🏔️ Spartan Super World Championship – Mammoth Lakes Recap
At the start of October, I took on the Spartan Super in Mammoth Lakes — and this one was special. It wasn’t just any Spartan event… it was the Super World Championship, held on the slopes of Mammoth Mountain.
Over 7+ miles (10K+) of obstacles, steep climbs, and thin air at nearly 10,000 feet of elevation, this race was one of the most challenging — and beautiful — I’ve done yet.
⛰️ The Course: Altitude + Obstacles
The Mammoth course was classic Spartan… but with a championship twist.
Every obstacle was familiar — rope climbs, walls, carries, crawls — yet every one felt amplified.
The barbed wire crawl was lower and longer than usual, made even tougher by climbing uphill through dirt and rocks.
The carry sections (bucket, chain, and sandbag) came back-to-back, testing grip, core, and lungs all at once.
The altitude added an invisible layer of difficulty — every uphill push felt twice as long and twice as heavy.
It was a perfect mix of endurance, strength, and pure grit. My legs were screaming, but the views from the top were unreal — snow-dusted peaks, alpine air, and a clear blue sky over Mammoth.
🏨 The Experience: Community, Views & Recovery
The entire weekend had an amazing energy. Spartan rented out the gondola just for racers, so you could see competitors riding up to the summit in full gear, getting ready for the race.
The Mammoth Village felt like it was taken over by Spartan athletes — everyone was either racing, recovering, or sharing stories over food and drinks. My wife and I stayed at the Westin Monache, right in the village, with a top-floor mountain view room.
We kicked off race weekend with fajitas and a cold beer 🍻 — the perfect carb load and mental recharge before the chaos ahead.
🥈 The Race Results
When it was all said and done, I finished 2nd in my age group in the Open Division and 6th overall in the Open category.
After the Wodapalooza Gauntlet earlier in the month (where I felt less prepared for the CrossFit-style intensity), this race was a huge confidence boost. It reminded me that my hybrid training approach — blending strength, endurance, and resilience — still works beautifully when applied to real-world performance.
💭 Takeaway
The Spartan Super at Mammoth was more than a race — it was a reminder of why I love these events. They’re not just fitness challenges… they’re adventures. They’re opportunities to travel to beautiful places, push limits, share moments with my wife, and enjoy good food and great memories along the way.
This event helped me reset mentally, reaffirming that my training is right on track as I move toward my upcoming half marathon and marathon goals.
Healthy travel, scenic suffering, and a finish-line beer — doesn’t get much better than that. 🍺💪
