.

Already got my eyes on crossfit. Love the workouts and the amount of knowledge available there, but the comments are BRUTAL. Makes my attempts look like child play.
Cant wait to run on sand once summer comes.

If anybody wants to split a voucher with me im all ears. All my friends are lazyy

[Jenerator]

The FiveFingers are fantastic - go to MEC and get a pair now so you can get used to them and train in them. There's nothing like being able to use all of your toes freely to stabilize yourself. They make tougher versions of them that might work very well with events like this, such as the komodos and treksports. KSO means "keep stuff out" so maybe those would work well on a dirty course with mud, etc. Never tried it myself.

Maybe next year I'll be strong enough to complete an event like this - it looks like fun!

[invictus43]

The FiveFingers are fantastic -

If you do want to go the Five Finger route, please read this first:
http://www.runbare.com/446/how-to-tr...-five-fingers/

[inferno]

heh heh thanks that was a good read.

now I have a good enough reason to look ridiculous

[mma01]

Its a fun event and I would highly recommend it. I did the warrior dash last year and am hoping to do all three of the major obstacle course races this year (tough mudder, spartan, warrior).

One word of advice is make sure your laces are on TIGHT and around your ankles. Tons of people (myself included) lost their shoes during the first muddy section.

If the spartan is similar to the warrior (I suspect it is), half of the run is going to be spent going up a hill and the other half is going down. Definitely practice running up grades. My go-to place to practice in the toronto area is running up and down riverdale park that is visible off of the dvp.

You may get a bit dirty (pics from my gopro I wore during the race)

Got some decent air doing a crowd-pleasing dive into the mud pit. I dont recommend this. Tons of sharp rocks below - sliced myself up pretty good.




I almost tripped and fell into the second set of fire logs.

[Jenerator]

That looks like awesome fun...I just don't think I'd be able to do it for 3 hours. I'm wayyyy out of shape!

[Amazon]

One word of advice is make sure your laces are on TIGHT and around your ankles. Tons of people (myself included) lost their shoes during the first muddy section.

Was just about to say this. I had my shoes stupidly tight and they still fell of twice. took a couple steps before I could actually stop and turn around to dig them out.

I heard the mud we had to crawl in wasn't was sharp and rocky in the beginning, when I went through it was watery thin.

[mma01]

Was just about to say this. I had my shoes stupidly tight and they still fell of twice. took a couple steps before I could actually stop and turn around to dig them out.

I heard the mud we had to crawl in wasn't was sharp and rocky in the beginning, when I went through it was watery thin.

I was in the last wave time of the day so things might have changed.

[mma01]

***Double post*****

[daught]

Was just about to say this. I had my shoes stupidly tight and they still fell of twice. took a couple steps before I could actually stop and turn around to dig them out.

I heard the mud we had to crawl in wasn't was sharp and rocky in the beginning, when I went through it was watery thin.

For some reason a lot of people wear shoes that are at least a size too big.