Spartan Race Beast 2021 (All Obstacles) 

Awesome and thanks!

Awesome!!

Awesome thank you! Have a great race!!

Killington is a must destination. Vermont's the birthplace of spartan race and Joe and the spartan team seem to be extra creative when building this venues course.

This is a great race. Look forward to it all year... then hate it towards the end... then love it again! Killington is such a great venue.

Good luck, have a great race! AROO!

Highly recommended!

Killington has beaten us up pretty good in the past but this year we felt great start to finish! Spirits were high the whole race (ok, except when turning the corner at mile 13 and seeing that last massive steep accent)!

Thank you kindly!

Thanks for watching!

Thank you!

That is a bummer. Have had a few bouts with hamstring issues myself (Damer). Get well and hope to see you out there!

Thanks! I know there are some big elevations at some of the spartan venues out West, but this one in Vermont does a pretty good job punishing you with endless uphills. Haven't had the privilege of a 10 footer at a spartan event, yet. Had one towards the end of a tough mudder a few years back that immediately locked up both calves!

Thanks! You picked a tough race as your first - Bravo Zulu! What did you think? Signing up for more Spartan!? Hope to see you at a future race venue!

@@OCRKings it was awesome felt so great to finish. I’m going for the trifecta in 2022 and my other goal is the ultra in killington for 2023

Excellent! Have a great time at your Beast next weekend!

Thank you!

Many thanks!

Awesome job! and thanks for watching our vids! Way to finish both beast and sprint! I always like that kind of soreness after a race or big workout. Just feels like your body letting you know you pushed yourself hard.

YES!

First of all... thanks for volunteering! Volunteers make all the races happen so much respect for doing your part! and we would have loved to meet you! Hopefully at a future race soon! You picked one heck of a beast for your first! Congrats and thanks!

Great Job, especially on the Bridge Ropes..!!!

Thanks!

Yes sir!

Congrats on your first Ultra - OUTSTANDING!! Ok, great question on the gloves. Damer and I have different opinions on gloves. By and large I don't wear them at all, except on Olympus. That is the only one I will use them on since I use the chains and they tear up my hands a bit. I use these from 3M: amzn.to/3GcdWAK. They work great when the chains are wet as well. Damer uses gloves on and off, more often than I do. He's used them on Twister and a few other of the metallic hanging/crossing obstacles. He's used these for many years (just not so much on Olympus): amzn.to/3PHuvci Hope this helps.

Right on, pace yourself and you will be fine. Good luck out there, be safe, and enjoy your races!

#19 was hard!! They dropped that vertical cargo on a downward slope and that made it way harder. Usually we jump up into an arm-press so our hands are in contact with the deck and swing a leg. The one at Killington was way uglier. That was my third attempt to get onto the deck. First was a slide off, second I got a charley horse on the jump. Third I had to use the frame underneath with a leg just long enough to reach the back of the deck. Not easy at all.

Thanks! And yes, that part under the bridge was no joke. As for the gloves on Twister, Damer used these Mechanix gloves: amzn.to/3zLNzN5. And yes, maybe on Dallas next year. We'll see. If we go, hope to see you there!

Excellent, thank you! Heading to Killington this year? If so, good luck and have a great race!

@@OCRKings I am! I got a long way to go to prepare. This will be my first!

@@damonluvisi You're gonna do great! On the death march, remember one foot in front of the other and just keep on going. The views on top are totally worth it. Aroo!

@@OCRKings how heavy are those atlas balls? I’m trying to train for them with a ruck sack.

Excellent! It is a good time. This race was harder due to the mountain and elevation, but we still had a great time out there. As far as we know, there is no limit to the number of people you can have on a team. We have seen some huge groups out there in the past. Good luck at your race, be safe, and enjoy! You're gonna do great!

Thank you! And yes, we ran Open. That's pretty much our MO these days.

You can! Pick a spartan sprint, a savage race blitz or tough mudder 5k. Start with a 5k distance races. They are a ton of fun and become great motivators once you sign up and are committed to a date. Even walk the race if you have too. Fail some obstacles. No worries. You will have fun!

Totally agree. I like when spartan has a venue specific obstacle. Killington has Tarzan and that water obstacle, Palmerton has Ape Hanger. There are a few others, but I wish each venue had a signature obstacle. Something you once see once a year!

@@OCRKings agree. A-frame is an A-frame. However, I've never swung from the bottom of a bridge.

Nice! Where we you in the vid? and thanks! How'd you do?

