When Thomas Murray decided to enter his first Spartan race back in 2014, he did it in an effort to improve his conditioning.
He said he was at 250 pounds at the time. By the time his training ended and the race began, he was down to 180 pounds.
“I really ran with it,” said Murray. “It got me in shape. I wasn’t in very good shape before the race, but I figured I should probably be able to run at least five kilometres.”
Not only did the Spartan race force him to change his lifestyle so he could finish the race, but the races have become what he called a “healthy addiction,” because it keeps him training and keeps him fit.
His most recent competition was the Montana Beast and Sprint Weekend in Bigfork, Montana, south of Whitefish, on Saturday and Sunday. He competed in the beast event on Saturday, and finished in three hours and 14 minutes, which put him 94th out of 148 competitors in the male elite class, which is the highest level. He was hoping to finish in four hours.
“The beast is a longer race,” said Murray. “It is 21 kilometres, plus obstacles.”
He joined a team of local athletes for the sprint race on Sunday, and they finished in a time of three hours and 20 minutes. He said it was a slower pace, because some of them were in their first Spartan race.
Joining him were Kim Pastachak, Brad Tinant and his wife Tasha, James Lainton and his wife Jamie, Karla Van der Schaaf and her son Quintin, and Bryce Wells and his wife Shanelle.
“The Sunday race was more about having fun with the group and helping people over obstacles and stuff,” said Murray.
He counted six people among the locals who were in their first Spartan race.
The obstacles for the beast competition included overhead monkey bars with oversized grips, overhead rings, deep mud, uphill sandbag carrying, a spear toss and more.
The sprint, meanwhile, didn’t have the overhead obstacles, but there was a cargo net to climb and other physical challenges for Murray and his teammates.
“They’re both very challenging,” said Murray. “They both have a very challenging rope climb that you have to scale. By the end of the day, they’re very muddy and saturated from everyone going up and down them.”
He noted if he misses an obstacle or if he is inaccurate on the spear toss, then he has to complete 30 burpee exercises.
Murray’s first Spartan race was held at the same venue in 2014. He decided to join some friends, including Brad Tinant, on a whim, and he really enjoyed the experience.
The one last weekend was the 10th he has competed in. He tries to attend two each year.
“There’s so much I enjoy about it,” said Murray. “I enjoy the feeling of crossing that finish line. I…started training in January, just really focusing on this race in my training. When I crossed the finish line and they handed me my medal, I knew I was happy with it, and it really gave me a sense of fulfillment and joy.”
It’s a great feeling knowing that he can run through 20 kilometres of bush in the mountains, and complete the obstacles. There aren’t a lot of people who can do it, he said.
“Another aspect, when I’m doing the race with a group of people, is I really love just helping people get through the race, helping my friends and helping complete strangers get over a wall,” said Murray.
He noted he helped a woman who was his grandmother’s age scale a wall, and it felt good to help her. She was thankful for the support, too.
“You have strangers saying ‘Hey, congratulations to you,’ because you already have your medal, and they’re just heading out, and you say good luck to them. It’s just a great community event.”
Murray doesn’t have another race lined up as of yet. There’s a competition in B.C. later this year called the Ultra Beast that boasts 42 kilometres of challenging terrain and obstacles that he would like to enter, but he’s not sure if it will fit into his plans.
“That would be the cream of the crop if I could finish that event,” said Murray.
Not only does a Spartan race keep him in the gym, but it also helps with his nutrition.
Murray spends a lot of time on high intensity interval training, as well as sprinting and jogging.
“As I was building up to the race, every weekend I was running progressively more,” said Murray.
But he would have a week with lighter repetitions, which would allow him to improve his recovery time.
Murray said he has to dedicate a lot of time to prepare for a Spartan race, and he was particularly focused on being in peak condition for the race last weekend. His girlfriend, Stephanie Power, sacrifices a lot so he can train, he said, and she also offers a lot of encouragement prior to the competitions.
