Florida Mud Run, Obstacle and ruck training team.
Here it is, the medal that an estimated 15% of participants will be coming home with:
A couple of cool observations. For one, the medal is HUGE. If it's like the similar Canadian design, it should glow in the dark! Furthermore, the venue is stamped on the medal and the ribbon. The medal you see on the right is the beast medal that was revealed last month.
Thank you Gary Belanger for taking the pic!
The Hawaii Ultrabeast is underway this weekend, and the race info packet has been out for that for quite some time now. Should we expect some parallels of this in VT? It's all speculation for now, but it doesn't hurt to look at some of the information. Let's look at some of the Hawaii UB info:
NEW THIS YEAR: You will receive a Spartan Bag for bag check at packet pick-up. All your gear MUST fit into this ONE bag. Your race number will be written on that bag. You must have your race number/ headband with you to claim your bag. No headband, no bag claim! Please do not come back to bag check and say you lost your headband because we cannot give out any bag to anyone. You can come and get your bag multiple times throughout the day for no extra charge.
OVERSIZED BAGS: If you cannot fit everything in the plastic bag provided to you by Spartan Race Hawaii, we will accept a very limited number of oversized bags to check for $10 per bag. These bags will be tagged with your race number.
So it appears that there are restrictions on the bags. We may see this in VT, which would be more restrictive than last year. Nevertheless, prepare to have to use a bag provided by Spartan.
AID STATIONS
There will be at least 1 aid station on the course. There will also be an aid station at the festival area. Come prepared, make sure you are properly hydrated. A hydration pack or water bottles are required to run the Beast and Ultra Beast courses.
It is highly doubtful that the VT ultra will have just one aid station. in 2013, there were four. In 2014 there were around six. They know the dangers of this venue, so it is highly unlikely that the amount of aid stations will be reduced while still upholding these strict standards. Regardless, you may want to bring a good camelbak pack that can store a lot of stuff just in case.
1. Anyone caught littering on course will be disqualified. Please keep the ranch clean, we take this seriously.
2. The penalty for not completing an obstacle is 30 burpees. Full burpees include chest touching the ground at the bottom of the movement and feet leaving the ground at the top of the movement.
3. Cheating in any way will result in immediate disqualification from the race. The following is considered cheating:
a. Not following the specified route and cutting the course
b. Not completing the required burpees when failing an obstacle.
c. Using mechanical aids on the course including, but not limited to, trekking poles (unless otherwise approved by race director)
d. Leaving any gear or clothing you started with on the course and not taking all your belongings with you through the obstacles. Any items you start the race with must pass through the obstacles with you and must not be left on course.
e. “Skirting” (running alongside or around) mud pits, low crawls and any other obstacles.
4. All Beast and Ultra Beast racers must have specific mandatory gear with them or they will be pulled from the course and disqualified:
a. A hydration source which can include a water bottle, hydration bladder, fuel belt, or similar. (highly recommended for Sprint and Super participants!!!)
b. A headlamp and two glow-sticks, with means of attaching the glow- sticks to your pack/person, will be required gear to continue on the course past 6:00pm. Racers will be pulled who are not prepared!
5. This is a chip-timed event. If you lose your timing chip then you must let the timing team know immediately upon crossing the finish line. Participants that lose their timing chip are not guaranteed an official finishing time pending review by race staff.
6. Beast course only: Course cut-off times will be posted on the website and Facebook page once we get closer to race day. We will also include the information in an email to registered participants.
7. The Race Director reserves the right to introduce additional time cut-offs and modify current ones as needed.
8. Course Closing time will be posted on the website and Facebook once we get closer to race day.
These rules are pretty boilerplate and are the same as last year's VT rules. Expect something very much like this. On to the last piece.
