A few weeks ago my children and I ran the inaugural Spartan Stadion at Wrigley Field and had a blast. What makes a Stadion race different from a regular Spartan Race? Well, let me tell you about it and our day in the "Friendly Confines".
Okay, if this is your first time reading a Sporty Dad post and do not know about the Spartan Race let me give you a quick run-down. There are three types of Spartan Races: Sprint - 5K, 20 Obstacles, Super - 10K, 25 Obstacles, Beast - Half Marathon, 30 Obstacles and Ultra - 50K, 60 Obstacles. Along with these races, there are Stadion races which take place in iconic stadiums around the world.
For the stadion race I signed up my children for the kid's races and I signed up for an afternoon run. This year I actually had a team with me...well if you count two other people, it was a team. My son was signed up for the half-mile race and my daughter was signed up for the mile race.
About a month before the race we received a 21-day workout program and my son was our trainer for those 21 days. Every day he would remind us what exercise we had to do and made sure we were prepared for the race. While we did miss a few days due to the cold weather outside, I feel the program helped us get in the mindset of what was to come.
During the kid's races, the parents were allowed to run along with their children, but it was funny watching the parents try to keep up with their children as they ran through the course. The course was both difficult and amazing to experience. I mean, how many times do you get the chance to run through Wrigley Field and run out on the field and for the adult race run out to the field through the team's dugout.
The children's race consisted of running through the aisles, climbing over some walls on the field, doing 5 jumps with a jump rope and throwing a "javelin" at a target. My children impressed me as they pushed themselves through the course and did not give up until they crossed the finish line.
When it was my turn for the race I had a few goals in mind: complete the rings and hit the spear throw. I already knew that I would be taking a penalty with the rope climb, but I also was hoping that I would not have to do too many burpees for the obstacles that I missed. Luckily for the stadion, you only have to do 15 burpees per missed obstacle as opposed to the 30 you normally do on the regular races.
Running the race was a lot of fun, but it was exhausting running up and down the stairs in Wrigley Field. Since the race took place inside and around the stadium it was not as muddy as the races normally are. There was some dirt running on the field, but I did not finish the race covered in mud.
I think for someone that was not really prepared I faired well in the race. I was able to accomplish the rings and the Hercules Hoist, which is pulling a rope that lifts a 50-60 pound bag into the air and slowly lowering it to the ground. I think the lack of mud is what made this obstacle a little easier to do.
I do not remember how many obstacles there were but I think I ended up doing over 60 burpees. I started to cramp up towards the end of the race and it was difficult to run for me. During my last set of burpees, I landed wrong and overextended my knee. This overextension and cramps made it hard for me to complete the monkey bars but I pushed through and ran through the final obstacle to get my medal.
Running the Wrigley Field Stadion was an amazing experience and I hope they bring it back to Chicago next year. It was a fantastic time and hopefully next year I will have a bigger group running with me.
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