I made the drive from Tampa up to Columbus, GA for the Spartan Race Fort Benning Military Sprint. I stayed on base and was only 15 minutes from the race site. Fort Benning is a really large base with several historic areas, making it a fun area in which to stay.
Up early Saturday morning, it was a little chilly for this Florida girl, only hitting the high 50s. It was a simple drive from Fort Benning into Fort Mitchell. It was a smaller crowd than I normally see at a Spartan Race; I assume this had a lot to do with it being the first time a Spartan had been hosted at this location, along with another Spartan going on only a few hours away. My long drive home inspired me to choose an earlier race time. The site was pretty and there were many Rangers (the Best Ranger competition had just been held at Fort Benning and used some of the Spartan obstacles I believe. Sidenote: Spartan Race World Champion Robert Killian won – AROO!) and other men in uniform taking pictures with fellow racers before they raced themselves. Climbing into the starting corrale, I was pleasantly surprised to see Dustin as the announcer. I personally love Dustin’s Spartan speeches; they always get you ready to tackle the course with vengeance! We all shouted “Aroo” and proceeded forwarded into a heavily wooded area.
Overs were first and no assistance was allowed. This obstacle always leaves me with bruises! Many racers were slowed here due to the rule of no assistance. Next was a good hike in the woods until we reached a very long barbed wire crawl. Though this was one of the longer crawls I had ever done, it wasn’t too bad; the ground was soft and mostly rock free. Right after the crawl was the cargo climb and the 8-ft wall. This was also the mile one marker and the first water station. Another long trek in the woods led to more walls and the atlas carry. The terrain continued in a wooded area with limited space. Branches were hitting me as I jogged along or stepped aside for a faster racer.
Bucket brigade and plate drag were next. The plate drag was in thick mud and this made it more difficult to manage. Like most racers, I loathe the bucket carry, but this one wasn’t too painful. Following this was a mile run in the woods mostly in standing water; this was a bit miserable. With several holes and varying depths of water, it was difficult to run or even walk. Cargo net, z wall, and 8ft wall were next. This cargo net was the most difficult I had ever done. It was loosely hanging between two trees and was so wobbly at the top I thought I was gonna flip over or break an arm. Nevertheless, I survived and pushed on to the last few obstacles.
The map showed the spear throw as the 5th obstacle but they were sneaky and this obstacle was right before the rig. I missed and paid my 30 burpees as punishment. After the rig was a fun obstacle I had never encountered but deemed appropriate for a military run. This obstacle was a low crawl while you carried a rubber ducky M16. It was a fun extra and racers seemed to enjoy it. Lastly was dunk wall, slip wall and, of course, fire jump.
The dunk wall water was really high and you had to really submerge your face to get under, yuck. This Sprint had a little extra running and my gps had it clocked at five and a half miles making it a longer sprint. All in all, I found the location enjoyable, the course set up great and the medal bad ass. Aroo!
Look at this bad ass medal !!!!
Rachel Hunt
Latest posts by Rachel Hunt (see all)
- Asheville Spartan Super 2018 - August 27, 2018
- Spartan Race Fort Benning Race Review - April 24, 2016
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