Spartan Race Beast Barcelona

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Photo Sportograf.com

Last weekend it was time to get back to OCR after my fractured wrist this summer. As many know I have struggled with my OCR motivation for almost a year now, the Danish races are too short and the terrain is too flat for my liking. Therefore, it was time to try a new race, which combined obstacles, awesome running experience and distance, I decided on Spartan Race Beast in Barcelona. This race would be in the mountains, just outside of Barcelona, the distance would be 20km+ and more than 25 obstacles, it sounded like a race that had it all.

View of the mountains in the background
Photo Sportograf.com
My lead up to the race hadn't been good, as I had struggled with my right quad and hip flexor, so trail and intervals had been off limits for two months. Nonetheless, I was looking forward to the race, though I was worried since I hadn't really been working much on my upper body strength since I got the cast off.

A few days before the race, I sat down and wrote my goals for Spartan:

  • Keep your own pace
  • Don't worry about placement
  • Believe in yourself
  • Run slow

The race
I knew this race could be my longest run ever, since it just needed to be more the 22km as that distance was my longest so far. When I got to the race site, I knew they weren't lying about the terrain, the surroundings looked amazing, just what I wanted, lots and lots of mountains😊 

Obstacle: Bender
Photo: Spartan Race Spain
The first 7km were no joke though, there were a lot of people, I was sure I was towards the back and probably the last female. Many other Danish female athletes get podium placements at Spartan Races, so I was mad at myself for being last. I had to remind myself that this was my first race in almost 4 months and I hadn't done much speed, pace or hills since June. I just wanted to have a good and fun experience, so that's what I started focusing on, a long with the pretty view of the mountains 😍


The obstacles
Some obstacles went better than others, I'll admit that 😂 Spear Throw, Slackline and balance while dragging a heavy ball in a chain didn't go well, and cost me 3x30 burpees!😰 Though others went perfect and some I manage to struggle my way through 😀 But what I enjoyed the most was the running, and I just got stronger and stronger on the running! My downhill running was going so well, passed a lot of men, and just truly enjoyed it. It normally takes me about 7-8km to get in gear, but when I'm finally there, I know I can keep going 😊 When I hit 20km an official told me there were 5km left, I was excited I still had time to enjoy the rest of the course.


Throughout the race, I had been worried about the Rig at the end, I knew that there was a very good chance that it would be a fail, hence another 30 burpees. The Rig had two ropes, earlier the ropes at Rope Climb had been so slippery and wet, so it almost took all of my upper body strength to climb it as I struggled with my foot lock, so I was worried.
I got to the Rig, and slowly worked my way through it 😃 The joy of hitting that bell, was what OCR is all about; beating your obstacles in one big smile!  
The Rig
Photo: Sportograf.com


I was happy when I crossed the finish line, I had enjoyed the last 19km on that course. Even though I didn't want to focus on placement, I was happy as I knew I wasn't the last one, because I had passed one girl out there, and seen two other girls behind me 😌 Little did I know that I actually finished 5th, and qualified for the Spartan World Championship in 2019 😀 I studied my split time and ranking during the race, after 12km I was 73rd overall (men and female), but slowly I worked my way up to 49th overall. This is one of the things I'm mostly proud of, I paced my race well!

One thing is for sure, this was not my first and last Spartan Beast, I truly enjoy getting the running experience and the distance that they offer. Running in the mountains was amazing and so much fun, I'll definitely be back for another Beast edition somewhere with lots of elevation 😍
Finisher photo
Photo: Sportograf.com

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