7 Extreme Endurance Events That Outdoor Enthusiasts NEED to Do This Spring
It's one thing to be tough, to train consistently, and run a couple of miles on a neatly-paved road. But what do you do when distances that previously felt unreachable now feel like an easy training run, or when your thirst for a challenge feels truly unquenchable? These are the questions that the ultra-endurance athletes and unbreakable beings behind Peak Races and Spartan Extreme Endurance set out to answer when they began creating some of the world's most INSANE events imaginable.
Related: The 2023 Spartan Race Schedule: Dates, Details, Venues, and More
These events are designed to push you past your breaking limit, to reconstruct human potential, and to build iron resolve. They are not for the faint of heart or will, and, in some cases, you may even have to sign a waiver acknowledging that death is a real possibility. If you truly think you have what it takes to tackle something so extreme, here are eight epic extreme endurance events to try this spring season.
Extreme Endurance Events That Ultra-Endurance Athletes Should Try This Spring
April 15-16, 2023
Charlotte 4- and 12-Hour Hurricane Heats
The Hurricane Heat is a mainly team-based endurance event that was born in 2011 when Hurricane Irene made race conditions practically impossible — except, of course, for a select few die-hard Spartans who showed up anyway to, quite literally, weather the storm. Today, Hurricane Heats accompany traditional obstacle course race weekends across the country and world, and feature grueling physical tasks, problem solving, leadership challenges, and individual performance tests under extreme conditions.
April 22, 2023
Palm Beaches 4-Hour Hurricane Heat
Related: What Actually Happens During a 24-Hour Hurricane Heat?
May 10-13, 2023
Bloodroot Ultra: Pittsfield, VT
The Bloodroot Ultra will push everyone from emerging athletes to veteran ultrarunners to their limits and change your perspective on what you believe yourself capable of achieving. With distances from 10K to 200-mile individual and team relay races, this is an incredible event to not only explore the mid-spring forest bloom and meet runners of all backgrounds, but to meet your true self as well.
May 25-27, 2023
La Ruta Stage Race: Costa Rica
In 1993, Mountain Bike Hall of Fame inductee Roman Urbina created the world's first stage mountain bike race, La Ruta, in Costa Rica. It has since become widely regarded as the toughest cycling event on the entire planet. You kick off the race in the hot Caribbean lowlands on the Atlantic coast and pass through 20 microclimates before finishing at the Pacific Ocean three days later.
“La Ruta is a soul-swapping hard, exotically wild, singular journey across laughably steep inclines and hysterically steep descents," 2013 finisher Chris Case said. "You go through jungles, plantations, villages, across ecosystems and temperate zones, over volcanoes and beaches and terrain that you never quite imagined you could ride on a bike."
May 27, 2023
La Siesta: Costa Rica
In La Siesta, you'll traverse the most challenging section of the La Ruta course on your mountain bike through 100K of deep jungle and complex, unique landscapes, including over 3,000 feet of elevation gain.
June 3, 2023
Monterey 4-Hour Hurricane Heat
June 10, 2023
Cincinnati 4-Hour Hurricane Heat
