My short bio: Joe De Sena is the founder of Spartan Race. Tony Matesi has led the Hurricane Heat for years and now acts as Spartan's Director of Endurance.

My Proof: https://www.facebook.com/groups/WestCoastSpartan/permalink/1681480492135384/

Comments: 158 • Responses: 20  • Date: 

Manaleaking2 karma

Hey Joe, I bought and read your book! How has your marketing strategy changed since 2 years ago?

spartantough-15 karma

Thanks for reading. The biggest change is believing more in my team and letting them do what they do best. You're only as strong as your weakest links, and we don't have weak links. - Joe

davidmichaelmalloy1 karma

Joe/Tony - is it part of your strategy to make this race more challenging each year? By the way, I absolutely LOVED the "mental" obstacle from last year's Sprint in Tuxedo, NY. It was a great change of pace and had many of us singing songs with our "code."

spartantough3 karma

We want to offer more options for you to continue to get out of your comfort zone. The Endurance events do just that. -Joe

misteral1 karma

Hi Joe (and Tony)

Canadian here! I'm wondering, why do international races have different standards than the US ones? For example, the Hercules Hoist in Canada is a paltry 45lbs.

Thanks!

spartantough5 karma

They should make it harder. -Joe

wolfpack091 karma

I heard that a slack line had been included in some races, is that a new obstacle planned for all future races? Can you discuss any obstacle additions planned for 2016 or beyond?

spartantough-7 karma

You'll have to come find out. Be prepared for everything and anything. -Joe

Brosecker1 karma

Hey Guys Bosecker here with the BROCR REVIEW

Super pumped with everything you dropped yesterday with the USA series. My question for you is we have heard a lot about the elite wave and Category 1-3 Athletes in the rumor mill for awhile now. what are the odds of that coming into play in the 2017 season?

Also will Hunter ever come back to race and give up being on TV?

ootuoyetahi1 karma

Also will Hunter ever come back to race and give up being on TV?

He'll just have to run the NBC races :-P

spartantough6 karma

He'll probably be back for NBC, loves the camera. -Joe

SmithBobo1 karma

Thank you both for taking the time!

  1. What can we expect from the new book Spartan Fit? When will it be out?

  2. Favorite exercise BESIDES burpees?

  3. What do you recommend for warming up? I can't tell if my warm up routine is effective or not.

  4. Tony, what happened to "Legend of the Death Race"?

Thank you again!

spartantough4 karma

Legend of the Death Race is still in development. - Tony

spartantough3 karma

You'll get a full exercise plan to prepare for Spartan and for life. Push-ups -Joe

gthrt71 karma

First off, thank you for creating this race. I just ran my first Sprint in Atlanta on Saturday and loved it! I will definitely be doing more and pushing myself to do harder races, which leads me to my question: what lb. pancake do you recommend buying for my first one? Thanks again!

spartantough5 karma

40lb minimum. -Joe

adshad1 karma

Hi Joe, I recently ran the winter sprint in Valmorel, France and it was absolutely fantastic! Running around the in the snow with the beautiful alp scenery and the fun obstacles was an amazing experience! And snow is much easier to clean off than mud :)

Do you guys plan on expanding more into the winter races?

spartantough-3 karma

Always. - Joe

MiguelLuis871 karma

In your podcasts, you frequently refer to "grit" as being the key to overcoming obstacles and achieving goals.

  1. How did you realize that you had the sufficient amount of grit to become the core group behind Spartan Race?

  2. How do you find employees for Spartan Race (and the other aspects of the business) that reflect that amount of grit?

I have run four races so far, and I am entirely hooked. It's inspired me in ways I can't explain. HH class 080 changed my perspective last weekend, and I can't wait to travel even more for even more events.

spartantough3 karma

  1. After participating in countless endurance, adventure, and ultra races, I wanted to make the feeling more accessible.

  2. It's a challenge.

-Joe

wolfx51 karma

Are there any plans to add Supers in the Northwest? Without travelling at least 12 hours, I can't double Trifecta from Seattle! BTW, Spartan has totally changed my life for the better, so thank you!

spartantough-1 karma

If you've done a Trifecta why not do something different, go for an HH or a 12HR. Seattle has plenty of spots open for the HH and the 12HR - Tony

thaspectacle711 karma

Any additional Ultra Beasts planned for 2016? Would love one in the south!

spartantough3 karma

NJ, Vermont, Tahoe, and Hawaii as of now. -Tony

mindful_subconscious1 karma

Hey Joe, thanks making the Spartan Race. I've been doing these races for a few years and I'm trying to get my friend more motivated to work out with me. How can I help him do some of these workouts?

spartantough2 karma

Start slow and do the exercises together. -Joe

thatonetechgirl1 karma

What's up with Hurricane Heats for Ohio and/or Indiana? Don't make us start with the emails and petitions again. :P

spartantough3 karma

We're working on it. Should be able to make them both happen though. -Tony

okaythisisit0 karma

Your events are awesome, and I'm very much looking forward to trying the half-marathon course at the end of next month in Jersey. What has been your favorite obstacle that you've created, or, what's usually the process you go about in building the different courses?

spartantough2 karma

The simple ones are still the best, such as the sandbag carry. -Joe

peppylepew0 karma

J&T, I do like the individual race results tracking but think you could get more participation by setting up team competitions as well. The 300 fought and died as a team. In the Olympics they have individual sprinters as well as the 400 relay team. I was involved in a team doing the Tough M. in Colorado 2 years ago. Would not have done in on my own. We had over 20 people including a 71 year old Fmr Navy SEAL. We all started together and finished together. Nobody dropped out !!

Will you ever start using a team participation format along with ur individual format ??

spartantough2 karma

We have team building events, HH, HH12HR and Agoge are all team based at the core. -Tony

SteveSheely0 karma

Hi Joe. I started doing Spartan Races because I want my school-age kids to see their 50+ year-old dad pursue fitness. Now I'm hooked. Thank you!

So what's the latest on Spartan races at the Olympics? I would travel across the world to see that!

spartantough1 karma

We're always working on it. Need to be in more countries first. -Joe

ootuoyetahi0 karma

Joe thanks for doing this...

I've been doing Spartan Races since 2012 and absolutely love them. I have gone from not being able to run a mile straight to training for my first 50 miler, so thank you.

How is Spartan doing financially? It seems like prices go up each year and they are getting to the point of ridiculousness. Do you have an exit strategy or is the Spartan brand something you want to see to the end? As someone who hasnt had the chance to do an event yet this year, what new things do Spartan races have to look forward to?

How many burpees have you done today?

Thanks for doing this!!

spartantough-1 karma

Way to go! 300 burpees. -Joe

ootuoyetahi-1 karma

Few more for the fun of it.

Will there be more hh12hr races in the North East? I'd love the chance to try. What has the feedback been from the Agoge? I will be there for the Winter 2017 event. Any chance the Death Race ever makes a return?

spartantough2 karma

There will be HH12HR events in the North East. We are trying to open the events this week. We have Virginia, PA and NJ all approved and reg should open soon. -Tony

ootuoyetahi0 karma

The NJ Beast is the same day of my 50 miler so I wont be there. Any chance of a HH12HR the weekend of the Super?

spartantough2 karma

Beast and Ultra Beast are one weekend. The Super weekend is the one the 12HR will be in NJ. -Tony