Fort Carson hosts annual Spartan Race

Thousands of runners are testing their strength and stamina at this year’s Spartan Race.

The course is nearly 5 miles long and includes more than 20 obstacles.

“You don’t really know which obstacles are going to be there,” runnerOrla Walsh said. “You do a little bit of heavy bucket carries, rope climbs, grip work, anything you can think of.”

Professional runners and beginners took on the grueling course, and many of them had difficulty with a rope-swinging obstacle.

“It changes you mentally, it changes you physically, it pushes you through the entire course,”Isaiah Vidal said. He finished in first place for the men’s elite group. “You learn to observe and overcome obstacles.”

Runners said the Fort Carson course is more difficult than it was last year, but the race is still rewarding.

“We all have reasons we do the Spartan Race.I race for my mother and my best friend that I’ve lost,”Walsh said. “The Spartan community is an amazing family, you can reach out to any of them and they will support you any way they can.”