RACE NOTES - ULTRA BEAST SPECIFIC
1. All the same rules listed in “Race Rules”.
2. Gear Drop Each Ultra Beast Participant will receive 1 additional Gear Bag to be used for Gear Drop. This bag is different from the Bag Check bag. Please use your Gear Drop bag for your Ultra Beast ESSENTIAL items only. (no cell phones, wallets, cash, etc) This is the only bag allowed in Gear Drop and must be marked with your race number. The Gear Drop Tent will be located on the Ultra Beast Course just outside of the Festival Area. Your bag must be dropped off at this tent 30 minutes BEFORE your wave starts. NO ACCESS TO THE TENT WILL BE ALLOWED AFTER THIS UNTIL AFTER THE ULTRA BEAST WAVE STARTS. NO EXCEPTIONS. ONLY RACERS CAN ACCESS THEIR BAGS. The tent is located at approximately your half-way point of your race in the Ultra Beast Transition Area. You can only access this bag at this point. Please make sure you have everything you’ll need in this bag for your race. Once the race is completed, you must pick your bag up by 10:30pm or we reserve the right to a) keep your gear or b) donate it.
3. Ultra Beast Course Cut-Offs will be announced on the website and on Facebook once we are closer to race day. We will also include the information in an email to registered participants.
4. The Race Director reserves the right to introduce additional time cut-offs and modify current ones as needed.
5. This is designed to be a “self-supported” course. There will not be enough fuel and water on the course to support racers who are not prepared with their own fuel and hydration source. You should carry calories and electrolytes with you on the course. The average racer will take 5-6 hours to complete the Beast course. Come prepared with water and fuel or you’ll have a miserable time and risk not finishing.
6. Water stations with limited supply will be located on the Beast course. Exact number will be posted closer to race week. BE PREPARED TO SELF SUPPORT!
7. Ultra Beast racers will have access to your Gear Bag at the Ultra Beast Transition area which is at the half way point. (Make sure you have water/fluids in your gear bag!)
Interesting. This is pretty similar to what was experienced last year, save for the new bag restrictions. Will we be facing the same restrictions out in VT? It's too soon to tell. Once that information is released, you can expect to find it here.
Our Ultrabeast guide has grown over the years, and continues to account for about half of the overall traffic to this site. This living document has helped guide numerous Ultrabeasters take on the mountains of Killington, and has been constantly modified by other athletes as well. As we rapidly approach our time on the mountain (43 days remaining!), expect this document to get some major updates.
One such update has now been applied. A lot of repeat statements and formatting changes have been applied and some dead links have been removed. Some new Norm (UB course designer) updates have been posted at the bottom of the article as well. Keep your eyes peeled at all times, and enjoy!
Preparing for the Vermont Ultra Beast
My personal experience - 2013
My personal experience - 2014
Regiment Elite Heidi Williams is among the list of Regiment Elite who will be taking on the Vermont Ultra Beast this year. As is customary for this year's roster of brave attendants, it is how her turn to be in the spotlight!
Hello! Tell us a little bit about yourself!
Heidi Williams , age 56 , single , living in Punta gorda fl and saftey Harbor FL. I have 1 son ,Chandler 20 , pre-med at UF smile emoticon , love that kid! I've been in the salon business for over 35 years , and I am currently the distributor for Turbosuper foods performance and recovery powder , gel shots and bars .. great product !!! I will bring some for all of us in the Ultra Beast :) This product is imported from Aulstrailia and is wonderful , I am working on a discount for all of our T3s .
What made you want to sign up for this event in the first place?
I've been an athlete most of my life. Gymnastics , tennis, running, swimming, Gorucks and of course OCR's (and my favorite) T3s, to name a few. The Ultra Beast was a challenge for me in the beginning, so why not try it, master it and come back for more? Every race has its challenges, and this one is no different. I love Vermont and the mountains, the only downfall with this race is the mountains. The obstacles are a breeze compared to the steep incline of the slopes. Resistance training has helped me with this . The Ultra is just one more race to conquer!
The stats for this event are grim. Only about 10% make it. What are you doing to ensure you fall in this rare percentile of finishers?
