Spartan Race is cancelling all United States obstacle races and trail races for the rest of 2020. Ever since March 11, when Spartan cancelled their San Luis Obispo weekend, it has been a never ending series of postponements, venue changes and overall uncertainty on the season.
Spartan have been working consistently with local governments attempting to get more events going during the Pandemic, but today they pulled the plug on the 2020 racing season in the US.
6 weeks ago, Spartan put on a race in Jacksonville with a new set of standards and processes in place that they hoped could be the template for the remainder of the year. The event was received well by the participants and by the endurance industry. However, managing logistics with what seemed like a never ending amount of local municipalities across the nation and the overall fluid nature of the Pandemic has shut down 2020.
Spartan Race are moving forward in other countries with several races moved from the Spring to the Fall. There are 4 on the calendar for the Canada, 3 in the United Kingdom, and 3 in Mexico, In addition there are 20 across Europe including the Trifecta World Championships in Greece. We are also hearing the Spartan World Championships, due to take place in Abu Dhabi in December, which was once postponed, is looking like it may happen after all.
Spartan’s website currently has a quote from Joe Desena which reads “Nothing motivates like putting a date on the calendar” If you live in the United States, that date will have to be in 2021.
Here is Joe’s message to the OCR community.
Spartan’s official press release
We will email you in the next few days with a detailed outline of what your options are for deferring your 2020 race entry.
We know this cancellation announcement is hard to hear. It’s hard for us to say. However, there are still five months left in the year. Let’s work together to keep training, stay healthy, and be unbreakable so we’re all ready for an epic 2021 season.
Thank you for your patience and ongoing support.
#BeUnbreakable
The Spartan Team
For Spartan’s most up to date information on COVID-19, please see our FAQ here.
Matt B. Davis
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Based on Joe De Sena and his previous proclamations about Covid, I doubt this is anything remotely to with safety – more the fact that he stand to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars by putting on races with fewer than a few hundred racers. Spartan is probably hemorrhaging $$$ supporting its outsized team and Tough Mudder’s outsized team.
Aroo Aroo Aroo smothered covered chunked. Lol so awesome that you are both a waffle hose and spartan as well. Lol
Maybe Joe De Sena and his team can now focus on delivering honoring their promises to those of us who paid for virtual races. We have waited over 5mos for our stuff and have yet to recieve it. Or is were virtual races just a money grab during the Quarantine. Lets go Spartan time to step up and give us what we paid for and what we went out and earned.
Great company, you can’t help that Covid hits. Wish them nothing but the best for 2021. They helped change so many people’s lives .