Every military has its own obstacle course to be completed within a set time limit. This is a test of combat fitness for a military personnel. These obstacles mimic natural and man-made obstacles that a military personnel has to face in their regular missions or even in the battlefield (in times of war and conflict).
Depending on your way of ninja, you might want to have a similar benchmark to test your fitness, endurance and agility. A popular obstacle course race that is televised around the world is Ninja Warrior (based on Sasuke, a Japanese obstacle course show). While this could be the fitness benchmark you are looking for, the Spartan Race surpasses Ninja Warrior in toughness.
The Spartan Race was founded by eight ultra-endurance athletes and one royal marine. Similar to Way Of Ninja’s belief in perseverance, the organizers rightly awards everyone who endures and completes the obstacle race with a finisher medal. The top three male and female participants get special rewards.
The Four Kinds of Spartan Races
There are four kinds and levels of Spartan Races, namely: Spartan Sprint, Super Spartan, The Spartan Beast and The Death Race.
At 3+ miles (around 5km) consisting of 15+ obstacles, Spartan Sprint, has an encouraging 99.9% completion rate. This particular obstacle race tests your agility. People of all levels participate in this. And this is a very good starting point for anyone who wishes to join the Spartan Race.
The Super Spartan race is a level up and tests your endurance. The course spans a 8+ miles (around 13km) and consists of 20+ obstacles. If you were the top three contenders of Spartan Sprint, you will receive free entry into the Super Spartan.
At the ultimate distance of 12+ miles (around 20km) and 25+ obstacles, you have The Spartan Beast. The completion rate is presumably much lesser. Entry to this race is free if you were the top finishers of the Super Spartan.
Lastly at more than 48 hours and 90% dropout rate, the Death Race is the ultimate race of the Spartan Race. Obstacles include crawling under barbed wire, carrying ‘weights’ of 20 to 50 pounds (9 to 23kg) for hours and may include swimming in freezing water. Only for the Death Race, people who wish to join will have to contact Andy directly.
Event Location, Details and Recommendation
If anyone cherishes an ambition to be in the military (army, marines) or police force, this is a very good benchmark for you. I highly recommend training and then try out Spartan Sprint.
I will post event details for Way Of Ninja members who are interested to join or watch the race. Spartan Race is now available in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Slovakia. There are definite plans to bring the Spartan Race to Austalia, India and Mexico. The organizing team is currently doing research on the grounds in India with plans to kick start the first Spartan Race in Asia in early to mid 2013!
Find out more about Spartan Race.
