Spartan European Championships 2018
I ran my first Spartan Race in 2017. It was one of the tougher events I have completed including a 700 metre heavy bucket carry, spear throw, lots of hills and a fire jump. For 2018 I decided to kick it up a notch and get the season pass for the UK events. I ran the 1st event near London, placed 7th in the M25-29 Age Group and qualified for the Euro champs in Morzine, France in July. Going abroad for a race by myself, that's new. Why the hell not. And not just any race, a mountain half marathon in the French Alps, with obstacles and burpees at up to 2000m above sea level. Alright sign me up! I ran some races and felt decent, but I never got any proper hill training done before the event. Gonna wing it and see what happens. The race was 24km with 1,900m of elevation gain. My hilliest run ever had around 400m elevation gain. I was so clueless going into this. Sometimes I wonder how I survive putting myself through such discomfort.

Elite women's start
I am ready to go on the startline, in my shorts and top.....and nothing else. What a rookie. Sure if you're a beast then aid stations will probably suffice, but from my training, that's suicide. I was so blissfully unaware. The gun goes off and here we go. The start is flat while getting out of Morzine. Enjoy running while it lasts. There's a horizontal wall traverse after a 2.5k just before the main ascent. It's a little slippery and I come off. 30 penalty burpees it is, pretty poor start leaving me near the back of my age group wave. From here the route starts going up and keeps going up non-stop for 1,000m until Pointe de Nyon. I run as much of the uphill as I can until I settle to power walking. And this power walk never ends, it is too steep to get any running strides in. It's not long until we are treated to an insane sight though, a high cargo net taking us up the side of a huge waterfall. Oh boy we're definitely not in England anymore. Some obstacles break up the walking and then it's back to walking again. There's some uphill barbed wire crawling. I fail Olympus and have to do another 30 burpees before continuing the ascent. After 1 hour 40 I reach the highest point of the race and can start descending.

Some guy smashing the A-frame cargo at the highest point
After studying the race profile I was looking forward to this huge downhill section. It was a reality check once there, coming down very steep technical slopes where each step you need to watch out for rolling your ankle and it was so intense there was no moment to relax and recover at all. I've been rolling my ankle recently a fair few times so this was not a load of fun. Something I've always had issues with since I started running 9 years ago. We reach another cool obstacle where we grab a log and swim through a cold alpine lake. The water feels so amazing and cooling that after dropping the log off and running along the side of the lake I'm seriously considering taking a break to just go and submerge myself for a while. I can tell I'm not here to score a decent position. This big 1,000m ascent has totally wiped me out and I'm suffering hard.

Lake beneath Pointe de Nyon
I don't end up going but the thought stays in my head for a while after, whether I should have done it. The aid stations are not plentiful on the course, but luckily at times there are some clean water taps up in the mountains. I take full advantage at each one I spot to get as much water down me as I can but it is never enough. Five minutes down the road and I'm already thinking I should have drunk more. I fail Twister, my most hated obstacle and do another 30 burpees. Each set of burpees is really draining by now. It's time for another steep uphill push. It is a clear day and the Sun is beating down on us and and we are ascending up a 45% slope for a while. It just keeps going and people above get smaller and smaller. Just before we reach the top we have to pick up this beefy chain which looks like it can hold an anchor and of course we have to take it up this stupid hill. My legs are buckling and I can barely move up. The footing underneath gets really loose and a couple of times I almost crumble down, but each time one leg stays put and I manage to stand up again, just. I really want to drop the chain and take a breather but that chain is so damn heavy to pick up again, especially on the slope of a mountain. This is a ski slope we're on. I'm not sure if I drop it whether I'd be able to pick the chain up again.

Chain carry at 1500m elevation
I grit my teeth and huff and puff and make it to the turn around point. Shit that was a mission. Going down isn't too bad and I go drop off the chain. I have nothing left, just running on fumes. Need water so bad, and electrolytes. Even flat sections are getting difficult to run, not that there are many of them. There's some more descending after which I'm about to hit 20k in the race. What I see next almost mentally breaks me. We have to do a sandbag carry. It's a 50lb sandbag and we have to take it....of course, up another stupid hill. And this slope I'm looking up doesn't stop. As far as my eyes can see, there are still people going up with their sandbags. Luckily there are marshals there with big canisters of water. Everyone downs as much water as they can before picking up a sandbag. I grab mine and get going, really not wanting to. The slope picks up straight away and it isn't long until I have to chuck it down for a break. The next time I pick it up I start counting steps in my head and I don't allow myself to drop it until I've done 100 steps. It gets pretty uncomfortable at around 60 every rep. I do this again, and again, and again. After like 600 steps I yet again drop the bag and instantly collapse next to it to rest for a minute. Looking back down the slope there are so many people just spaced out, collapsed, sat there, waving left and right. There are random sandbags all over the place with no owners, people who bailed and left the sandbag behind. Makes me think I could take the same easy route, but I ain't about that life.

I feel you, guy behind me
The slope maxes out at 50% and I'm really questioning whether I can finish this race. This sandbag is trying to kill me. I'm so out of breath and there's no end in sight. Eventually the slope evens out a little and I get a glimmer of hope that the ascent is over. The route takes us into some woods and finally starts descending again. 150m of elevation gain later I haven't quit yet and I'm finally taking that sandbag back to where it belongs. When I make it back with the sandbag I'm dying for some water but there is none. They ran out. Fuuuuuuuck. I don't know whether to laugh or cry looking at the poor souls who just now are starting the sandbag carry and they don't have any water there for them. The sandbag carry was 1.1km long and took me 44 minutes. Even the fastest time on Strava is 16 minutes, which for the pros is a long obstacle. There has never been an obstacle for me that compares. My body is so done I can barely force a jog out even when descending on nice slopes. I've covered a half marathon now but I don't know how long the actual race is. Little after this I get to the slackline. I wobble and shake while traversing and lose it, but only just manage to jump over the line. What a relief, I don't know if I could do another 30 burpees. Little more and it's the final descent to the event village. Omg, it's almost over. I'm actually almost there. I feel my eyes getting slightly wet but I don't start crying. Thought I was gonna. The spear throw awaits. The most focus driven obstacle there is. One chance and if you blow it, it's another 30 burpees. I pick up the spear and steady myself. I've had the chance to throw 6 spears so far in Spartan Races and I've hit 4 of them. But I've never been so nervous holding one. Lean back, eyes on target and release. Time slows down as it flies towards the hay. Seems like a long wait until whoosh, it sticks. Fuck yes, I let out a scream and my body instantly fills with endorphins. That was important. C'mon now, I've got this. Only tricky obstacle left is the multi rig where I might get more burpees. I wade against a river current for a while, then turn around and it's the final stretch home. I tackle the multi rig, worried about the vertical rope holds. I get past the various monkey bars bars, get through the ropes, but misjudge the handle after the ropes and come off. 30 burpees, but I'm not too bothered any more. The finish is right there and the adrenaline helps me bang them out. A final wall climb, after which I jump as high as I can over the supposed fire jump and let out a scream. I jump so high I actually almost fall over when landing.

'Fire' jump
Shame for the lack of fire, would have been a sick photo. I cross the finish line, down some water and grab my medal. I can't believe it's over. That Intrepid thing last year was the hardest thing I've ever done, but right now I'm not so sure anymore. The final result puts me 73/84 in my age group after 5 hours 20. It's been tough but I still beat some people. At the end of the day, everyone has had to qualify to even race here. I just stand there with a big smile on my face feeling like a total badass.
Strava link
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