Gear Junkie: What was your goal in developing Spartan Races?
Joe De Sena: I think suffering is a really good thing for people to go through. It resets equilibrium in life. The idea of creating obstacle racing is to put people in that situation. I remember doing a nine-day adventure race. I’d been rained on for nine days straight. Afterwards, I came back to New York and it was raining and didn’t even notice.
Our lives have become way to soft. When you suffer, none of that (day to day) stuff is important.
Gear Junkie: Why do you think obstacle races have become so popular?
Joe De Sena: I think at our core as human beings this is very natural, very primal. It’s been a long time coming. The pendulum has swung so far in the wrong direction. We try to make things easier, faster, better. People buy things for comfort and luxury and have gone away from the things the human body is meant to do.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we are happy as can be when we act like animals because we are animals.
It’s not the fancy shampoo that makes everything work in our bodies. It’s the sweating. It’s the working. It’s the heavy breathing that make us happy.
That and social media, to be able to share that experience – imagine one dog out having a blast and others stuck in a house – now, with facebook, he can share it, all those other dogs stuck in kitchens want to be a part of it. It’s the crash with social media and people out experiencing life how it’s ment to be.
Gear Junkie: What makes an obstacle race difficult?
Joe De Sena: It’s got all the components of a triathlon, marathon, mountain run, and more. You’ve got to have complete body control, complete body strength. If you’re competing, you’ve got to have it all: strong upper body, strong core, endurance. It’s use of the complete human body.