I have stepped up my running to lots of Ultras from 50ks to over 50 milers to increase my endurance. I have also stepped up my training at the gym (Prime_8 fitness in clearwater FL ) with Parrish McCade . He has increased my upper body strength so I can master the monkey bars , rings , pipes and most of all the tougher obstacles on the course. The log carry , bucket carry and sandbag carries are a breeze now thanks to him :). Throw in some heavy Rucking over bridges and in stairwells along with training with my son in the UF Swamp and doing the stadium stairs with the wreck bags. That will get your ass in gear!
What is the biggest challenge you think you will face out on the course?
One of the biggest challenges for me was the Tarzan ropes under the bridge. I hope I do better on those this year and of course that stretch of the Mountain I named 'The Bitch'. It's a never ending stretch of mountain that goes on forever and ever .... If you're with Neil, bring a trek pole and some extra food, this is where he gets really hungry :)
After this, what are your other goals?
I will be competing in the Ultimate Suck the weekend before the Ultra and from that on to The OCR World and World's Toughest Mudder. After those races I'm gonna concentrate on the Peak 100 and of course sign up for a T3 and hopefully if I have time run the Boston Marathon again with my brother!
Please welcome our four new Regiment ELITES, and our six returning elites! This is the first summer T3 in which there were ZERO DNFs! No matter what was thrown at them, they kept getting back up for more. True determination like this is a rarity indeed. Our team's roster of elites has now gone up to 68! If you'd like to see the timeline of their trials, head over to our T3 live updates page.
Welcome to the tribe. Now get some rest!
Last week we hopped across the Atlantic, now we hop over the Pacific to Japan, where regiment elite Daniel hiked atop Mt. Fuji!
It's been a long tradition among the team elites to bring your patch to some cool places. We've had Neil in Curacao, Kendall in Hawaii, Tim in Belize and much more. Today Regiment Elite John Lenkway (and attendant of the upcoming T3) snapped some awesome shots of his GORUCK and red R patch in Germany:
If you'd like to check out more of our team's adventures, check out our photos page!
Consider this added to the ultrabeast article. Competitor once again delivers incredibly useful content on the different techniques and their pros/cons when it comes to running uphill. Give it a gander here.
This week's athlete highlight covers Kendall Cooper, an amazing athlete who earned his red R last year and continues to strive to make improvements every day.
Hello! Tell us a little bit about yourself!
I’m Kendall Cooper. I discovered OCR/mud running in 2012 at Miami Spartan Super and have been an avid OCR athlete ever since. I’m a father of 3 daughters, an aspiring personal trainer, and a future American Ninja Warrior competitor.
What made you want to sign up for this event in the first place?
I followed the progress of several fellow OCR friends/athletes who attempted the course in 2014; a few completed it and many DNF. They inspired me to see if I could complete the course if I trained hard enough.
The stats for this event are grim. Only about 10% make it. What are you doing to ensure you fall in this rare percentile of finishers?
The combination of a clean diet, strenuous physical and mental endurance training, quality nutrient supplementation, and adequate rest/recovery time will see me through to the finish line. I train six days a week and concentrate on competing in the more demanding OCR/running events (rucks, longer OCR races, Regiment Elite/T3 events, etc.).
What is the biggest challenge you think you will face out on the course?
My biggest challenge will be pacing myself; going fast enough to finish but not so fast that I burn out/become too tired to keep going and DNF.
After this, what are your other goals?
I plan to repeat the UltraBeast in 2016 and earn a Spartan block; I will also train and try out for American Ninja Warrior.
The T3 pre-game challenges and mind games are well under way. So far nine brave souls have registered for this event - mostly consisting of Regiment Elites. If you've just started following this event, here is a nice little summary of what they have been given so far:
Perks and dice
Challenge #1 - Jillian's Birthday Burpees
Challenge #2 - Beat the Heat
Challenge #3 - REGIMENT
If you think you have what it takes, it's not too late to register. Do not think that since challenges have begun that the ship has already sailed and you'd be seen as a slacker. In fact, the more people who join, the more points get added on to the team's points pool. Good luck.
