How Long Does A Spartan Super Race Take?
The Spartan Super isn’t your average race. After all, it doesn’t just require stamina and endurance, but strength and raw willpower.
Due to that, the popular obstacle race is as difficult as it is fun – so you wouldn’t be alone in wondering how long the Spartan Super race takes to complete.
The thing is, how long it takes is different for everyone.
It will depend on your strength, stamina, and athleticism, plus whether or not you have done obstacle training before.
- The Spartan Super will take the average person three or four hours.
- Pros, on the other hand, will do it in under two hours.
If you’re looking to get your Ultimate Spartan Achievement, you’ll need everything there is to know about the Spartan Race series. Luckily, this simple guide is here to help.
How Long Does Spartan Super Take? What Is the Average Time?
The fact is… there’s no official time for how long it takes to run the Spartan Super.
There are a ton of factors your finishing time will depend on, including current fitness level, strength, stamina, mental willpower, training and preparation, energy levels, weather conditions on the day – the list just goes on.
For a person of intermediate fitness, however, the Spartan Super will take three or four hours on average (sometimes more). Athletes and pros, on the other hand, can do it in under two hours.
Remember that the Spartan Super is a 10K race. And no matter what your 10K run time is, factor in the 25 obstacles and you simply have a bigger challenge on your hands.
Ultimately, it all boils down to how athletic you are, your energy levels on the day, and how much you have trained.
How long you will be out there depends on many factors:
- Course design (is it hilly or mostly flat).
- Weather (is it rainy and muddy, sunny and dry, or extremely hot).
- The fitness level of your group.
- Congestion on the course (the congestion depends on your start time).
The mud and the terrain work against you if it is wet (obstacles are slippery, you need to do burpees from slipping on some of the obstacles, and mud sticks to your shoes and clothes).
When calculating the time it takes to complete a Super, consider how long it takes to run the same distance on the road. Multiply that by three. So if the average 10K time for an intermediate runner is 1 hour, then the average time for Super is 3-4 hours.
The venue and weather of your race will definitely affect your time a lot, so predicting the final time is much more complex than in a regular running event.
What Is Spartan Super?
The Spartan Super is part of the Spartan Race series.
It’s an obstacle race of 25 obstacles across off-road terrain, mud, and water crossings, giving participants not just a challenge of stamina and endurance, but athleticism and technique.
Needless to say, mental willpower also plays a big part!
The Spartan Super measures 10K, so running is involved as well.
As for obstacles, the Spartan Super features walls, monkey bars, sandbag carries, Atlas carries, ropes, rope pulls, tunnels, barbed wire crawls, and more.
And if that sounds hard, the Spartan Super isn’t even the hardest race in the series; those are the Spartan Beast and the Spartan Ultra!
The Spartan Super Distance (New Standardized Distance)
The distance of Spartan Super is 10K (6.2 miles) with 25 obstacles.
In 2020 Spartan changed the distance of a Super. Previously it was 8 to 10 miles depending on the venue.
The distance is now standardized to 10K worldwide (distances of other races were also standardized).
As a result of this new distance, there is less running, and obstacles are closer together. With a shorter new length, the Super is more accessible to racers who have completed the Sprint (5K, 20 obstacles).
How Hard Is The Spartan Super?
The Spartan Super is the second-hardest obstacle race in the Spartan Series. It’s a level above Spartan Sprint, but isn’t as hard as the Spartan Beast or Spartan Ultra races.
Despite that, it’s still hard. Even for those who consider themselves fit and strong, the obstacles can be difficult to overcome without having trained before.
After all, running or weightlifting alone doesn’t fully prepare you for climbing rings or barbed wire crawls, especially if you’re weighed down by mud!
The bottom line is that Spartan Super is no walk in the park. And if you’re new to Spartan, it’s worth completing the Spartan Sprint before attempting the Spartan Super.
What Are The Different Spartan Races?
There are six Spartan Races in total: four “main” Spartan Races plus the Spartan Kids and Spartan Trail races.
Not sure what each Spartan Race entails? No problem – we go over each one below.
Spartan Sprint: 20 obstacles on a 5K off-road trail featuring water crossings and thick mud.
Spartan Super: 25 obstacles across 10K (6.2 miles) of off-road terrain featuring water crossings and mud.
Spartan Beast: 30 obstacles across 21K (half-marathon) of off-road terrain featuring water crossings and mud.
Spartan Ultra: 60 obstacles across 50K (31 miles) of off-road terrain featuring water crossings and mud.
Other than the main Spartan events, you’ve got Spartan Kids (for boys and girls aged 4 to 14), which involve half-mile to 2-mile runs with smaller obstacles, plus the Spartan Trail, which is a classic trail running without obstacles across 10K, 21K or 50K distances.
How Tough Is The Spartan Super Compared To Spartan Sprint?
The Spartan Super comes after the Spartan Sprint in difficulty. The difference between the two is 5 obstacles and 5 kilometers, so it’s definitely not easier!
The Spartan Super also features more rugged terrain (more mud and more water crossings, in other words), so it’s a lot harder than most people think.
The Spartan Super comes in at around intermediate level – at least against the other races in the Spartan series.
Due to this, it’s targeted at people of relatively good fitness who have, ideally, completed the Spartan Sprint first!
Can A Beginner Do A Spartan Super?
In general, it’s not recommended for beginners to attempt the Spartan Super before the Spartan Sprint.
Despite that, it is possible for beginners to finish the Spartan Super; it just won’t be easy and will likely take, well… a long time.
With 10K and 25 obstacles to beat while caked in mud, the Spartan Super isn’t exactly beginner-friendly.
Above-average fitness is recommended, along with specific training to prepare for some of the harder obstacles.
How Do I Prepare For A Spartan Super?
It should go without saying that you’re going to need to get your strength, stamina, and endurance up before attempting the Spartan Super.
So working out, in general, will help, but you’ll also need to train your athleticism.
Obstacles like the climbing rings are harder than they look, and can only be overcome by training for them specifically!
Other ways to prepare include training in different weather conditions, trail running (on different terrains), and, of course, making sure to sleep and eat well in the days leading up to the race.
The Bottom Line
Overall, the Spartan Super will take a few hours:
- 3-4 hours or more for people of average fitness, and
- 2 hours or under for people who are fit, well-trained, and experienced with the various obstacles.
If you’re a beginner who hasn’t attempted the Spartan Super, it’s worth completing the Spartan Sprint first.
Once you have done both, you’re ready to attempt the Spartan Beast and Spartan Ultra!
