Paicines Ranch, in San Benito County’s Paicines area, hosted its first Spartan Race on Nov. 12. At least for most of the competitors, the races might be described more as a personal challenge than a race. BenitoLink was unable to confirm the total number of competitors but ranch owner Sallie Calhoun sounded a bit relieved saying everyone got through it and that “it was a lot of fun and we hope to do it again next year.”
Among the participants was former Hollister Police Department Chief David Westrick.
“I just do it as a hobby after retirement,” he said. “So I’m not competitive at all.”
Spartan Race’s main events include the Spartan Sprint (3+ miles of obstacle racing, 20+ obstacles), the Spartan Super (8+ miles, 25+ obstacles), the Spartan Beast (13+ miles, 30+ obstacles), and the Spartan Ultra (30+ miles, 60+ obstacles). The obstacles themselves also vary from race to race.
“Obstacles are what set Spartan Race, Tough Mudder, Savage Race and all other obstacle course races apart from a traditional running race. I mean it is called an obstacle course race,” according to the website Obstacles.com.
“If you are new to Spartan Race you probably want to know what obstacles to expect. Heck I see many seasoned racers expression confusion over what obstacles to expect,” the Ostacles.com writer explained.
While there are signature and staple obstacles Spartan is known for, not all obstacles are present at each race.
The website Wikipedia gave these recommendations to anyone considering joining in: “Beginners-For your first Spartan experience, I would recommend not really thinking of it as a “race,” but rather a test. It’ll test you mentally and physically. Try every obstacle! Some of them can be a little scary, but you’ll be surprised at what you can accomplish if you’re determined.”
San Jose Spartan Trifecta Weekend at Paicines winners:
Grant Napierala, male 22 USA
Jordan Porter, male 21
Travis McHugh, male 29 USA
Eddie Sanchez, male 42 USA
Luis Rogel, male 37 USA