Montana Spartan Sprint 2014 course designed by founder

Spartan Race founder Joe DeSena stood on top of a hill Monday, overlooking a very long barbed wire crawl and pointed out a few safety concerns to crews and volunteers building the obstacle.

“It’s not easy torturing people,” he said.

The barbed wire crawl is one of the obstacles over 5,000 racers will face this Saturday during the 2014 Montana Spartan Sprint.

Each year DeSena personally designs a race and this year he chose the Montana course on Flathead Lake Lodge land. “I really like rugged, out of the way places,” he said.

DeSena and crew arrived at the end of last week and took a tour of the land, planning the course and thinking up obstacles. When he plans a course, he looks at the terrain and imagines what he wouldn’t want to do. He lives life always challenging himself and believes that others should do the same.

“I don’t want to live life and regret anything,” he said. “I don’t think people ever regret pushing themselves out of their comfort zone.”

He’s schemed up a course for the Montana Spartan Sprint that will challenge even the racers who think they’re prepared.

The race will have the world’s largest slip wall, and the terrain itself is challenging. There is a hill on the course DeSena referred to as Mount Everest. In addition to that natural obstacle there are 16 man-made challenges as well a mind challenge. DeSena said competitors should start studying, but he wouldn’t say for what.

Though the race is called a sprint, DeSena compared in it to the Spartan Ultra Beast race in Killington, Vermont. The Ultra Beast is one of the most challenging obstacle races out there, besides the Death Race. The Spartan race website warns, “Every Spartan Race is a baptism. The Ultra Beast is considered an exorcism.”

DeSena has already run the Bigfork course and said it’s great, and very scenic. He suggests spectators hike the course so they can experience the view.

The race begins at 8 a.m. on Saturday. Waves of 200 competitors start every 15 minutes. Admission for spectators is $20 online or $25 at the gate. Event parking costs $10 and is at the corner of Montana 35 and 82 in Bigfork. Free shuttles will be provided between the parking area and the race location, and there will be shuttles between downtown Bigfork and the Spartan Race.

There will be also be races for kids ages 4-13, starting at 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m.