While Spartan Race Eastern Canada passed on adding a Competitive Heat to their race series in 2016, Western Canada will offer it at all their races this year. The Competitive Heat is designed for competitive obstacle course racers, who want to run hard but are not ready for the elite heat. While at the current moment, Spartans do not have to qualify for the Elite Heat in Western Canada, there likely will have to in the near future.
The Competitive Heat will start at 8:15am, after the Elite Heat which will remain at 8am. The price for a Competitive Heat registration is equal to the price of an Elite Heat registration, so Spartans who have already purchased an elite season pass prior to the Competitive Heat announcement and wish to switch to Competitive, will not be penalized financially.
While top finishers in the Competitive Heat will not be eligible for the overall podium and prize money, age group prizes will be awarded to top Spartan Race Western Canada points series age group finishers at the end of the year. The same Elite Heat rules including certain mandatory obstacles, like the bucket brigade, and 30 burpee penalties for failed non-mandatory obstacles, will apply to the Competitive Heat. Western Canada Spartans should stick to either Elite or Competitive Heats at the beginning of the year to avoid their points getting split in the points series standings.
The implementation of the Competitive Heat by Spartan Race Western Canada is further evidence of their commitment to employing race aspects found at Spartan Races in the United States. Other examples of race details operated by Spartan Race Western Canada and Spartan Race USA and not included in Eastern Canada Spartan Races include:
- Chronotrack registration
- Chronotrack timing
- Rope climb above mud pit
- The rolling mud obstacle
- Armbands to identify Elite Heat Spartans (red for Sprint, blue for Super, green for Beast)
- Race venues are not always ski hills
Photo credit: Spartan Race, Adam Kwitko
AROO!
Adam Kwitko | Is a race operations professional and the 3-seconds.com editor in chief of english content. He is an avid OCR racer and trail runner who gravitates to longer distances. He also consumes large amounts of honey.
