Saying the word “easy” is a stretch. As no Spartan Ultra is ever “easy”. But when it comes to the 13 events we saw in 2024 across the United States and Canada. We wanted to find out where they ranked.
At the end of the day, what someone considers the “hardest” or “easiest” is always going to be subjective.
But we’re doing our best to break through and make it as objective as we can (even though it will never be possible).
The following criteria and weighting were used in our analysis.
- Course Elevation Gain – 25%
- Grade Adjusted Pace (GAP) for the average of the top 15% competitive finishers – 30%
- Grade Adjusted Pace (GAP) for the average of the Open Heats – 20%
- Did not finish (DNF) rate – 25%
So. Let’s start it off. And look at the easiest Spartan Ultra race of 2024.
13. San Jose, CA
If you hit up this race, you may have come out with a new Spartan Ultra Personal Best. As it was the flattest and fastest you can get.
- Event Date: March 30th, 2024
- Event Location: Oakdale, California
- Course Distance: 32.33miles
- First Place Time: 5:19
- Total Participants: 257
- Total Finishers: 246
- Vertical Gain: 13th Place – 1,643ft
- GAP: 13th Place – 10:23 per mile
- Open Heat GAP: 10th Place – 18:49 per mile
- DNF: 12th Place – 4.28%
12. Fayetteville
Heading to North Carolina, we have the 2nd flattest Spartan Ultra in Fayetteville.
- Event Date: May 4th, 2024
- Event Location: Spring Lake, North Carolina
- Course Distance: 33.67miles
- First Place Time: 5:41
- Total Participants: 658
- Total Finishers: 614
- Vertical Gain: 12th Place – 2,320ft
- GAP: 11th Place – 11:20 per mile
- Open Heat GAP: 12th Place – 18:37 per mile
- DNF: 9th Place – 6.69%
11. Central California
We’re back in California for number 11. But out here in Santa Margarita racers had some hills to tackle this time around.
- Event Date: November 2nd, 2024
- Event Location: Santa Margarita, California
- Course Distance: 32.2miles
- First Place Time: 5:28
- Total Participants: 336
- Total Finishers: 319
- Vertical Gain: 6th Place – 4,550ft
- GAP: 12th Place – 10:43 per mile
- Open Heat GAP: 11th Place – 18:38 per mile
- DNF: 11th Place – 5.06%
10. Newberry
The final Spartan Ultra of the year in the charming little town of Newberry, where history meets good old-fashioned Southern hospitality.
- Event Date: November 16th, 2024
- Event Location: Newberry, South Carolina
- Course Distance: 31.13miles
- First Place Time: 5:30
- Total Participants: 638
- Total Finishers: 601
- Vertical Gain: 11th Place – 3,661ft
- GAP: 8th Place – 12:01 per mile
- Open Heat GAP: 9th Place – 18:50 per mile
- DNF: 10th Place – 5.80%
9. Montana
Montana was a big disappointment this year. And we should include an asterisk on this one.
Due to snow and course conditions this year, the course had to be adjusted. And racers ended up running 4 loops of the Super course, totaling only 25.17 miles.
It was still a Spartan Ultra for the year so we’ll continue to include it. But going forward, we expect this one should float somewhere in the 6-8th place range. As a full course should include more vert gain, slightly slower times and a higher DNF %.
- Event Date: June 1st, 2024
- Event Location: Bozeman, Montana
- Course Distance: 25.17miles
- First Place Time: 4:21
- Total Participants: 279
- Total Finishers: 276
- Vertical Gain: 8th Place – 3,918ft
- GAP: 10th Place – 11:48 per mile
- Open Heat GAP: 3rd Place – 20:52 per mile
- DNF: 13th Place – 1.08%
8. Colorado Springs
Fort Carson’s got a few mountains, the military and a whole lot of character as it comes in at a solid number 8 on our list.
- Event Date: June 15th, 2024
- Event Location: Fort Carson, Colorado
- Course Distance: 30.22miles
- First Place Time: 5:04
- Total Participants: 239
- Total Finishers: 203
- Vertical Gain: 7th Place – 4,239ft
- GAP: 9th Place – 11:57 per mile
- Open Heat GAP: 7th Place – 19:25 per mile
- DNF: 7th Place – 15.06%
7. Dallas
Like a town straight out of a wild west movie, where you can sip sweet tea and listen to tales that would make your grandpa proud, Granbury Texas is up next.
- Event Date: October 19th, 2024
- Event Location: Granbury, Texas
- Course Distance: 30.51miles
- First Place Time: 5:09
- Total Participants: 630
- Total Finishers: 583
- Vertical Gain: 9th Place – 3,785ft
- GAP: 7th Place – 12:08 per mile
- Open Heat GAP: 5th Place – 20:01 per mile
- DNF: 8th Place – 7.46%
6. Hawaii
Much like Montana, Hawaii was also a disappointment this year for course distance. Coming up at only 26.09miles for this one. So much like Montana, expect this course to be much more difficult in 2025!
