OCD FOR OCR

Like in years past, I had the good fortune to while away a warm mid-September Saturday at Vermont’s Killington Mountain for a Spartan Race. While this was by no means my first rodeo at this venue, it was my first time taking on the Ultra here – one of the most notorious courses of this type and distance. Since most of the course runs on the same course as the other races offered at Killington, most of what I have to say will apply to the Beast and Ultra participants as well.

Anyone who went in thinking Ultras are watered down from the former Ultra Beasts and that “everyone gets a medal” was in for a rude awakening. The Elite division I ran in claimed nearly 40 percent of its participants as DNF’s. The DNF rates were even higher among Age Group and Open runners for the Ultra.

• Registration and Festival:

I said it before and I will say it again. Nobody has a registration as efficient as Spartan. As an Ultra racer, I had the option of picking up my registration packet the evening before concurrent with the Open House, where I was also able to experiment with a few of the obstacles I would encounter before the finish of each of my laps. This made my registration wait virtually nonexistent and enabled me to jump out of the car and head right up to the start line dressed to race.

With the Ultra taking me a little over 14 hours, my finish was going to be in the dark and I was mentally prepared for that reality. Since my previous races here were standard Beasts I had finished in the early afternoon, I had never been to the festival area at nighttime. I was wondering if there would be finisher beer and all the other accouterments one looks forward to when the deed is done. Spartan was sure to make sure that was not the case and the festival was humming full bore under the cover of dark and just seemed to have an even more “festive” feel or “je ne sais quoi” than normal. Of course, I can chalk that up to my relief in finishing the Ultra but there was a definite magic there, unhampered by the fact that all the free goodies were flowing liberally, the belt buckles were there, and I was also able to claim my 3X Trifecta right on the spot upon having earned that as well.

Another nice touch was having the post-race food and beer served in the lodge/restaurant on premises. It sure felt good to sit at a bar after being on the mountain all day and to scarf down a $10 ski lodge cheeseburger too. (hey, I’m a captive audience and I know it) Free beer was a choice of a couple Vermont specialties too, giving the whole experience more local character, something I like to see.

• Pre-race MC:

Nothing special here. Just the standard Spartan Script I can almost recite in my sleep. I wish they allowed their emcees more ad-libbing. For my part, I could do with a basic breakdown of the rules and safety info then a “3, 2, 1 go!” with an AROO thrown in for good measure because it IS Spartan after all, especially in the Ultra elite wave that is mostly populated by experienced racers anyhow. The one noteworthy event in the starting corral was seeing Hunter McIntyre, who was not racing the Ultra himself, make his way through high-fiving the athletes and wishing them well.

• The Course:

The course loop seemed to follow the path of the Beast I ran here last year. Even much of the obstacle placement was similar to my recollection, if not exactly the same. Many of my friends who ran the Beast both years said this year’s came up slightly shorter. However, those of us doing the Ultra were not so lucky. We were “treated” to an extra 2 to 3 mile spur each lap in keeping with the new directive that all Ultras are at least 30 miles in length. And while we only got one extra obstacle on that spur, a sled drag coupled with the “Armer.” (a short ball and chain carry), the spur upstaged the Death March everyone who goes to Killington grudgingly looks forward to. It was a long straight, steep downhill, where you could make good time, but you really had to watch your footing lest you go head over heels. Once you got to the bottom, you took the obstacle and then you were subjected to a climb equal in distance and grade to the death march you would encounter along with the Beasts later in the race but mostly wooded and much, much more technical. I’m talking as in on your knees and grabbing for any tree root to pull yourself up or at least keep yourself from slipping back. The other thing that was not lost on me was the psychological drag of having to do it twice, much more of a mental challenge than doing a longer Ultra spur but only having it for the first lap, as was done for the NJ Ultra earlier this year.

That’s not to say most of the course was easy. The signature Killington Death March was there like always, and you were rewarded for your efforts with the 8’ wall. For a short guy like me who relies on jumping ability to reach the top of the highest walls, this was just plain cruel as the trip up the slope had claimed my “hops.” For carries, you had two sandbag carries and the hardest bucket carry you will ever experience in a Spartan Race. Downhills were slick in places and I couldn’t imagine doing the race in the rain. Fortunately, that was not an issue and we had the most perfect weather for the day, both in term of optimal temperatures, low humidity and the absence of precipitation. Other obstacles were pretty much all the typical Spartan obstacles, but you also get a Killington exclusive in the “Tarzan Swing.” Athletes swim out to under a bridge over a pond then climb a rope ladder to the base of the bridge. It is then a series of grip-intensive short ropes across the underbelly of the bridge to ring the bell. 30 burpees await when you swim back if you get up the ladder but fail to ring the bell. 60 if you don’t get up the ladder and 90 if you don’t swim out at all.

• The Bling:

Standard belt buckle on a medal lanyard and like the others there is a banner at the bottom of the buckle with the venue inscribed. To anyone who saw the belt buckles on my shelf next to each other, they would not think anything was fundamentally different if they aren’t part of the scene such to know Killington’s significance as the original Beast/Ultra venue and the standard by which all others are judged. Beast Finishers received a venue specific medal. Our finisher shirts were generic shirts relative to the distance finished. I would have liked to see at least a logo or marking on the sleeve like they did for West Virginia Beast shirts as it was the National Championships. But when I put on my Ultra shirt and walked around the venue Saturday night and came back on Sunday to visit friends doing the Sprint, I was like a rock star. Complete strangers were coming up to congratulate me.

• Overall Feelings and Event Rating:

I have run Spartan Beasts and Ultras in other locations and rarely do they fail to provide a significant challenge. And if you have an affinity or inclination for longer distance courses on mountains like I do, these are the races for you. But none of them are like Killington. I’ve had days where I wondered through the race if I could even finish (I’m looking at you Owl’s Head/Montreal Beast 2016) but there is a special magic with the scenery, the terrain and the obstacle placement that Spartan never can seem to re-create outside Killington. And while this is my third time earning the belt buckle of an Ultra, it is really a first for me knowing this one says “Killington, VT” at the bottom. If you have finished others and you are looking for the next level in your Spartan challenges, Killington will deliver for sure.

I give it 5 stars.

Article Written by: Brian Kellogg, OCR Aficionado