The incredible stories you hear by just striking up a conversation with a stranger in the parking lot.
I was changing shoes after running my own race and noticed this guy’s ripped up wheel cover and I had to ask him about it.
Turns out this guy’s been running Spartan races forever, that day was his 50th race, and the wheel cover was the only thing that survived after a drunk driver completely totaled his old Jeep 👀
The Spartan community is unmatched.
Month: January 2026
Boston Para Athlete is the Most Inspirational Sight You’ll See All Year
When on-site for an event, the days are often long in between planning content, scouting locations, attempting to stay on the Run of Show schedule, capturing every key moment from the speed and brutal efficiency of the elite pro athletes to the struggles and joy of first timers, dealing with delays and reschedules, missing a shot, cutting up footage, editing in real-time, and keeping the buzz going the whole time on social.
But, take a step back from all that to remain present, really watch everything happening, and sometimes you stumble onto the most inspirational thing you’ll see all year.
It was truly incredible to see this young athlete *crushing* the Fenway Spartan Stadion course with nothing but a smile on his face.
POV: Run a Spartan Race at Fenway Park
One of these days I’ll hit that damn Spear Throw…
Shoutout to Mark Zuckerberg and the Ray-Ban Meta shades for helping me shoot some killer POV videos at Fenway Park while squeezing in a Spartan race of my own (in between running around capturing content all weekend).
To Really Understand Your Brand, It’s Key to Walk the Walk
To really understand your brand and your product it’s key to not only talk the talk, but walk the walk. Experience what your customers experience to really get a sense of the brand and its perception. With that in mind I’ve run a few Spartan races, never having done any before joining the team. As a moderately active guy, avid runner, lifting weights a few times a week, I had a decent base of athleticism going into my first race.
Right?
Anddd I completely underestimated how hard a basic skill like climbing a rope or scaling a wall can become after several miles of running, crawling, pushing, pulling, and carrying.
Persistence and grit become that much more important. Without one or the other you’re going to have a rough day, but without either you’re cooked.
The athlete shown slamming into the Stairway to Sparta obstacle in this video later told us this was her first Spartan Race and sheepishly mentioned she had no idea how to do some of the obstacles so she was banking on persistence and grit. Now she could have easily admitted defeat, accepted the penalty loop, and been on her way. Probably would have been quicker too.
Sometimes you just want to prove it to yourself that you can conquer any obstacle life throws in front of you, on or off the course.
That’s exactly what this athlete did as she crashed into the wall time after time before securing the grips and hoisting herself up and over the towering A-frame wall.
Persistence. And. Grit.
Moral victory?
Nope.
She continued to bomb through the course, applying equal parts persistence and grit, and ended up climbing the podium to take 1st place in her Age Group along with some well deserved hardware.
Covering a World Championship at 10,000 Feet Above Sea Level
🏈 Growing up watching the NFL, every time a Broncos game was on TV you’d see visiting players on the sidelines sucking on oxygen masks in between plays, clearly not used to the altitude of Denver (5,280 ft). I remember always thinking, “Dude it cannot be that bad!”
🏆 Well, now picture Mammoth Lakes in California, double that altitude (10,000+ ft), with athletes racing up and down a mountain, and you’ve got the first ever Spartan Super World Championship.
🏔️ Earlier this month I was fortunate enough to be covering this inaugural event and I was *shocked* at how quickly I gassed out. Roaming around at 10,000 ft with zero time spent acclimating had me sucking air just running between obstacles to capture content.
🥇 Kudos to the truly world class athletes that bombed through a 10K course that was 30 degrees at the start line, featured 20 obstacles of carries, climbs, and brutal barbed wire crawls (not including the penalty burpees), up and down a mountain, while running flat out the whole time.
Insane.
Thinking back to those NFL players with the oxygen masks…can I get in on that?
How to Capture Content While Covering Elite Athletes On the Move
🏆 Recently I had the opportunity to cover the 2025 Pan American Championship in Seattle and I am always in awe of the relentless pace of these elite Spartan athletes. Despite taking on the Beast (13+ miles & 30 obstacles), with stretches up mountains, through rivers, and gnarly terrain the entire way, the top athletes never slowed down or shifted into a lower gear.
⏰ Although it’s a 13+ mile race, there’s no time for setting up the perfect shot or getting a second take. The athletes are flying through the course as fast as possible with real prize money on the line. So it takes extensive pre-race planning, understanding what obstacles are where on the course, how you’ll get around the property, while still getting up close to capture the emotions and struggles experienced during a grueling race.
🐊 Thanks to the build team and course markers, I was able to hitch a ride and capture a lot of footage on the back of a Gator bombing around the wilderness of the Pacific Northwest.
🐟 The coolest part of the weekend though? Getting ahead of the leaders and setting up on the bank of the Snohomish River right before the action arrived, taking a moment to look around and appreciate the silence with the only noise coming from the salmon and trout leaping out of the water.
Red Zmudzien 