Wade in the sludgy water pool， climb over the 3m high wooden board， race on the mud road with sandbag on back and crawl in the muddy water through barriers． On September 10^th， the 2017 Spartan Race Qingdao Leg kicked off in the Sino－German Ecopark in the West Coast New Area， Qingdao． 4，000 “Spartan warriors” from all over the world will challenge 22 obstacle items．

“Plate Drag” makes its debut in China

As an extremely popular obstacle race all over the world， the Spartan Race can date back to2005 and is founded by7 crazy super athletes and1 royal navy． Over180 races are held in25 countries every year and the race has attracted the participation of over8 million person times． As an obstacle race sweeping the world， the Spartan Race was introduced into Greater China Region in2016 and was held in Beijing and Shanghai． This year， the Sino－German Ecopark introduces the race into Qingdao and holds the race in the West Coast New Area of Qingdao． It is said that the Spartan Race has three core races including Spartan Sprint Race， Spartan Super Race and Spartan Beast Race， the length of race track varies from6km to21km and the number of obstacles range from21 to30． The Spartan Sprint Race held in Qingdao this time is the shortest in distance for Spartan Race． It is divided into men’s elite group， women’s elite group and open group （mixed by men and women）．

According to the introduction by Yang Zhen， the race director of Sino－German Ecopark Qingdao Sino－German Sports Culture Broadcasting Co．， Ltd， the host of Qingdao Leg， the total racetrack length is about6．5km． The races consists of21 classic obstacle items including“Inverted Wall”，“Spear Throw”，“Monkey Bars” and“Hercules Hoist” and the brand new obstacle called“Plate Drag”． Racer instructions of“Plate Drag” are as follows： drag the designated obstacle from the starting point to the finishing point， then use the rope to drag the obstacle back to the starting point． In the entire process， the rope must be tightened and the obstacle cannot be lifted． This is the debut of the“Plate Drag” in China， so it is a highlight in the Qingdao Leg．

The first racer who passed all the obstacles just took34 minutes

Even before the race started， nearly1，000 audiences gathered in the spot． At9：15 am， amid the cheering of the warriors， the race for men’s elite group formally kicked off and opened the curtain for Qingdao leg．

After34 minutes and3 seconds since the race started， Yann Payev， a French racer from the men’s elite group， successfully got over the last obstacle and became the first warrior passing all the obstacles in Qingdao leg． In the interview after the race， Yann Payyev who lost a shoe in the race said：“This is the second time I joined the Spartan Race． I am very glad to come to Qingdao． I got the first place when I participated in the open group’s race for the first time in Shanghai． I never expect that I could get the first place in the elite group． I challenge myself once more．” It is said that Yann Payev is from Suzhou and works as a bicycle engineer with Decathlon． This time he and his girlfriend Guo Caijun both participated in the race． His girlfriend also performed very well and got the7^th place in the women’s elite group． The top three racers among the women’s elite group are Lu Pingping， Han Xiaofeng and Sui Yang who finished the race respectively with52 minutes and59 seconds，55 minutes and24 seconds， and57 minutes and5 seconds． Lu Pingping，21－year－old， is a junior student of Shandong Sport University． She came to join the race specifically from Yantai． Lu Pingping said：“I am a sports student majored in long distance running． On September24^th I will go to Beijing to take part in Spartan Race again．”

Next year Spartan Race will have three levels in Qingdao

In addition to wonderful races， it is also attractive off the track． In the photo area， racers who have passed all the obstacles took photos with teammates． Racers who were going to depart were warming up with the training leader and prepared for the race． On the main stage， the warriors who have passed the obstacles rushed to attend the game of beer bottle emptying and the atmosphere was very exciting． Around the racetrack， there is also carnival area where you can experience obstacle items free of charge and buy franchised merchandise like race equipment and food． After the competition， racers can enjoy free showers， energy supply， and free drinks．

The Qingdao leg this time has been strongly supported by the Qingdao West Coast New Area Management Committee and Qingdao Municipal Bureau of Sports． The international first－class obstacle course race can be smoothly held in the West Coast New Area of Qingdao． It has become a shining piece of name card of fitness program of the new area and also reflects the vitality of Qingdao West Coast New Area． According to the cooperation， the Sino－German Ecopark Qingdao Sino－German Sports Culture Broadcasting Co．， Ltd． has already obtained the exclusive operation right of Spartan Race in Shandong Province in the5 years to come． Next year， all the three levels of Spartan Race including“Sprint Race”，“Super Race” and“Beast Race” will be held in Qingdao． In addition， there will be children’s race and diverse experience activities to attract the participation of more and more people．

（1． Racers were dashing out for the race．2． Racer were crawling the muddy pool．3． Racers were passing the last obstacle course together and finished the competition．）