They came from all over the past two weekends, pumped up and ready to face any number of obstacles, including rocky hills, climbing walls, carrying logs, clambering under treacherous barbed wire, and, finally, jumping through fire to become a finisher.
Sunnyside’s Bar & Grill in Sloatsburg welcomes customers from the recent Spartan Sprint adventure race at Tuxedo Ridge.
The Spartan Sprint at Tuxedo Ridge Ski Center in Sterling Forest has become the stuff of local legend, drawing participants from throughout the Hudson Valley and beyond, and giving many businesses along Rt. 17 a jolt of June customers.
Tuxedo Ridge holds various events throughout the year, such as festivals, BBQs and concerts to get through the warm months leading up to ski season. The Spartan Sprint was first held at Tuxedo Ridge in 2010 and has morphed into a late spring destination event that tests adventure runners and runs for two successive weekends — this year’s race took place on Saturday, May 31 and Sunday June 1, and then again Saturday, June 7 and Sunday, June 8.
Cargo Climb at Spartan Sprint run / Courtesy Riz Papercut
Sunday, June 8 is the final day for this year’s event, which costs some $80 to enter and involves more than 15 obstacles as waves of runners in groups of 200 take off throughout the day in five heats to zig-zag up and around Tuxedo Ridge in a 4.6 mile loop that finishes with a fire jump and medal greeting by race volunteers.
This year NBC Sports was on hand to follow various story lines during the day and capture footage for its Spartan race coverage. One of the featured stories was an Iraqi war veteran running the race with his contingent of follows and supporters. There were also military teams and spirited groups of first responders running the course in matching colors.
The final fire jump to finish the Spartan Sprint.
Saturday’s adventure run featured a group of former contestants from the Biggest Loser program who battled through obstacles, using teamwork and lots of oomph.
The Spartan Sprint has a lively center village area at the finish where racers cash in a ticket for a well-earned free beer and participants and fans take in the action of buff, tattooed competitors side-by-side with wide-eyed first-time runners eager to test their courage on the mountain trail.
