JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – If you are on the west side of town of town this weekend and you see a bunch of muddy, screaming people running through fire and throwing spears, don't worry. The Spartan Race is coming to Jacksonville for the first time this weekend.
If you are not familiar with a Spartan Race, it is essentially an obstacle course on steroids. There are two distances this weekend, a super which is eight miles with 30 obstacles and a sprint which is 4 miles with 25 obstacles. Some of those obstacles include a barbed wire crawl, a spear toss, numerous walls and ropes to climb, and the final obstacle is a jump over fire to the finish line. If you think this sounds fun but is a little too intense for your age or ability, think again.
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"People always think that but it isn't true," said Spartan Race director Daniel Luzzi. "We have a kids race that is separate from our adults race. We have three different age groups, different distances so there is something for everyone."
In addition to coming to Jacksonville for the very first time, the Spartan Race is also introducing a family race for the very first time in their history this weekend. They are allowing 10 to 13 year olds run with their parents on the kids course on Sunday.
Sid Morris is a Spartan Race head coach which means he trains athletes that have never done a race before. He is part of new programs this year that encourage new participants.
"For the first time this year, we are doing a guided tour where first-timers can run the course with a coach. We are also doing an obstacle specialist program on Friday before race day where for 8 hours we train people on each obstacle to get them ready for the big race," said Morris.
According to Luzzi, it takes about two weeks to construct a course and three days to break it down and move it on to the next location. There is a ton of work that goes into what he calls the "traveling circus" every week, but that work is well worth it.
"The thing that I enjoy the most is just seeing people overcome challenges that they didn't think they could and didn't think was possible. Also just seeing a bunch of smiling, muddy kids. There is just something so innocent and cool about that."
There is still time to register before the races begin on Saturday morning. Visit spartan.com for more information.