* From: Chris Boerdenca
* Event Details
Held at the base of Wachusett Mountain ski area. Free parking onsite. Registration begins at 8:30am. Registration went quickly, especially if waivers were printed and signed before arrival. By 10am they had run out of all children’s t-shirts and only had adult sizes. It turned out that 1500 kids sized shirts that were ordered never arrived. There were several cash only food stands with burgers, hot dogs, fries, drinks, etc. A small merch area. Restrooms in the lodge were open for use. A few sponsors with samples were set up along the lodge. A very large tent off the back of the lodge was set up with tables, a great place to escape the sun if needed. Kid receive a pretty decent medal after completion. On the way out there were gift bags with bottled water and a Z-Bar for racers.
* Race Details
There were four different age groups that each had their own wave and course length. Cubs 4-5 @ 1/2 mi., Tigers 6-8 @ 1 mi., 9-11 Panthers @ 1.5 mi., 11-14 Cheetahs @ 2 mi. by running the whole course 2X, and a family heat.
Between heats organizers would open or close part of the course to lengthen or shorten if as needed, but everyone did the same obstacles. What changed was the distance of the run between two of the obstacles.
There was a hype guy and DJ at the start line. The hype guy, forgot his name but he had a mohawk, was great with all of the age groups. He had them laughing, stretching, warming up and getting excited while he explained the rules of the course to the kids. It was impressive to see the 4-5 yr olds listens so well.
There were about 15 obstacles, only two of which my 4 yr old needed any assistance with.
The race starts at the base of the bunny slope, if you’re familiar with Wachusett. Kids run to the top and then zig-zag back down to a group of long blue nylon tunnels to crawl through. The next obstacle is a small wall over which to climb. The height is adjusted per heat. Then comes the mud. There’s a 15′ stretch of mud covered by a net that the kids must crawl through. This is the messy part. Then a couple of small A-shaped walls and an over, through, under series. A large stack if hay bails to climb was next. Then the rope wall. It was about 6 feet up a slanted wall, which my 4 yr. old surprisingly had little trouble with. It was coming over the top and finding footing on the wooden ladder that he needed help with. There were volunteers stationed on either side offering assistance if needed. Next were long corrugated tubes through which to crawl, then on to a tire run, over one more short wall and on to the big one. A 7′ cargo net up to a platform and then down a slanted
wall with wooden foot areas. There were volunteers on either side of this to help kids if they needed it.
All of the obstacles are place in on central area so that parents can easily follow and photograph their kids at each obstacle. It was a very smart layout.
Everyone at the event we encountered was friendly, happy and helpful. It was fun to see the parents sporting finisher shirts from the various races we’ve all done. It lead to a real feeling of community.
My 13 yr. old, did a 1 mile Junior Spartan last year and had been dying to do another, but because my wife and I run together it’s hard to work him in. This race was a perfect way to let the kids have their own moment. All three of our boys loved the race and can’t wait to do more. We’ll definitely be back.
* Rating
Excellent
