Mud-soaked race expected to draw crowd

Three miles of mud pits, rope climbs, rock walls, sandbag hauls and more await the expected 3,000 to 3,500 entrants in Montana’s inaugural Spartan Race near Flathead Lake Lodge in Bigfork on May 11-12, 2013.

The Spartan Race, billed as the global leader in obstacle racing, has grown dramatically in the past few years. From a sport that began with 150,000 people participating in 2010, around 1.5 million participants are expected to slog through in 2013.

While expanding to places such as India and Slovakia, promoters also were persuaded by the Kalispell Convention and Visitors Bureau to stage an event in the Flathead Valley.

“We recruited them to come,” Rob Brisendine, sales manager for the visitors bureau, said. “We looked at what would make sense as a shoulder-season special event.

“It will have a significant economic impact on the valley. Half of the participants will probably be out of market, and there will probably be approximately 1,500 spectators.”

The visitors bureau is subsidizing the Spartan Race, helping market and organize the event as it did with the September 2012 Montana Dragon Boat Festival, which was estimated to have generated half a million dollars in economic activity. The dragon boats will run two days in September 2013.

The first Spartan Race is expected to be even bigger.

“There will probably be over $1 million in economic impact,” Brisendine said. “The Spartan Race has close to two million followers on Facebook. When they said this race was coming to Montana, there was a lot of excitement in social media.”

The visitors bureau will mostly be marketing to the regional driving market, such as Spokane, Calgary, Lethbridge and other cities in Montana.  

Around 700 people already have signed up for the race, with some from as far away as Massachusetts, New York, Florida and Texas. The Spartan Race will be staged on the 1,700 acres owned by the Averill family near Flathead Lake Lodge. There are improved trails throughout the property and 20 obstacles will be constructed.

Brisendine said the Spartan Race promoters were given numerous site options, and the Averill property was their choice.

Flathead Lake Lodge will not be open, so many of the participants will be pulled back into Kalispell for lodging, dining and shopping, with a possible after-party in Kalispell. Local hotels are offering a special rate for Spartan participants.

“It’s a social activity,” Brisendine said. “Big teams are created to participate that help everyone through the course. They can race together and help each other over the obstacles.”

The Spartan Race organization offers a daily training workout to help participants prepare, since the race requires strength and skill beyond the usual 5K. The event will be staged in waves of 250 competitors.  

The Flathead Valley race is billed as a Spartan Sprint, which means it must be 3-plus miles and with at least 15 obstacles. The Spartan Race website says that 99.9 percent of all who enter the sprint distances finish the event.

Teams can be any number of people; it takes a minimum of four members to create a team but there is no maximum. Teams receive rebates for entry depending on how many are in their groups.

Local racers are offered a 50 percent discount on registration if they register by Nov. 15 and use the code word “glacier” in the promotional code.

There will also be a Spartan Kids race, for anyone ages 5-13.

For more information or to register, visit www.spartanrace.com/montana-obstacle-racing-spartan-sprint-2013.html.

Reporter Heidi Gaiser may be reached at 758-4439 or by email at hgaiser@dailyinterlake.com.