2019 NJ Spartan Ultra

 Race: 2019 NJ Spartan Ultra - Vernon, NJ

April 27, 2019

Time: 8:45:40

Place: 4/31 in my AG, 8/242 Overall

Pre-Race Conditions:

Writing this on the road somewhere in the middle of Pennsylvania as we keep going in and out of rain. Hopefully it blows north around the course. I’m all for muddy climbs but not wet grip obstacles. 

I’m going into this one after a great running training block. 2 weeks of 60+ miles followed by a good taper. My biggest concern is my grip strength especially if the obstacles are going to be wet and muddy. The last few weeks have been focused on running and mobility with some rock climbing for strength. I’m feeling strong but my nervousness has to go somewhere and that’s where I’ve apparently placed it for this race. 

The course looks like the same route as last year with some of the obstacles moved around. That ¼ mile sandbag is there again which leaves an easier bucket brigade. My carry strength is up from last year and I proved that at Greek Peak. 3 new obstacles that I haven’t seen before. Helix, the box and Beater. No worries about the first 2 but there could be a learning curve on beater especially with wet muddy bars. 

My race plan is simple: Relentless Forward Progress. 

 

Race Recap:

Another great year in NJ. Great weather and our own private townhouse for the night before the race. 

In true Spartan fashion we started with a march right up to the top. Mile and a half ish with 900’ of up. I did my typical jump into the corral at the last possible minute and walked up a bit to start with Josh and Ed. That was the last I saw of them until I passed Ed on the climb out of the Ultra loop. 

The first 5 miles were pretty uneventful run up to the top of the mountain and back down with some obstacles along the way. Nothing too hard. First time seeing helix. No issues with it. The waist deep water crossing at the top was actually nice relief to some burning legs. I had my windbreaker on for all of about a mile before I was sweating and tucked it under my belt. The dunk wall was chilly with some decent wind gusts. My windbreaker was soaked so I decided to forego putting it on. I think that was the right choice because I dried out and warmed back up quick. I think the barbed wire crawl was shorted and higher than last year. Atlas carry was right after that before another climb back up to the top with some decent run sections in there. 

Then we got to the bucket brigade followed by the ultra loop. The buckets were surprisingly light and the up high strong fit carry kept my back from lighting up. The ultra loop had a lot of good running and opportunities to beat up the bottom of my right foot on the rocky terrain. For some reason it was only the right. It was not pleasant for the rest of the 20 miles. I made some good time on that run catching up to another few runners and passing them. The elastic bands were a nice surprise across the trail. I almost didn’t see them and crashed into them. We finished the ultra loop with a nice descent to a couple ultra only obstacles then a 30% grade climb out of there. 

Back on the course for a little run to spearman. Nailed it. That is always an adrenaline booster and a quick downhill run for a mile or so then my second least favorite climb of the course and obstacles to the sandbag. ¼ mile loop. This year we started at the bottom worked our way up then back before my least favorite climb. Nonstop on sandbag. It was slow moving but constant. 

Out of the sandbag was 3 miles to transition but first my least favorite climb. Up and up and up. No breaks. I moved up without stopping right on my goal of hitting transition at 4:30 in. On the way to transition was the inverted wall, beater, twister, Herc and the rope climb. Beater was another new obstacle to me. Cruised right through without any struggle. Here’s where the lap went awry. I tucked my blegg mitts in my belt and between beater and twister lost one. Sooo upset over that. Quick downhill to Herc. Holy shit. Herc Hoist (beast mode) apparently means they fill it with lead instead of sand. I jumped to start my pull and my weight didn’t even move the bag. A struggle but I managed to get it and then walked right over to my preselected rope to climb. A couple breaths then right up and into transition at mile 17. 

