Team Adrenaline pictured left-right, back: Logan Davis, Ben Iremonger, Travis Graham, John O’Connell and Jeff Irwin; front: Craig Holloway and Elizabeth Turner. Not pictured: Taryn and Brody Schilling.
Team Adrenaline pictured left-right, back: Logan Davis, Ben Iremonger, Travis Graham, John O’Connell and Jeff Irwin; front: Craig Holloway and Elizabeth Turner. Not pictured: Taryn and Brody Schilling.
On Aug. 10, across the epic landscape of Washougal MX Park, thousands of people put their fitness to the test with a race called the Spartan Sprint. The race is part of a series of races held by the Spartan Race company, and consisted of three separate categories: Open, Age Group and Elites, with the latter two made up of runners who paid extra to start at specific times prior to the majority of racers. The Spartans, as the racers are nicknamed, overcame a course that stretched three miles and contained 20 unique and challenging obstacles throughout.
Among the listed 3,867 competitors, a band of Hood River locals under the name “Team Adrenaline” raced in the Open division; listed placements are respective to said division and not all competitors. Benjamin Iremonger recorded the top time for Team Adrenaline, finishing the race in 42:47 and fifth overall, including second in his age division, M25-29.
He was followed shortly after by Logan Davis and Jeff Irwin who finished in 45:25 and 46:00, respectively, taking 20th and 23rd overall. Davis was third in his age division, M30-34 and Irwin was first in his age division, M55-59. Elizabeth Turner was the next Team Adrenaline member to finish, coming in at 1:04:15 and taking 400th overall. Craig Holloway finished in 1:11:49 and placed 751st, John O’Connell completed the course in 1:13:06 and took 825th and Travis Graham followed him in 1:14:47 to take 914th. Closing for Team Adrenaline were Taryn and Brody Schilling who completed the course together in 1:35:52 and 1:35:53 respectively, placing 2148th and 2150th.
The 20 obstacles included in the race each presented a different challenge to racers, which coupled with the three miles, proved a brutal physical and mental tax. Obstacles included were the Atlas Carry, where competitors carried a large, heavy stone across a set distance; the Dunk Wall, where racers briefly submerge themselves in thick, muddy water to cross under a wooden wall; and the Luminox Hercules Hoist, where racers must pull a rope to raise a tied weight to the top of a structure and then lower it slowly to avoid failure.
There were others that were more straightforward, such as the six-foot wall, the spear throw (Spartan for sure) and the hurdles. Each was different than the last and required specific muscular strength and coordination, as well as cardiovascular endurance due to the length of the course.
Spartan Race hosts events throughout the country and have been franchised in dozens of other countries. To learn more, visit spartan.com.
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