Last year, I wrote about this little ski hill in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, that snuck up on the Spartan Ultra scene. And later calling it the third-hardest Ultra in the U.S. in 2024, with 7,798 feet of elevation and some heavy carries that had folks straight up crying out on course. But, y’all, this past weekend, that same Cincinnati race came back even crazier?!?!—louder, meaner, and ready to ruin everybody’s day. That Ultra was 36.2 miles of pure, muddy, hill-climbing chaos, with 9,179 feet of vert and enough rain to make Noah start building an ark.

It wasn’t a race—it was a dang survival mission.

Check out last year’s post about the 2024 course here: A Little Mountain in Cincy Just Entered the “Hardest Spartan Ultra” Chat.

Mother Nature Turned This Course Into A Freakin’ Slip’N Slide

Picture this: you’re out there in the woods, thinking you’re ready for a nice little Ultra, maybe 31 miles like last year.

Nope.
Spartan said, “Hold my beer,” and stretched this bad boy to 36.2 miles.
Then the skies opened up, dumped rain all weekend, and turned Perfect North Slopes into a mud pit that’d make a hog jealous.

Trails? More like chocolate syrup rivers.
Hills? Straight-up slides that had folks butt-scootin’ down like they’re auditioning for a bad waterpark commercial.
Climbing back up? Good luck, brother—even the most lugged out pair of VJ shoes wouldn’t get you up those mud hills.

And the obstacles and terrain?!?!
Oh, they got crazy with it. They threw in a double sandbag carry on the ultra-loop, which you had to do twice, like some kinda medieval punishment.

Then there’s this uphill barbed wire crawl—racer Aaron Yoder called it:

“Heartbreak Hill”

And I’m pretty sure it broke more than just hearts.

Dan Verbene, who won the Elite Race says:

Dude this was brutal AF!! It was 36 miles which surprised everyone and we had to do the ultra loop two times this time around which is why it took the 3 of us 10 hours to finish! And there was a double sandbag on that ultra loop! It rained here all weekend and the course was a complete mud fest and so much bushwacking my legs are on fire right now. This was tougher than NJ!

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Mud, Water, and Straight-Up Insanity

The rain didn’t just make it wet—it turned this course into a straight-up horror show.

Michael Clift, one of the racers says:

Whoa – that was a rough one… A wildly muddy course that was supercharged by some serious overnight storms. It rained enough to make two river crossings borderline dangerous because of the speed of the water… maybe even over the line… in some ways this little mountain in Indiana reminded me of old Spartan Hawaii venue because the sloppy, muddy trails made running on side slopes annoying, descending scary, and climbing almost impossible. There was no getting away from it either – you were either fighting the slop or bushwacking the whole way.

Racer Dustin Bowers almost got yeeted away by that water saying:

That mud was worse than the last Ohio course which is known for mud… and that first stream crossing was ridiculous, I almost got swept away… like literally someone had to help me.

Everywhere you went, it was mud, mud, and more mud. Ella Scaduto was out there thinkin’ she’d never escape saying:

I thought I was never going to get off that mountain. Gonna have nightmares about that place for awhile.

Michael Sanford, who came back after swearin’ off the venue last year, was so over it.

Worse Race Ever, we came to Cincinnatti 2023 and swore we wouldn’t come back but it was my Birthday weekend and said hey, let’s redo it. But I promise I will NEVER come to that venue again, this course was past Ridiculous, I like a challenge but this was not that.

Why Cincy’s That One Crazy Ex You Can’t Forget

So what makes this Cincinnati Ultra such a dang beast?!?!

It’s that little ski hill that don’t look like much but hits like a freight train. Last year, it was the elevation and carries that got folks. This year, Spartan turned it up to 11 with more miles, more vert, and a whole lotta mud. It’s like the race directors sat down and said, “How can we make these folks hate their life choices?” Throw in some fast-moving rivers, a double sandbag carry, and a barbed wire crawl that feels like a personal attack, and you got a course that’s already got racers whispering it might be the hardest Ultra in the U.S. for 2025.

Just how hard was it?!?!
Last year we compared it against New Jersey, and Jersey edged it out by a little. But let’s do that same comparison. New Jersey Ultra from 6’ish weeks ago to the Cincy Ultra from this past weekend. Check it out.

The DNF’s, the finish times, the Pro fastest times, the distance, the max steepness.
However you want to compare it, most factors are in favor of Cincinnati this year as being the HARDER race.

For Reference. Dan Verbene won this past weekend with a time of 9:59. Dan was also in New Jersey a month’ish ago for the Jersey Ultra and came in 4th overall with a time of 8:14. That time difference is unreal!

Final Thoughts: A Race That’ll Live in Infamy

This 2025 Cincinnati Spartan Ultra wasn’t just a race—it was a full-on saga. You got folks like Michael Sanford swearin’ they’re done forever, and others like Dan Verbene who’ll probably be back just to prove they can survive it again.

It’s the kinda thing that leaves you with stories you’ll tell at the bar for years, or maybe scars you’ll hide from your therapist. Either way, that little mountain in Cincy ain’t so little anymore. It’s a legend, a muddy, miserable, beautiful monster that’ll have you questioning your life while you’re crawlin’ through that barbed wire.

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Y’all run this thing? Got any stories from the mud fest? Drop ’em in the comments, and let’s talk about how crazy this race was. Or, you know, tell me why you’re never settin’ foot in Lawrenceburg again. AROO!

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