Mental Toughness: Leave your comfort zone at home and approach the start line focused and willing to try anything twice, no matter what. It’s not a __ mile race, it’s just a race. Do not cloud your thoughts with how far you’ve gone, and estimate how much is remaining. Keep your eyes, ears, and focus on the task at hand and in the moment.
Training is essential to feeling confident at the starting line. Mental tenacity and true grit are critical to making it across the finish line.
Running: No matter how many obstacles we toss at you, ultimately it’s still a running event and those with strong cardiovascular fitness will always have the upper hand. To finish in the middle of the pack or better come prepared to run at minimum half your expected race distance at a strong pace. To simply survive your race, which is also fine and welcomed, be able to run one third of the race without stopping.
Terrain: Surprisingly, terrain is perhaps the most under appreciated component to a Spartan Race. People show up physically strong with good cardiovascular fitness, but strength under a barbell and running on the road or flat terrain doesn’t translate to 100% of what you need to cover 4-13 miles of rugged, muddy, steep, unforgiving terrain. In many cases the sheer volume of down hill running and deceleration that is required is foreign to many people’s training and is what leads to folks fatiguing, cramping, and generally not performing their best…
READ MORE AT SPARTAN MAGAZINE
 a Spartan Race. Brought to you by SGX Master Coach and exercise guru, Joe DiStefano this two part series answers questions about training for obstacles as well as how to mitigate the chances of injury through lack of proper preparation.){kind=link}