by David Blass
The Spartan races are outdoors obstacle courses paired with distance running. In combination, they make a very tough event for the hundreds of competitors who enter. The athletes are all amateurs, but many devote a significant part of their time to training and participating in the events. I went to my first Spartan race in June 2018, in Mechanicsville, MD. It was called a “sprint”, which meant there were 12 obstacles over the course of 5k (about 3 miles). Now a sprint has 20 obstacles. It was very exciting to attend as a photographer, but I was a bit disappointed to find that only 5 of the obstacles were accessible to the general public. I got some shots that I like (Image 1), but decided I wouldn’t shoot at that venue again unless I could go behind the barricades and have the chance to shoot everything—i.e., with a press pass. I made myself a note and marked the calendar to get a press pass this year.
In April a friend told me about an upcoming Spartan race in Nats’ Stadium in May, also a sprint. It was much closer than Mechanicsville and I decided to go. My wife and Lisa and Marc Auerbach agreed to join me, and by very good fortune, we had ideal weather conditions that Saturday. Once again, not all of the obstacles were available to the public, and there wasn’t enough time to get a press pass since I found out about the event a bit late.
The stadium was an excellent venue for the race. The whole field, warning track, etc. were blocked from the athletes, but they were able to run up and down the steps and around the periphery of the ballfield. The public (fans and photographers) were allowed in the stands and could move about freely out of the way of the competitors. I got several shots I like that day and was glad I took a variety of lenses. (Images 2-5)
Shortly after that event, I applied for and got press passes for myself and Dennis Freeman for the sprint in Mechanicsville in June. The process was straightforward—we had to agree not to interfere with the runners and to send a copy of our published work to Spartan Race. With our passes, we could walk past any of the barriers and could go anywhere the competitors could. It was a very warm day and it was difficult for everyone to stay hydrated. Being behind the scenes was a great experience! We were in dense woods most of the time, in a very hilly and muddy area. Most of the time we were by ourselves, and periodically a group of athletes thundered by. They were, as a group, very fit and very dedicated. They were hot, muddy (one of the obstacles had a pool of muddy water with a barrier in the middle. The competitors had to duck or swim under the barrier), bruised and tired. Even those who were nearly spent pushed on and were encouraged by their peers (Image 6). At the end of the course, they were rewarded with a finisher’s medal and the immense satisfaction of their accomplishment (image 7). Here are some of my shots from that day (Images 8-12).
The atmosphere at the races is vibrant, colorful and exciting (and pretty noisy). The time when I could even have contemplated entering an event like this is long gone, but I may well return to another Spartan race with the camera to get my adrenaline fix.
Many thanks to Spartan Race for holding these events and making the press passes available. To learn more about the series, go to https://www.spartan.com/en. To inquire about press passes, write to media@spartan.com. Feel free to contact me for questions or for more stories about the race davidablass@gmail.com.