Trials and tribulations

No obstacle was too big - or too muddy - for the warriors who chose to test their mettle in the recent heats of the Super Spartan race in Beijing. Li Yingxue reports.

"What's your profession?" asks Beijing-based internet celebrity and actor Mike Sui.

"Aroo! Aroo! Aroo!" answered the Spartan warriors in unison, as they approached the line to start their grueling 12-kilometer obstacle race.

It was the start of one of the open group heats for the Super Spartan race held in Beijing on May 19 and 20, which saw more than 10,000 participants tackle 27 different obstacles along the way.

Also known as Michael Stephen Kai Sui, the Chinese-American comedian and his group of friends were handed their finishing medals two hours later, covered with mud from head to toe.

"It's cruel, but I love it!" says Sui, who was attending the event for the first time. "The Spartan Race is not just a game. For me it's a new lifestyle."

The Spartan Race features a series of obstacle races of varying distances and difficulty, ranging from six kilometers up to a full marathon. With more than 130 races held around the world every year, the race is made up of three core events - the Spartan Sprint, the Super Spartan and the Spartan Beast.

By completing all three race events in the space of a calendar year at one of the events around the world, any "warrior" can then be elevated to become a member of the Spartan Trifecta Tribe.

Zhao Jiaju is hoping to join the Trifecta Tribe. After winning the Spartan Super Elite group in Beijing, Zhao's next step is to become a Spartan Beast. As a long-distance runner, he learned about the Spartan Race from WeChat in 2017 and joined his first race in Qingdao, Shandong province, last September.