What is this Spartan Race people are 'aroo-ing' about?

The inaugural Spartan Race in the Philippines just concluded on Saturday, September 23 at the Timberland Heights in San Mateo, Rizal, and to call it incredible is an understatement.

For those uninitiated, the Spartan Race is rugged, obstacle race course that involves running, climbing walls and ropes, crawling through mud, and carrying various objects of different weights.

Walls to climb, fields to crawl on, and weights to carry are among the obstacles participants need to conquer. All photos: Stanley See

Spartan Race Philippines’ inaugural offering in local shores is a Sprint race that has a distance of six-plus kilometers (three-plus miles) involving over 20 obstacles.

It is only the entry level among Spartan races, and considered the easiest race for athletes and weekend warriors to test what they are truly made of.

More advanced races include the Super Spartan (eight-plus miles, 25+ obstacles), the Spartan Beast (13+ miles, 30+ obstacles) and the Ultra Beast (a marathon distance of 26+ miles, 60+ obstacles).

Having witness the Burpee challenge and mass workout, I learned a lot of jargons, tips, and mechanics that are part of every Spartan Race.

Burpees start with a position similar to a push-up but you need to actually push yourself up your feet and then raise your hands above your shoulders for the maneuver to officially count as one. This drill is perfect for developing the muscles that you need to climb over or under walls or obstacles that need upper body, core, and leg strength.

Mike Jiang demonstrates a crocodile walk, a move that strengthens the core, thighs, and legs

During the official race, failing to compete an obstacle means needing to execute 30 burpees before heading to the next one. 

A lot of moves are derived from the motion of animals like the bear crawl (on all fours and looks similar to climbing a wall but horizontally), crab walk (walking on all fours but with your belly and face facing upwards), monkey (similar to a cartwheel but only the legs are swinging), and crocodile walk (crawling while the legs are alternately bending on each step). These are good training techniques for would-be participants as they will use them in one or more obstacles.

At the open workout held a few weeks before Sunday's race, a number of kids participated, owing to the fact that there are half-mile races for children aged four to eight, and one mile for those older than eight.

At anytime during the open workout, Spartan Race Philippines officials will yell “This is Sparta!” and participant need to kick their feet to mimic the famous scene from the movie 300.

Participating and finishing a Spartan race will only create great memories. As Spartan Race Philippines ambassador and Kapuso personality Rovilson Fernandez shared: “I joined one with my three brothers and this is something we always wanted to do together. They are all married now, have wives and kids and this is something that we did as a barkada, as a group. And it was tough for some of them because they didn’t really train as hard but when you accomplish something together, it’s like going to war and it will last a lifetime. You get great memories like helping push your brother over a 10-foot wall and falling in the mud with them. It’s just the memories we created and it’s what Spartan does.”

Although the race itself is a competition, there is a sense of community and trying to help one another finish through the workout and eventually whatever Spartan course they join. It is quite a sight to behold, seeing 150-200 strangers lock into each other’s arms to do a big group hug after the workout.

Helping and cheering for each other and being one community are surprising benefits of joining Spartan Races.

“It challenges you to be the best athlete that you can be.” According to race director Michael Reyes the creed of Spartan Race is to challenge yourself, get you out there into nature, get you adventure racing with obstacles, and pushing you to the limits of where you think you can’t go. 

Filipinos are practically born and bred to be Spartan racers. Reyes added: “Filipinos are really fantastic climbers and mountaineers because of the terrain that we’ve all been growing up in...we’re putting up a professional team to try and make it the world championships next year and I really do believe that we’ll see a lot of Filipinos placing.”

Fernandez echoes the Reyes’ sentiments: “All of us, we played on playgrounds when we go to fast food (restaurants), there’s always a playground there. Always active and I just like climbing things, pulling things, and playing in the mud. So this is just an adult’s version of being a kid, of a playground.”

AROO! — LA, GMA News