@@OCRKings 9:02 and 11:07. Im the kilt guy! Didn't do great. I started out at 11AM in hopes of a podium, but that water destroyed me. Cramps killed me a couple times after and I ended up finishing 21st out of 49 in Male 35-39. 5:51 mins.

The water and the hills were killer. Quads really felt it on the down hill parts. Nice finishing time btw, great job!

@@OCRKings thanks! Hopefully I'll be able to drop a few pounds and make up a little time in Big Bear next month. Going for my first Ultra. Yikes!

So in this video, we both had GP Hero 8 Black, with GoPro head strap amzn.to/3IFfEh9. The pad on the back is actually a buoy/floatation device incase the mount falls off my head amzn.to/3ZxLN02. It functions more of a counter weight for me, balancing out the camera weight in the front with the pad thing in the back. Hope this is helpful. Good luck at your Beast in March, be safe and enjoy!

Thank you! This year we might be there but perhaps only doing the Sprint. We've never done one there before and were consider trying it. Hope to see you there if we go!

I’ll be there tomorrow! 🤞Wish me luck!

@@netminderx Good luck!

@@netminderx How'd it go?!

@@patrickharner it was a killer for sure. But I made it thank god. Had to use my phone as a flashlight in the dark to finish. I cant believe how many times we had to go uphill at those long distances. I can barely walk today I’m so sore. But happy to have a trifecta now!

Getting the obstacle done is all that matters but looking cool while doing it doesn't hurt! :)

@@OCRKings Especially if they have a photographer there! They had one at a race one of my friends did a few weeks ago. (Greetings from Big Bear Lake!)

Welcome to the spartan life! Good news is you have a nice flat venue to run. Move at your own pace, take walking breaks whenever you want too. If you are not sure about an obstacle, watch a few racers complete the obstacle to see what you can do. Rope climb, use your feet to lock onto the rope. Olympus, use the chains/balls and get your feet up as high as possbile - its slippery. The Box - use the knots on the rope to pinch with your feet to stand up on the rope and reach over the deck. Momentum is the name of the game for monkey bars, beater, twister, multi-rig, etc. Just keep your momentum moving forward. We also have some how-to videos about some of these obstacles (check out our "The Box" video). Some of our previous race footage can give you some obstacle insight too. Just remember to get out there an have fun! You fail an obstacle, no biggie. It happens to all of us. Do the burpees or penalty loop and keep moving... that fire jump/finish/and medal await! Have a great race! Let us know how it goes. We were signed up for a Dallas ultra in 2020 when covid shut it all down so Dallas is still a venue we have not attempted (yet).

You are definately at a disadvantage on reach obstacles for sure! I had a tough reach on beater this past weekend and I'm 5'9"! Don't really have a tip for you there other than keepng your forward momemtum going but some of those reaches must be close to impossible! Atlas carry - we have a video posted. There's a trick we use to pick the ball up to save strength by rolling atlas up one leg onto our knee. Once its up though, its just strength. Same with bucket, sandbag carry, etc. We have a bucket, pancake, and hoist setup at home so just repetition works for those obstacles. Might look like a fool walking around the house a bunch of times carrying the bucket or sandbell, but it engages all the muscles to crush those obstacles come race day. We do a ton of trail training miles in all sorts of terrain. We try not to run roads so get more foot variations and elevation. The elevation was key. Trail running with elevation tells you where all the aches and pains are, and gets you to a good comfort level. Killington had way more elevation than our recent ultra, so we spent more time running elevation to get ready for that mountain. Hope some of that helps. Glad to answer any questions you have. The terrain on those mountainous venues is usually the hardest factor and we've underestimated our pre-training before! Keep it up and maybe see you out there at a future race!

Great question! As we've practiced on our olympus rig out back with the steeper angle and slippery surface, YES. Chains are the way to go, esp. with the Spartan shoes and 3M gloves. I was wearing these in the video: amzn.to/3hJraK8 They are cheap and they are awesome. They work great when the chains are wet too, at least as far as testing on our rig. Hands on the chains, feet to the surface of the boards as high as you can get them. Our new favorite method!

Damn! You guys make it look so easy! I did the Sprint at Killington the next day-my first race ever. Boy, I wish I could have watched this video beforehand! I saw a whole bunch of things that I did wrong. I’m going to study this video for the next race in 2022. Quick question: how do you guys train for grip strength and upper body pulling strength?

My first Spartan Race ever was at Killington too. It was the Beast in 2014. It kicked my butt. I was humbled. So hats off to you for doing the Sprint there as your first race! That mountain is no joke. As far as grip strength and upper body pulling strength, the best and most accessible way to develop that stuff is pullups. Pullups are not glamorous, but a good pullup bar is easy to come by on Amazon, and that exercise works both grip, and the muscles you use during monkey bars, wall climbs, herc hoist, beater, sled pull, and more. Hope this helps. AROO!!

