After each mud run or obstacle race I compete in, you'll get my review and grades for each event to help you decide which ones you might want to sign up for. The following categories will be discussed:

1. COURSE- the design, venue, and setup of the race itself- how creative/ adventurous/ difficult the obstacles were, and obviously... how was the MUD?!?

2. FESTIVAL- all the fun beyond the actual race- the social atmosphere which usually includes food, beer garden, dj/ music/ concert, contests, vendors, and more during the after-party

3. SWAG- the included goodie bag and prizes up for grabs- all the "free" stuff that comes with price of entry and the quality of awards, shirts, and other giveaways

Feel free to use the search box to read up on any past topics you might be looking for.

SPARTAN RACE CITIZEN'S BANK PARK, Philadephia PA, 9/20/14

The last official day of Spartan's 2014 race season (coinciding with their VT Beast World Championship running at the same time a few states away), this was the opportunity to do my 4th different SR stadium race in the last year (Fenway Park, Tampa, CitiField were the others) as well as make a push in the overall points rankings that ended Saturday.  And if the stars aligned, the plan would be to head up to Vermont and run that Beast race the next morning also, getting both the shortest and longest courses that Spartan has to offer, all in the same weekend.

1.  COURSE-   I've never been a huge fan of theses stadium races, just mainly because there's very little bang for your buck beyond the coolness factor of running around and having the same access to parts of these team arenas that the pro athletes do.  Of course they're going be on the shorter end of most OCR's we'll find, but often even a 5k is hard to squeeze into the far corners of a baseball stadium. Here in the City of Brotherly Love, that was certainly the case as most of the course was typical for this type of sprint, but a good 3/4 mile or so had to be added out in a boring flat parking lot jog to make it closer to that desired distance. Not much else to mention that was spectacular, but CBP did let us have a little more field access with several obstacles on the infield (covered in tarp to protect the precious dirt of course) as we neared the last minute or two before the finish.  GRADE = B

2.  FESTIVAL-  Also something that never works for these stadiums is how to have a great party atmosphere post-race, or even during it for the spectators.  I high-tailed it out of the park immediately after the race, not because of this reason, but due to getting back to work in NY that afternoon.  Either way, at 8am those days of breakfast beers and such are way behind me!  As usual, the best spot around a Spartan stadium event is going to be wherever the downtown action might be in that particular city.  None of those are operated or even promoted by Spartan or the arena they're renting out, so it's word of mouth or a local hookup to find those on your own.  GRADE = C

3.  SWAG-   As mentioned, the best swag is really the experience of setting foot in every section and players-only spots of the ballpark, but these stadium races also carry one of the most expensive pricetags for entry and the physical souvenirs don't match up well enough in my opinion.  I do love the finisher medals that have been a special commemorative edition at each stadium, and you also take home a red Trifecta piece as this is considered a Sprint (though I think they should be a separate category).  But the t-shirt, well, you know all about that by now.  All I can say there, thankfully, is we're almost in 2015, and pray for new shirts!  GRADE = B


OVERALL GRADE = B