Spartan Race Tahoe - Tips

Spartan Race Tahoe is one of the premier venues on the US Spartan Race calendar. Just a short ride from the center of Lake Tahoe, the venue once hosted the 1960 Olympic Winter Games. If you’re looking for a unique challenge at a one of a kind venue then Spartan Race Tahoe is definitely for you. Just make sure to sign up early, this is a popular event.

To help other racers I’ve compiled a bullet point list of some great tips I found while researching the race for myself.

Spartan Race Tahoe Tips:

Train hills and run on trails. If you don’t have hills do lunges, lots of lunges. You should be able to do 1,000 without breaking for more than a few (10-15) seconds. Look for areas to run/hike with uneven terrain. The inclines in Tahoe are steep with loose gravel and rocks.
If you aren’t training at elevation, make sure to give yourself a few days to acclimate. The race starts at 6,224 feet and can reach 9,000 on the course. Getting there a night early will help, two nights will help more.
Wear less clothing, and bring a windbreaker. you’re going to get wet. The more clothing you have, the worse you will be. It won’t dry off, and you now have 30-80mph winds to deal with while wet.
Don’t wear cold gear or fleece liners. Most people will be wearing compression but don’t make the mistake of getting cold gear or anything with a fleece liner. Once it gets wet, it stays wet. And you stay cold. You want heat gear that will pull the water away from you and dry quickly.
Bring a windbreaker. I cant stress this enough. The wind on the mountain cuts and windbreakers do surprisingly well to keep in the heat. You don’t need anything expensive. A cheap windbreaker from amazon will work great. If it has pockets make sure to cut small wholes at the bottom to help water drain.
Bring a Beanie. I’m a big fan of Spartan Race Beanie and know a few people that swear by a neoprene Beanie for the swim.
Bring Gloves. My favorite OCR race gloves are the Grease Monkey gloves you can find at your local Home Depot. The best thing about these gloves is that they almost work better wet!
Bring a head lamp. Don’t be that person.
Try and get the earliest time slot available. You want to ideally finish the course with the sun still up. The cold just makes things even more interesting.
Mentally prepare yourself for the distance. Expect 16.9 Miles with 4800 ft total gain. This is one of Spartan Race’s premier events so expect every mile to be tough.
Shot blocks/GU / Mustard packs are vital. You will be cold, wet and miserable. You WILL start cramping at some point of the race. Hydrate well the night before the race.