- Event Date: August 17th, 2024
- Event Location: Waialua, Hawaii
- Course Distance: 26.09miles
- First Place Time: 4:53
- Total Participants: 339
- Total Finishers: 286
- Vertical Gain: 10th Place – 3,714ft
- GAP: 6th Place – 12:57 per mile
- Open Heat GAP: 1st Place – 23:15 per mile
- DNF: 6th Place – 15.63%
5. Kelowna
These Canadian Spartan Ultras are no joke. They only had two events, but both are showing up in the top 5. Here we have Kelowna, which had tough weather conditions and high DNF rates.
- Event Date: August 24th, 2024
- Event Location: Kelowna, BC
- Course Distance: 32.36miles
- First Place Time: 7:35
- Total Participants: 81
- Total Finishers: 53
- Vertical Gain: 4th Place – 8,430ft
- GAP: 4th Place – 13:06 per mile
- Open Heat GAP: 13th Place – 17:30 per mile
- DNF: 2nd Place – 34.57%
4. Mont-Tremblant
If you’re wanting a mountainous course over the summer. Mont-Tremblant is the place to go.
- Event Date: June 15th, 2024
- Event Location: Mont-Tremblant, QC
- Course Distance: 31.95miles
- First Place Time: 7:08
- Total Participants: 190
- Total Finishers: 157
- Vertical Gain: 2nd Place – 11,122ft
- GAP: 5th Place – 12:58 per mile
- Open Heat GAP: 8th Place – 19:18 per mile
- DNF: 5th Place – 17.37%
3. Cincinnati
Here’s one of the newbies to the Spartan Ultra events. It was Spartan’s second year out here near Cincy, and 1st year with an Ultra distance. And those course directors did not disappoint all you racers. They made that course brutal.
The heat, the constant up and down on those hills, and the long carries contributed to a very difficult ultra this year.
Check out our post from earlier this year talking about it.
A Little Mountain in Cincy Just Entered the “Hardest Spartan Ultra” Debate
- Event Date: June 8th, 2024
- Event Location: Lawrenceburg, Indiana
- Course Distance: 33.04miles
- First Place Time: 6:56
- Total Participants: 322
- Total Finishers: 254
- Vertical Gain: 5th Place – 7,957ft
- GAP: 2nd Place – 13:48 per mile
- Open Heat GAP: 6th Place – 19:54 per mile
- DNF: 4th Place – 21.12%
2. Tri-State
A classic Spartan Ultra venue. The Tri-State New Jersey venue has been around for over a decade and one of everyone’s favorites.
- Event Date: April 27th, 2024
- Event Location: Vernon, New Jersey
- Course Distance: 32.3miles
- First Place Time: 6:55
- Total Participants: 452
- Total Finishers: 350
- Vertical Gain: 3rd Place – 10,533ft
- GAP: 3rd Place – 13:38 per mile
- Open Heat GAP: 4th Place – 20:37 per mile
- DNF: 3rd Place – 22.57%
1. Killington
And here we have it. The hardest Spartan Ultra of 2024 in the US/Canada. For those of you that follow this sport. This one’s no surprise.
Checking the boxes on the most difficult for 3 out of the 4 criteria. And the only one it missed was Open Heat grade adjusted pacing, where Hawaii actually came in 1st.
But let’s be real. The reason Hawaii was so high is probably just from racers stopping every 5 minutes and taking a look at the beautiful scenery.
- Event Date: September 14th, 2024
- Event Location: Killington, Vermont
- Course Distance: 31.44miles
- First Place Time: 8:48
- Total Participants: 500
- Total Finishers: 216
- Vertical Gain: 1st Place – 14,985ft
- Top 15% GAP: 1st Place – 16:10 per mile
- Open Heat GAP: 2nd Place – 21:17 per mile
- DNF: 1st Place – 56.8%
Stats and Data
The following is an explanation of how the data was collected for the 4 criteria used.
1.) Vertical Gain & Miles: Strava data from 10 athletes completing the race were collected. The lowest and highest data point was removed as outliers and the remaining 8 were used to find the average Miles and Gain for the race.
2.) Top 15% GAP: The total finishers for the race X 15% gave us the number of top racers to review. Then the Spartan Results page was used to collect the top 15% finish times, and the average of their finish times were used. RunBundle.com was utilized to calculate the GAP.
3.) Open Avg GAP: The Spartan Results page was used to collect Open Heat finish times. Stratified random sampling was used to find the average finish times. RunBundle.com was utilized to calculate the GAP.
4.) DNF %: The Spartan Results page was used to find the difference between total finishers and total participants.
The criteria were weighted almost equally. With the GAP being an exception. The top 15% average finish time, pace and GAP should represent more relevant data about the potential to finish the course, as these athletes are expected to be serious about racing. While the average finish time, pace and GAP on the Open Heats have the potential to be more volatile with their fitness abilities, purpose for being out there and experience level. Therefore, the Top 15% was weighted at 30% and Open Heats at 20%.
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