Spartan Sprint to be part of TV series

NBC Sports will videotape this year’s Spartan Sprint race near Bigfork and broadcast the footage as part of a five-part series on the race. 

The second season of the series, “The Road to the Reebok Spartan Race World Championship,” will kick off with a recorded airing of the Bigfork Sprint on July 21 on NBCSN at 9 p.m. Mountain Time. 

The local Spartan Sprint will be contested May 10 south of Bigfork.

Other races in the televised series include Breckenridge, Colorado, aired Aug. 18; Palmerton, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 15; Washougal, Washington, on Oct. 13; Vernon, New Jersey, on Nov. 17; and Lake Tahoe, California, on Dec. 20. 

The series is meant to showcase the three levels of Spartan Races, as well as those racers favored to win and move on to the Spartan Race World Championship in Lake Tahoe. 

The local Spartan Sprint, which will take place near Bigfork on May 10, began two years ago as a part of the Kalispell Convention and Visitor Bureau’s initiative to add shoulder-season events to draw visitors during off-seasons.

The sprint race course was designed by Joe DeSena and other Spartan Race founders. 

“They loved our destination because we have such a beautiful area,” said Diane Medler, director of the visitor bureau. “We provided a unique venue that was different from the other races they have.” 

Medler said the bureau was excited about the opportunity to have the Spartan Race broadcast on NBC, getting the word out even further about the hidden gem that is the Flathead Valley. 

With over 100,000 Twitter followers and more than 4.4 million Facebook likes, Spartan Races has become known across the country as elite contests for adventure-seekers, boasting tough obstacles such as rope climbs, sandbag carries, mud pits and climbing walls. 

The Bigfork Spartan Race has been so popular that a second race has been added on Saturday, May 9. The Beast Race, a 12-plus-mile race with over 25 obstacles, is meant to challenge races even more than the 3- to 5-mile sprint course. The Beast Race will incorporate the sprint course and then branch out even farther to include more difficult obstacles.  

The additional race is expected to bring in hard-core racers from across the country.

“We’re expecting to see upwards of 6,000 participants between the two races,” Medler said. 

In the past, the race has brought in more than $1.15 million in economic impact for the valley. 

For more information on the races or to sign up, go online to www.spartan.com