Spartan Beast Obstacle Assessment

The map is out for the Spartan race in Tambun so I figured it’s time to do a little homework…

Obstacles List for the Beast

Looks like a lot of repeats from the Super we did earlier this year plus a few extras (an 8 foot wall and 4 other obstacles I’ve never encountered before in a Spartan race):

1. 4 foot wall
2. 5 foot wall
3. 6 foot wall
4. Barbed wire crawl
5. Inverted wall
6. Z-wall
7. Twister*
8. Stairway to Sparta
9. Bender
10. 7 foot wall
11. Olympus*
12. Cliff climb^
13. Tyrolean Traverse^
14. Armer^
15. Jerry can carry^
16. 8 foot wall
17. Bucket carry
18. Herculean Hoist
19. Spear*
20. Sandbag carry
21. Atlas carry
22. Multi-rig*
23. Swim
24. Dunk wall
25. Monkey bars*
26. Rope climb
27. Vertical cargo
28. A-frame cargo
29. Slip wall
30. Fire jump

* Obstacles I failed in the last race.
^ Obstacles I’ve never done before in a Spartan race.

Of the obstacles I failed in the last race, I hope to get through Olympus and Twister because I’m stronger this time and I have my trusty rubber gloves. The Monkey bars and Multi-rig will always be a challenge so no comment on those for now. The Spear throw is another question mark because I’ve had no chance to practice that one.

Regarding the new obstacles, this is what I’ve found out about them:

Cliff Climb

Looks manageable. Moving on…

Tyrolean Traverse

Tried this once before at the Viper Bridge Challenge and it was okay. Admittedly, it was rather short and I expect the Spartan version to be much longer. All the same, I think it will be manageable. Moving on…

Armer

Looks like a cement ball (like the Atlas one but smaller) on a chain that you have to carry between flags. Kind of like a Farmer’s Walk? Looks like it should be manageable. I tried searching for how heavy it is. According to someone on Reddit, it feels like a 32kg Kettle Bell. That’s still heavier than what I’ve practiced with – 28kg – but the distance looks shorter. Should be manageable.

Jerry Can Carry

Okay, this is the Farmer’s walk with big water jugs. How heavy are they? Found this answer on Reddit:

Jerry Cans are 20 L and they’re full of water. This equates to 44lb each, plus the weight of the can (11 lbs according to Amazon).

55 lb equates to 25 kg. Okay, this is heavier than anything I have ever practiced. The question now is how far do we have to walk with them?

Order of Obstacles

The final consideration is the placement of the obstacles and how much rest we get between them. I might fail obstacles not because I can’t do them but because of muscle fatigue. The Herculean Hoist after the Jerry Can and Bucket Carry may end up being a fail.

Studying the map, there will be a break after the Jerry Can, but the Herculean Hoist will be right after the Bucket Carry. Last year, the Bucket Carry killed my Rope Climb. I suspect it may happen again.

Also bunched together are the Sandbag Carry, Atlas Carry and Multi-rig. That sounds like a combo that could be my undoing.

Monkey Bars are followed by the Rope Climb. I think I might fail the Monkey Bars so hopefully I’ll still have enough to get through the Rope Climb.

The Terrain

I’ve never raced in Ipoh before but I should have guessed the terrain would be wicked. All those limestone hills – what else should anyone have expected? That first slope looks designed to kill us. According to the maps, we’re looking at: 974 m elevation gain/ 961 m elevation loss. Knee guards will be a must. Probably should add time to my expected race finish, too.

And that concludes my pre-race assessment. Hopefully, by this time Sunday, I’ll know how I fared. Am I scared? Hell, yeah. But a little fear is good. It keeps us from underestimating the competition. So be afraid. Just don’t let it rule you.