The CBP Stadion was held 29 August. Race distance was very close to 3.1 miles (surprise, surprise) with 20 obstacles. This was my sixth time running this race (close to home) and it is always a challenge. Spartan makes great use of the stairs, levels and concourses.
I would not choose this as a race for a beginner unless they have done a lot of stair training.
Registration and start times were a nightmare. The registration line, at times, was over an hour long and the wait to start as much as an hour and a half. They released fifteen racers every two minutes or less (I never saw the timer past 1:45) but with this many racers backup was inevitable. These issues seem to be recurring problems w Spartan this year regardless of venue.
I however was able to avoid the majority of these issues. How? Glad you asked! I ran in the early category. Arrived at 7 for a twenty minute registration. Got on the start line (already getting long) at 8:02 for my 8:15 start. Started at 8:40. All this as a result of donating to one of Spartans official charity partners.
This year I used race codes from Lionhearts Fitness, Dealers of Hope and The Teddy Bear Crawl Foundation. The codes each cost me 100 and are good for almost any race any level except elite. All you pay Spartan is 20+ in fees. So let’s do the math here…
100 to charity, 20 to Spartan for an early open race.
Support a good cause, pay less and avoid the long lines.
Or
150 to Spartan, 20 for fees for an early open race.
Pay more to Spartan to race early and avoid the lines.
Or
130 to Spartan, 20 for fees for an open race.
Pay a bit less to Spartan and stand in line for hours.
My wallet chose option one six times this year for Beasts, Supers, Sprints for a significant savings!
Citizens Bank Park. The race is worth it, the lines not so much!
