Obstacle Mud Runner - issue 08

obstaclemudrunner.co.uk ForEliteAtheletes toFunRunners 12 RACE : SPARTAN what lies ahead Spartan EXCLUSIVE He gave us a little sneaky peak as to what lies ahead for the 2018 season. 1. You said “We want Spartan Phil.” Spartan listened! As it currently stands Spartan Phil is set to return this year to prepare you all before you set off, he will motivate you, build up the suspense and gee you all up before he counts you down and lets you go. That, and find out your profession of course! 2. We asked “Is there likely to be a Spartan UK Race Team?” Sam said, “We have 30-40 ambassadors who do a great job, their role is to inspire others to run a Spartan race and what is crucial about our sport is that all our ambassadors come from different backgrounds and have a different agenda to run. Some are elite athletes competing. Some want to lose weight, fundraise and run for charity, for others it’s about team bonding and running together. We feel our ambassadors do just that. Although not in our immediate planbs, a team is not ruled out completely.” 3. Will you be unveiling any new obstacles this year? Sam said, “We like the element of surprise so we are keeping this information under our hats. What I will say is that we have invested VERY heavily to maintain our position as one of the leading races in the UK.” 4. What event are you most looking forward to this season? “We are hosting the largest number of events in 1 season than we ever have done in the UK with a view to even more in 2019. Starting off near Sevenoaks on 7th April for the S.E. Weekender, we then head to Ireland for the weekend on 27th May for the first time. This location is a lot flatter and we expect times to be much faster. Then it’s off to Aston Down, Gloucester weekend on 23rd June, this is home to our infamous half pipe. Marston Lodge weekend follows on 14th July then it’s the Scotland Trifecta weekend on 15th September which includes our Ultra 50km race, I’m excited about this as the event village is actually in the city centre and has extremely gruelling terrain, and finally our 2nd Trifecta weekend on 6th October in Windsor.” 5. What are you most looking forward to in 2018 for Spartan? “Spartan want to lead the way and set precedent into making this an Olympic sport, we feel we enhance the sport element and we want others to follow our high standards and give people the reasons to come back again and again. We have added the element of competition by launching our own regional and national series all over the world. By combining 5 events in the UK and Ireland we have created a series event, after which we will crown our champion. We pride ourselves on setting standards and each of these races will have excellent officiating, video reviews and prize money up for grabs. The penalties will be closely monitored to ensure correct counting for those completing burpees and anyone not fulfilling these adequately will be disqualified. There will be both elite and age group categories with an elite prize fund of £12,000. This, for us, is going to be very exciting.” 6. What makes a Spartan race so popular? “The competitive nature of the sport – people want to come back and do better next time. The chip timing adds the competitive edge to our races. Our medals are very special. The t-shirt, which this year is a tech tee with both male and female sizing. Our event village which is designed so spectators enjoy their time here. All these elements combine to create the perfect mix.” 7. Reebok, can we talk about them taking a break? “We are in talks with Reebok, amongst others. You’ll just have to wait and see.” 8. What are the chances of a Spartan Championship being held here in the UK for a Sprint or Super distance? “We already have our regional Championship, the series of 5 races. Each of those is a championship within itself so run in one of those if you just want to do that distance.” 9. With the OCR World Championship being hosted by the UK this year, how do you think this will affect our sport? “This is exciting news! What better way to raise awareness of our sport? As the fastest growing mass participation sport, this is simply brilliant.” 10. How do you see the sport changing in the future? “We hope to see changes to the consistency of rules and procedures across all race operators, we are hoping to lead and set a precedent in this area.” 11. Are you attending or participating in other OCR’s yourself this year? “Absolutely, myself and the Spartan crew will be attending as many as possible. We enjoy being in the heart of the community and getting a sense of what makes a great race by being amongst the runners and listening to people.” We have invested VERY heavily to maintain our position as one of the leading races in the UK Sam Lansdale It was our absolute pleasure to interview Sam Lansdale – MD for Spartan Race UK. In true Spartan style we don’t want to give too much away but I think you’ll agree, this year is set to be an absolute corker.