At the 2012 New Jersey Super – there was a bit of a rain storm. Well, more like a tornado warning that shut the course down for some time. I was there, it was more than a little epic, and Spartan Race was forced to pull all volunteers off the mountain and herd any athlete they could into a safe and secure building until it passed.
Not everyone was so lucky, of course – being an 11 mile event, there were athletes strung out all over the place with no way to know what was going on (other than the sky went black, the rains came and the winds tried to blow them off) – and many found obstacles with no volunteers to tell them to stop and wait. As a result, a whole pile of folks were effectively caught crossing the finish lines with no timing mats, or bussed off the mountain when they hit aid stops, because it was too dangerous to continue.
A lot of folks didn’t finish, through no fault of their own.
Spartan did right by them, and offered them a free Hurricane Heat that night, a free race the next day, *and* a free entry to the 2013 event.
The coupon for this free 2013 event got circulated, and the internet being the internet, it’s original intent and intention was lost, and far more folks made use of it than Spartan intended, resulting in a huge number of free 2013 NJ Super signups – and Spartan issuing an announcement that they would fix things.
They did – all entries that used the coupon have been revoked. I can’t be mad about it (yes, I used it too) – while I was at the event, I wasn’t impacted too severely by it, and I did finish – so now it’s on me to figure out my Super for next years trifecta medal.
So, what are your options?
Buy a registration (if you click on a banner on this site, we’ll get some kick back), or throw one of many coupon codes in (EXTOLE15 is a good one)
Wait for a groupon / living social or other discount (these tend to happen closer to the event date, and are used to drum up inerest in quiet heats or days)
Volunteer (most volunteer spots are rewarded with a free race entry – they’ll happily let you volunteer for a minimum amount of time, then pay you in a free race in the volunteer heat)
I’ve not decided how I’ll handle my own registration yet – but one thing is sure, I’ll see you there!
