Thousands of gladiators gathered in Bigfork on Saturday to test their physical and mental limits while competing in Montana’s first-ever Spartan Race. The 5-mile course required racers to prove their endurance through numerous obstacles, including mud bogs, tire flipping, trail running, crawling under barbed wire and across rope lattice with a final leap over a fire jump.
Greg Lindstrom
Competitors make their way through a mud bog, the first obstacle in Montana’s first Spartan Race. Lido Vizzutti | Flathead Beacon
East Glacier resident Brian Suttle crawls the last few yards of the barbed wire obstacle while competing in the Spartan Race in Bigfork. Suttle finished the course in 58:19. Lido Vizzutti | Flathead Beacon
Emiliano Zell, center, looses his balance making his way through the first obstacle, a deceivingly difficult mud bog, as fellow Spartans rush into the water behind him at the start of the Montana Spartan Sprint in Bigfork. Lido Vizzutti | Flathead Beacon
Competitors pile up behind the Over/Under Log Bridge as fellow racers emerge from the tight crawl on their way to the finish line. Lido Vizzutti | Flathead Beacon
Andi Hardy leaps the Fire Jump on her way to the finish line. Hardy said she traveled from Atlanta, Ga., to run the race in a mountain environment. Lido Vizzutti | Flathead Beacon
Spartans head out onto the 5-mile obstacle course during Montana's first Spartan Race in Bigfork. Lido Vizzutti | Flathead Beacon
A competitor muddied by the course makes her way over the Slip Wall near the finish line. Lido Vizzutti | Flathead Beacon
Competitors make their way across the T Wall. Lido Vizzutti | Flathead Beacon
Billings resident Clinton Hull completes the rope climb during the Montana Spartan Sprint. Lido Vizzutti | Flathead Beacon
Cody Moat, from Filmore, Utah, makes his way under barbed wire on his way to the finish line during the Montana Spartan Sprint in Bigfork. Moat had the fasted race time of 50:26. Lido Vizzutti | Flathead Beacon
Kalispell Spartan Debbie Ploeger signs the Wall of Valor before competing with her team, “Down with the Brown,” in the Spartan Race. Lido Vizzutti | Flathead Beacon
Spartan Race medals are seen at the finish line. Lido Vizzutti | Flathead Beacon
Kalispell resident Tanner Olsen, right, makes his way up a steep hill climb carrying a 60-pund followed by racers competing in the Spartan Race. Lido Vizzutti | Flathead Beacon
Great Falls resident Rich Scavola ascends a hill carrying a 60-pound sandbag during the Montana Spartan Sprint. Lido Vizzutti | Flathead Beacon
Racers gather before the early-morning start of a wave of racers during the Montana Spartan Sprint in Bigfork. Lido Vizzutti | Flathead Beacon
Competitors make their way down the T Wall. Lido Vizzutti | Flathead Beacon
The shadow of a competitor is cast across the Spartan Race signs on the T Wall. Lido Vizzutti | Flathead Beacon
Ian Reynolds, of Whitefish, makes his way through the Gladiator obstacle to the finish line. Lido Vizzutti | Flathead Beacon
Chad Trammell, from Yakima, Wash., makes his way under the Barbed Wire obstacle during the Montana Spartan Sprint. Lido Vizzutti | Flathead Beacon
Couer d’Alene, Idaho, resident Julian Moser shows off his Spartan Race stamp before heading out onto the obstacle course in Bigfork. Lido Vizzutti | Flathead Beacon
Tyler Goldade, from Powers Lake, N.D., uses hoses in the shower area to clean off mud from the Spartan Race course. Goldade completed the race in 59:51. Lido Vizzutti | Flathead Beacon
