Check the weather for race day and dress accordingly. Trail running shoes and lightweight apparel that drains well remember, it's likely you will be soaking wet and/or muddy. “This was the perfect way to scratch everybody’s itch, get out there and figure out a way to do it safely and so everybody feels comfortable,” she said.While you can wear almost anything we have a few suggestions: Missing a few obstacles on the course and taking a moment to use hand sanitizer were small prices to pay to push her body to the limits again. With organized races on hiatus for so long, it was like she had never done one before.ĬOVID-19 or not, Terrell was desperate to shake off the dust, and she didn’t feel like she had to sacrifice her health to do it. But when it came time to pack for Saturday’s event, Terrell blanked. The 35-year-old stuntwoman said she travels all over the country to compete, and her checklist is as much a part of her muscle memory as climbing the A-frame cargo net or clearing the hurdles. “I haven’t been able to do a race since February, and I live for them,” she said. She couldn’t wait any longer to get back to racing. Taryn Terrell came from just outside of New Orleans. A crew of five drove 16 hours from Michigan and completed the Sprint in a sleep-deprived delirium. No matter the modifications, the diehard Spartans came out in droves. Chris Archer, a 32-year-old participant from Jacksonville, said the large, spread out venue made it easy to stay 6 feet apart without much effort, and despite fewer lanes, there wasn’t any congestion at the obstacles. Some people felt like socially distancing came naturally at the Sprint. While hand sanitizer was encouraged between obstacles, areas with high touchpoints (like monkey bars) were not wiped down after every participant had completed the obstacle. Organizers also asked participants to refrain from high fives and hugs, but that was sometimes forgotten when the distinctive ring of the cowbell signaled the conquering of an obstacle. Competitors were encouraged to wear face masks, but they were a rare sight out on the course. However, some COVID-19 measures proved to be more difficult to enforce.Īll attendees were supposed to park their cars about 10 feet from one another in the lot, but most people opted to park much closer. Spartan implemented a host of safety measures on their end-installing plexiglas at the check-in tents, having all participants go through a health screening with contactless temperature checks (a reading of 100.4 would have prevented a participant from entering), and requiring face masks for all volunteers and staff. That was especially needed because in the past week, the state of Florida has seen a new spike in positive COVID-19 cases, with more than 2,000 new cases reported in the state on both Friday and Saturday, according to the Florida Department of Health. “We knew we had one chance to do this and to get this right.”Īs one of the largest races to return since COVID-19, Spartan opted to be overly conservative in its safety measures, Morris said. “There’s a lot of pressure, and I know there are a lot of eyes watching us,” said Mike Morris, vice president of production at Spartan. 
While competitors trained to master their first event in months, Spartan officials were facing an intimidating hurdle of their own: create a race that honored Centers for Disease Control and Prevention social distancing guidelines without sacrificing the iconic down-and-dirty feel of a Spartan race.
From eliminating spectators to slashing the number of total participants to nearly 1,400-a 70 percent reduction of typical race capacity-to removing some staple obstacles, this event may be a glimpse into the new reality of racing during COVID-19. Typically, Spartan events draw thousands of participants for their 5K Sprints with 20 obstacles, but the company made significant changes to its operations in order to create the first socially-distant Spartan this past Saturday at WW Motocross Park in Jacksonville, Florida. But in the era of COVID-19, with everything from locals 5Ks to the Boston Marathon canceled, how can an event as communal as a Spartan go on, let alone stay sanitary in a socially-distanced world? Spartan obstacle course races are known to leave competitors physically spent and slathered in mud from head-to-toe, proudly worn like a hard-earned battle scar.
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