Sanders stars show Spartan stamina

A group of Sanders County people traveled to Bigfork to show their staying power in a rigorous and muddy competition of the 10th Annual Montana Spartan Race.

Two men from Hot Springs took part in the Elite Spartan Super Race on May 6 and eight men and women competed as a team in the Montana Spartan Sprint Race on May 7. Andrew Leichtnam of Hot Springs finished in fourth place out of some 20-30 competitors in the elite category of the super, which is the most competitive heat in the race. Leichtnam said he plans to compete in the Spartan race at Bigfork every year until he “can no longer walk.” Lenny Page of Hot Springs was also in Saturday’s race and competed in the 31-mile Ultrabeast Race of the 45-49 age group, nabbing third place and finishing in 8 hours, 44 minutes.

The two men, five women and a teenage boy competed as a team in the Sunday race, but their results are unknown. As the unofficial leader of team “Wildhorse 2023,” Mike Tatum said they did it more for the challenge and fun than battling for placement. The team included: Tatum, Ken Nelson, Nichole Cockrell, Marlee Meredith, Gena Ferlan, Shaira Dossey, Beth Meaden, and Greg Tatum, who is only 14, but competed as an adult.

This was the 35th race for the 39-year-old Leichtnam, a Hot Springs school teacher. “I've finished in every position from first to 10th over the 11 years I've competed in the Spartan Race,” said Leichtnam, who has participated in Spartan Races ranging in four miles long to more than 31 miles. The Elite Spartan Super Race was about seven miles and had 26 obstacles.

The members of team Wildhorse 2023 mostly stayed together helping each other out during the 5K — almost four miles — and had 20 obstacles. Mike Tatum said he took time to assist racers not on his team. He said there were more than 1,900 in his team’s race alone and perhaps around 3,000 in the Sunday races. The races had a variety of obstacles, more for the longer competitions, including going over fire, under barbed wire, running up and down hills, climbing cargo nets and ropes, climbing across monkey bars, and climbing over various walls. They had to throw a spear, carry sandbags, and lug a 100-pound ball for the men and a 60-pounder for women. And they had to traverse a ton of mud. Tatum felt the rope climb was probably the hardest obstacle because of the slick and muddy conditions.

Because some of the Wildhorse team had never done a Spartan race, Tatum said they took their time and he showed them “the ins and outs of the course.” Those who have done the races before knew of some of the obstacles, but Tatum said there were some surprise ones.

Greg Tatum has participated in Spartan races six or seven times, but this was his first time to compete as an adult. He completed the race in 1 hour and 16 minutes, finishing in the top one-third, according to his father, who believes he finished in the middle of the pack. He wants to do the Spartan Super next year with his father.

This was the 10th time to compete in the Spartan races for the 50-year-old Tatum, a teacher at Plains High School, but some of the tests were still difficult, such as the 100-pound Atlas ball that he had to carry some 30 feet and back. “It was so muddy and slick, it was all I could do to not drop it,” he said. Tatum had contemplated this being his last Spartan race, but his son wants him to continue. Cockrell, Nelson, Meredith, Meaden, and Ferlan are also Plains School teachers. This was the first race for Meredith, Ferlan, Dossey, and Meaden.

Nelson has done it with Tatum all 10 years, when it started, and plans to continue as long as possible. “I did fine this year but wasn't in as good of shape as previous years due to lingering sickness,” said the 45-year-old Nelson. “This year we did the 5K, so it wasn't a very long course,” said Nelson, who added that he failed the rope climb and didn’t even attempt the swinging rings.

This was Cockrell’s second time. “I did all right, but I need to train a little harder in some areas,” said the 43-year-old Cockrell. In 2021, she competed in the Spartan Super 10K race with 30 obstacles. She trained for this year’s race on and off for about a year. The rope climb was the toughest for her.

“I thought I had it figured out, but it was so muddy I kept slipping off of it,” she said. “So much fun! I love pushing myself and working together with my friends,” she added. She’s hoping to do another competition, the super or the beast, a half marathon of 13 miles and between 30-35 obstacles. “We'll see if I can get motivated,” she said.

Ferlan was happy just to finish her first Spartan Race. “We did it for fun, not for a time or place,” said the 41-year-old Ferlan, who added that it was a great experience and hopes to do it again in 2024. Her toughest obstacle was the multi rig swinging ring and the rope climb.

For the senior Tatum, it’s a way to get motivated to stay in shape. He works out in the school weight room and runs on a four-mile loop outside of town. The trail he frequents has hills of different elevations and grades. He sometimes stops and does pushups or sit-ups and periodically picks up a heavy rock and runs with it. He started focusing on this competition in January.

“As somebody who grew up doing sports it gives me something competitive to do,” said Tatum, who has also done the Spartan contest in Washington and British Columbia, Canada. His best time in the Spartan Sprint was 1:18.

He and Nelson did the Spartan Super last year at Bigfork, then competed in the Spartan Sprint. Tatum said the Spartan races can be grueling. “It’s just another level of testing yourself,” said Tatum. In 2020, the year the Spartan races were canceled due to Covid, Tatum and Nelson created their own course and made T-shirts and medals and had a fire they jumped over at the finish. This was the first time they’ve had a team, but all of them would like to do it again next year.