Spartan Race vs Wild Hybrid: distance, stations, price & difficulty compared (2026-27)

Spartan Race is an obstacle course racing series established in Vermont, USA, in 2010, with events in more than 40 countries. Courses combine off-road trail running with obstacles such as walls, barbed-wire crawls, monkey bars and a spear throw, and they often include mud and water.

The main distances are the Sprint (5 km, 20 obstacles), the Super (10 km, 25 obstacles), the Beast (21 km, 30 obstacles) and the Ultra (50 km, 60 obstacles). Completing a Sprint, Super and Beast in one calendar year earns the Spartan Trifecta, and many venues host Trifecta Weekends with all three races. Spartan also runs Stadion races in sports stadiums, trail races, kids' races, competitive Elite and Age Group heats, and endurance events. The Sprint is pitched at first-timers, while the Beast and Ultra suit experienced racers.

Wild Hybrid is a UK hybrid fitness race series that combines off-road trail running with outdoor functional workouts, held at estate and park venues. It was launched in 2024 by Daniel Flint of Wild Deer Events and Sam Marshall of CrossFit Chester le Street.

The format alternates five 1 km trail runs with five workout stations and finishes with a 5 km trail run, for about 10 km of running in total. Stations have included sandbag lunges, D-ball cleans, a sled push and pull, single-dumbbell devil's presses and wall balls, with standard and scaled weights. Athletes can race solo or in pairs, and pairs can be same-sex or mixed; pairs run side by side and alternate reps at the stations. Season 3 venues include Lambton Castle (Durham), Bramham Park (Leeds), High Lodge in Thetford Forest, Pollok Park (Glasgow), Bowness on Windermere and Druridge Bay Country Park. It suits trail runners and functional fitness athletes who prefer racing outdoors.