8 Epic Things That You Do Just Because You're a Spartan
In The Spartan Way, Spartan founder and CEO Joe De Sena offers 10 principles to help you eat better, train better, think better, and BE better. The 11th principle, which isn't in the book, is COMMUNITY. The Spartan community is our lifeblood. It's what keeps us inspired, keeps us motivated, and keeps us in the right frame of mind to crush each and every day.
Below is a small sampling of what our community has to offer, and what makes it so damn unbreakable.
Being a Spartan isn’t just a lifestyle choice. For the millions of people around the world who live as Spartans 24/7, it defines who they are.
But how do you know if you’re a true Spartan? Well, like every tribe, there are a few key factors and weird habits that bind you to your people. Here are some of the specific things that you probably do just because you’re a Spartan.
How Do You Know When You're Part of the Spartan Community?
You Reserve Your Weekends for Racing
Sleep in on a Saturday?! You’re joking, right? Not when you have a five-hour drive before arriving for your early morning Spartan race start on that course that you've always wanted to try.
Related: 10 Reasons Why Doing a Spartan Race Will Change Your Life
And even on the odd weekend when you’re not racing, the day starts at sunup and you’re not going to miss a minute of it!
Your Best Friends Know How to Sweat
Friday night beers with friends might do it for some folk, but Spartans prefer pals who are as excited as them about a 5 a.m. run or a weekend workout that’ll push them to their limit.
That’s not to say that Spartans don’t enjoy post-race partying — Hell, you play as hard as you work. But you surround yourself with people who put in the hard work first. These are the buds who inspire you and who you also know that you can rely on to get you out of a hole. (And if we’re talking Ultra or Agoge, we mean that literally!)
Love Is Saying Aroo
A romantic weekend taking in the sights of a have-it-all-city might be some people's idea of bliss, but nothing says “I love you” to a Spartan like a date spent crushing it on the course. Or — just as romantic — your other half hollering encouragement from the sidelines as you spend yet another weekend surging towards your Trifecta.
Related: 'Dunk Wall Kissers' Race in Wedding Attire to Mark First Anniversary
The Struggle Is Real ... and You LOVE It
Part of the Spartan creed is using challenges as opportunities to grow. That’s why you’re constantly on the lookout for ways to test your mettle. Cold showers, dawn workouts, endurance events, pushing for the impossible — the more that you can stick it to your comfort zone, the more empowered that you feel.
You Have a Thing for Shoes
…But not just any shoes. We’re talking running shoes — the best types for trails, Stadion races, city streets, training, climbing, walking when carrying, running when wet, Sprints, Beasts, and Ultras. Whatever the terrain, weather, or type of race, when you’re a true Spartan, you always have the pro footwear ready to go!
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You Get Excited When You Spot Your People
Do you avoid meeting your partner’s work colleagues like the plague? Duck out of extended family dinners when you can? Yeah, meeting people can be tough. Unless, of course, they’re other Spartans.
In fact, even if you think that you spot a stranger in the supermarket wearing the familiar logo on their clothing, you’re chasing them through the aisles to shake their hand and find out where they race and train, and talk some Spartan shop.
Related: Joining a Team Optimizes Performance, and There's Science to Prove It
That’s because as a supportive, super-friendly, unshakable community, Spartan racers are always delighted to meet “their people” — the ones who’ve stepped up and committed to the Spartan way.
You Have 10 Items on Your Bucket List (and They’re All Races)
Some people dream of climbing Mount Killimanjaro; You dream of conquering the legendary slopes of Killington. But the Vermont home of Spartan racing is not the only course that you’ve resolved to run before you kick the bucket.
Related: The Spartan Bucket List: 10 Things Every Spartan MUST Do Before They Die
Other mythic courses that cause you to choke up with emotion every time that you think of them include Lake Tahoe, the site of the North American Championship, the site of past Ultra World Championships in Iceland, and — of course — Sparta, Greece, Spartan’s spiritual home.
You’re Proud of Your Medals — Because They Say That You’re a Spartan
Medals don’t make the man (or woman), but you’re oh-so-proud to display them regardless. Not because you want to gloat, but because you officially became a Spartan when you crossed that first race finish line. And you never want to lose sight of the person that you’ve been becoming ever since.
