The Biggest Event on the 2020 Spartan Calendar Is LIVE. Here's What You Need to Know.
In a year quite unlike any other, Spartan is putting on an event unlike any other. In the wake of the cancellation of the Spartan Trifecta World Championship — held annually in Sparta, Greece — Spartan is holding the event virtually.
On Nov. 6-8, Spartan will host its first-ever Virtual Trifecta World Championship. The virtual world championship — it also happens to be the final virtual race of 2020, as well as the lone Spartan world championship — will feature the three distances that make up a Trifecta: a Sprint, Super, and Beast. You can do one of the distances, as per usual, or complete all three races over the course of the weekend and earn the coveted Trifecta.
No Qualification and No Entry Fee
No qualification is required, and there is no entry free. This is the final event of 2020, and we want our entire Spartan community — from newbie to seasoned veteran to Death Race finisher — to experience this once-in-a-lifetime event together. And for those aspiring Trifecta Tribe members, this is your last — and likely only, considering the number of COVID-related postponements and cancellations — opportunity to complete a Trifecta in 2020.
MORE INFO: The 2020 Spartan Virtual Trifecta World Championship
"This is the first time we’ve ever held a virtual world championship," Spartan Vice President of Product David Watson says. "Despite the fact that we won’t be in Greece this year, more people than ever will be able to experience the magic of Sparta and the Trifecta World Championship by taking part virtually. This event has all the elements for a massive race, and there is incredible collector's edition swag that you’d usually have to fly to Greece to earn.
"Taking part will pay off in the future as well, as all finishers will earn a spot at the actual Sparta event in Greece in 2021."
The Obstacles and Distances
To complete a Sprint, you must complete a 5K run and four rounds of each obstacle. To complete a Super, you must run 10K and complete five rounds of obstacles. To complete the Beast, you need to run 21K and finish six rounds of obstacles.
The obstacles are as follows: 10 burpees, 20 side lunges (10 on each side), 10 bodyweight squats, 10 push-ups, and a 20-second elbow plank. To view each obstacle, click here.
Submit Your Time Via Your Spartan Account
In earlier iterations of our virtual races in 2020, competitors submitted their results manually. For the Virtual Trifecta World Championship, we're stepping it up a notch to ensure that every single result is accurate. Participants will submit their official times via their Spartan account. Using a wearable device — you can track your time using such apps as Strava or Garmin, or an Apple Watch — your time will be linked to your account, which will filter the legitimate from the illegitimate and order the results. Submitting your time via your Spartan account is free. (If you haven’t signed up for your Spartan account yet, click here to do so.)
The Nitty-Gritty Details
To be eligible for Elite submission, you are required to begin your race at the following times: Friday, Nov. 6 at 11 a.m. ET (Open), Saturday, No. 7 at 11 a.m. ET (Super), and Sunday, Nov. 8 at 11 a.m. ET (Beast). Elite finishers must submit their results on the day of their race.
Open participants don't have specified start times, but they must submit their time between midnight (local time) on Friday, Nov. 6 and 11:59 (local time) on Sunday, Nov. 8.
The Swag
We have a ton of badass swag available for finishers. The Spartan Trifecta World Championship Sprint Kit includes a medal, an exclusive finisher T-shirt, a Trifecta wedge, and a sponsor swag box.
If you complete all three races over the course of the weekend, you're eligible for the exclusive World Championship Trifecta Kit, consisting of two new epic shirts, three Trifecta wedges, an exclusive 4-inch championship medal, an iconic Delta plate, and a sponsor swag box. To check out the kits, click here.
An Event 2,500 Years in the Making
Because it's been such a trying year, it's easy to forget that 2020 is actually a monumental one in the history of our company, and in the history of the ancient Spartans. On March 16, we celebrated our 10-year anniversary. Going back a bit further, 2020 marks the 2,500-year anniversary of the Battle of Thermopylae, in which 300 Spartans fought to the death despite being massively outnumbered by the Persians.
To celebrate a decade of Spartan races, and the ancient Spartans that inspired us to give it every last ounce of energy and passion until the bitter end, we're offering Virtual Trifecta World Championship finishers the chance of a lifetime: to be immortalized in Sparta, Greece.
MORE: The Spartan's Ultimate Guide to Training for a Trifecta in 2021
This will be done in one of two ways.
Become Immortalized in Sparta for Eternity (for Real!)
Via a Commemorative Time Capsule
Every Spartan who completes a race at the Virtual Trifecta World Championship will have their name included in a commemorative time capsule, which will be buried in Sparta, Greece. This is for finishers of any race type.
Via the Wall of Legends
This has long been a vision of Spartan founder and CEO Joe De Sena's, and following the maiden Virtual Trifecta World Championship, it will become a reality. The top 300 finishers — 150 men and 150 women — will have their names engraved on a Wall of Legends in Sparta. They will now live on in Spartan lore, alongside the 300 Spartans who fought for their lives at the Battle of Thermopylae, and their names will be on display at all future Trifecta World Championships.
"I've gotta pinch myself every time I go to Sparta," De Sena says. “We're standing on those shoulders of those 300. They knew they were going to die, and here we are in this city, in this ancient city next to the ruins, and the city is allowing us to come every year and have a world championship. And now it's allowing us to put up these beautiful, rusty steel plates with the legends' names etched into them for eternity. Who gets to do that?!"