Ameer was at the entrance to transition cheering us on and pushing us back out on the course. As I came through he started a stopwatch calling out every minute to get me out of there. I resupplied my pack. New water bottle and began to work on my plan for the dunk wall. The wind had kicked up and the sun was hiding so I took a garbage bag and cut it down to a more manageable size to put my wind breaker in when I submerged. One more sip of FitAid and I was out. 4 minutes 35 seconds to resupply. 

Now lap 2 is alway the more fun lap because the Beast open racers are on the course. The Ultras are the rock stars. I got back on course right at the tail end of a heat leaving the start corral. I came up hiking back up the first climb catching them easily and moving towards the front of the pack. The beast racers alway give good encouragement and see us Ultras and move out of the way. Moving up to obstacles someone will call out ‘Ultra’ and the crowd splits and you move up the the front with everyone both watching your every move and cheering you on. Just a little bit of pressure since they let you cut the line but tons of energy to make up for it. 

At the top the waist deep swim was closed and we were routed around. Me and the 2 other Ultras I was with were upset because that cool water felt so good on burning legs. More running and a few obstacles the Box, Stairway beast mode, vertical cargo plus then the descent back down the mountain I started wrapping my windbreaker into the bag and got down and saw they shut down the rolling mud and dunk wall because of the temperature and wind. Apparently people were already getting pulled for hypothermia. Nothing could have made me happier not to have to slow down and deal with the water. Back up barbed wire crawl and an uneventful next few miles. A lot of passing beast and Ultras. Around the spear I realized that I was beginning to lap some of the other Ultras. I didn’t realize it but they were going to miss the 2:30 cutoff at transition and DNF.  

Over to the sandbag for another slow and consistent carry and hike up to the mountain. At the top I started running with a Beast runner back down peeking at my watch when it was safe to see mid to low 8s with 2 miles left. He was pacing off of me and I was pacing off of him so we got cruising. Cruised through the remaining obstacles until I got back to that bastard Herc hoist. First attempt I got it 75% of the way up before my grip was gone. I stepped on the rope to take a break and try to recover. After a few attempts I dropped the bag and figured burpees would be faster. 32 burpees Because at this point I didn’t want a penalty even though there didn’t seem to be any Ultras close and I was hoping for a podium spot. Up the rope slowly and across the finish line in 8:45:40. A little behind my 8:30 target. 

The Bad:

Starting with the bad… the foot hurting from the ultra loop on. At one point I was wondering if I broke something. Luckily it was better the second loop so likely a cramp, bruise or strain. 

My grip held out well the entire race with no issues until Herc. Something to work on that would have saved me 3-4 minutes. 

I ran with my normal Nathan hydration belt where I can swap bottles quick. That was borderline not enough and I didn’t have room for wind proof clothes in a ziplock. Time to start looking at vests!

The Good:

The one thing I did 100% better on this year was fueling. The only time I started to get thirsty for something was about a mile from the finish. I was constantly hitting my tailwind, kit kats and gummies. I finished all my first bottle and a decent chunk of snacks the first loop. FitAid at the transition for some caffeine and aminos is going to be a go to from now on. 

My endurance and fitness was showed up strong for this. I never stopped on the course. Moved through all the carries and climbs without major struggles. All the single Track Saturday’s and Bruce’s build up to this was on point.

Also an almost clean race. If that bag would have been dry at herc I may have finished 5 minutes or so faster and avoided the burpees. The mental impact of hitting my spear twice in the race cannot be understated after missing at Greek Peak and it possibly costing me the podium I’ve been chasing. 

Moral of the Story:

An awesome run. I was really hoping that this would have been my podium spot I’ve been just on the edge of getting. There wasn’t really anything I could have done differently than maybe the Superior 3.5s with the rock plates to protect my feet but forego the nice feel of the ground. 

I’ll definitely be back for this and a few more Ultras next year. 

Looking at the results now I would have been 12th overall Elite. Can’t be upset with that and a single digit overall AG finish. After looking at the results I was the 19th Ultra to cross the finish line which explains why I was so alone during most of the race compared to last year.