Kalispell to attempt burpee world record

The first weekend of May each year for the past four years has brought an influx of people to the Flathead Valley as they prepare to complete the Spartan Race, but this year, now the fifth year of the Spartan Race in Bigfork, also brings with it the chance to break a Guinness World Record.

On May 6, the city of Kalispell will attempt to break the world record for the most people doing burpees at one time. The ‘burpee,’ also known as a squat thrust, is a full body strength-training exercise in which a person squats down, placing both hands on the floor, jumps his or her feet into a plank position before jumping the feet forward again and returning to a standing position.

The burpee is an important part of the Spartan Race, said Diane Medler, director of the Kalispell Convention and Visitor Bureau. As a rule of the Spartan Race, if an athlete fails to complete an obstacle, that athlete must do 10 burpees in order to continue with the course.

Medler described the Spartan Race as an extreme obstacle race that draws elite runners and highly qualified athletes from around the country.

“We’ve had a big influx of people in this first weekend of May, which was historically a slow weekend for us,” she said. “What’s been great is people who are interested in the Spartan Race say ‘Oh, there’s a Spartan Race in Montana, I’ve always wanted to go to Montana.’ It’s a huge destination event.”

The race itself takes place at Quarter Circle Ranch in Bigfork, bringing about 7,000 competitors to the valley. With such an influx of people in Bigfork, Medler said the Kalispell Convention and Visitor Bureau was looking for a way to bring more attention to Kalispell.

“We wanted to put in some kind of event that would draw people into downtown Kalispell,” Medler said.

Medler said she expects many of the people who will participate in the world-record challenge will be racers competing in both the Saturday and Sunday Spartan races, but that the event is open to anyone who can do burpees for two minutes straight.

THE SPARTAN Race is a global event that includes three different races, the Beast, the Sprint and the Super. The annual race in Bigfork is the only one in the state of Montana. Though the Bigfork race includes only the Beast and the Sprint, Medler said many racers go through the Spartan Trifecta, doing the Super race at another Spartan event to complete all three.

The Montana Beast and Sprint Weekend Spartan Race takes places May 6 and 7 this year. The roughly 13-mile race known as the Beast will start the weekend off, with racers taking off in heats of 200 to make their way through roughly 30 obstacles. The Sprint will follow on Sunday, with racers going through 20 to 23 obstacles to complete the 3- to 5-mile race. The obstacles include a range of tasks, from climbing over walls and carrying tires to trekking through mud and other difficult terrains.

“People who wouldn’t normally think about doing a Spartan can come out and help us break a Guinness World Record,” Medler said.

Participants are not required to do a specific number of burpees, but they have to keep moving for the full two minutes.

Medler said that though a Guinness representative will not be attending, the bureau will be using other verification methods to document the event — including aerial photography, still photography and video. The bureau will also have volunteers monitoring the participants.

The current Guinness World Record for the most people doing burpees at one time is held by a group in the United Kingdom, which had a total of 689 people. The bureau is hoping to have at least 700 participants.

Medler said she believes this will be the first Guinness World Record to come out of Kalispell.

“We want people to be a part of history,” Medler said.

The Spartan Guinness World Records attempt will be at 6 p.m. Saturday, May 6, at Depot Park in downtown Kalispell. The event is free and open to anyone, with the stipulation that all participants be able to perform burpees for two minutes. No pre-registration is required.

For more information, contact the Kalispell Convention and Visitor Bureau at 406-758-2800 or go to http://www.kalispellchamber.com. To find out more about the Spartan Race go to https://www.spartan.com/en/race/detail/1734/overview.

Reporter Alyssa Gray may be reached at 758-4433 or agray@dailyinterlake.com.