@@OCRKings 2014 Ultra sent me home mumbling incoherently to myself. DNF. Love your videos. Enjoyed this one. Thanks 💪🏽

Thank you!

Awesome! Killington Ultra is no joke! Good luck out there my friend and have a great race. We were considering doing this Sprint there this year, but not the Ultra.

yessir

That's the only way I've beaten it so far.

Haven't tried that way just yet. Mack and I seem to have found a rhythm going at it side technique. I have seen some racers going backwards - and they seem to get thru twister very quickly. Might have to try it sooner or later. Would love to build this obstacle...

Spartan used to give board lengths for their races but now they seem to be way closer to the 5k, 10k, 21k - even though they admit during the start wave that they are "spartan" miles... whatever that means! Our garmin watches tracked the 2021 Bethel sprint at 3.76 miles, 2021 Palmerton sprint at 3.56, 2021 Super at NH at 6.61 miles, and the 2021 Killington beast at 14.29 miles. As a reference the Killington beast in 2014 was tracked at 15.01 miles.

Awesome and good luck! Welcome to spartan! I know you will have a blast and it will be the first of many races! Here's the male weights from spartan's site... Tire flip = 400 pounds (haven't seen this one this year) Bucket carry = 60-80 pounds (at every race) Sandbag carry = 60 pounds (usually at every race) Atlas carry = 100-110 pounds Hercules Hoist = 90 pounds / 100 if wet (at every race)

@@OCRKings Awesome, thank you!

For shoes, we are both running in the Inov8 X-Talon Ultra 260 - amzn.to/3Halwh2 For gloves, Damer uses thes from Mechanix - amzn.to/41S63tY The ones I use on Olympus are out of production, but they are these from 3M - amzn.to/3HeBbf9 Hope this helps, Mack.

First off, thank you for your service! Next, outstanding, good luck on your first Spartan Sprint this summer, you are going to do great! As far as watches, both Damer and I wear Garmin watches. They are tough, easy to use, and give good and reliable data. I was using the Garmin Instinct in this video, and I believe Damer was using the Garmin Enduro. Both will give you heart rate, steps, calories burned, miles run, elevation gained, and a whole bunch of other data. Best part is, is that they are really tough and totally waterproof. Here are links to both on Amazon. There are two price points, one medium, and one pretty high. Instinct: amzn.to/3H2V3z1 and Enduro: amzn.to/3sRzsnZ Hope this helps, best to you, Mack.

@@OCRKings Thanks guys for the info and also thanks for doing these videos! AROO!

Good question. I had to look up where that name came from. This is what I found: "Often referred to as an Irish “wake” table, this extra-long oval table would have once been used year-round as a dining table. Yet, it also would have served as the focal furnishing of a wake when a death occurred. Skillfully constructed with folding side panels, it could be used to display the coffin of the deceased before burial. Irish Celtic tradition mandated that the body of the recently departed be watched constantly to prevent its removal by evil spirits. This beautiful table would have been specially commissioned by an affluent Irish family as an important part of the final rites - as well as the final celebration of the lives of their loved ones." Source: rauantiques.com/blogs/canvases-carats-and-curiosities/irish-furniture

@@OCRKings Thank you so much for your help!

No worries!

You can do it! Work on pullups, they help a lot, and at the races they have steps to get up to the obstacles for people of different heights. They are usually the left and right most lanes. Those are very helpful too.

Killington Vermont. Really lucked out on the weather. Perfect day! We haven't gotten to Tahoe yet. It's on our bucket list!

Thank you!

Welcome Sir ..will join you shortly Sir🇮🇳❤️

That one is a challenge. It is also a special thing that we've only done (seen) at Killington.

We both finished right around the 7 hour mark, but we stopped with the elite heats and AG paces when our focus switched to filming and making our content better on our channel. Mack thinks we wasted at least 40 minutes shooting b-roll, other obstacles, and stopping to talk to other racers.

The poking thing is kind of poking fun at the obstacles that we sometimes find too easy or silly. It's also kind of us poking fun of ourselves a little, screwing around a bit, and just having fun.

Yes, that was a long one!

Thanks for volunteering!

The ropes on slip wall were really short - way shorter than normal. People were having a ton of issues even getting onto the ropes at attempt slip wall. We just hit up the longer rope, no issues.

Yikes, that's not good. I'm sorry to hear that.

👍