Lake Tahoe Proves its Metal in the Worlds Toughest Spartan Race To Date
October 5th 2015 – Just weeks after Lake Tahoe discovered that one of it’s most challenging events each year was going to cancel its relationship with lake Tahoe, Marathon, the world’s most challenging mountain terrain event, The Spartan Race, set out to show the world that Lake Tahoe and Squaw Valley have what it takes to challenge some of the best athletes on the planet.
In obstacle racing’s ultimate test of strength and endurance, Robert Killian and Zuzana Kocumova have been named 2015 Reebok Spartan Race World Champions. Finishing first amongst a field of thousands of athletes representing 15 countries, in front of a crowd of approximately 5,000 in Lake Tahoe, 33 year old US Military Captain Robert Killian from Longmont Colorado and 36 year old Zuzana Kocumova from Liberec, Czech Republic each earned over $15,000 in cash and prizes, along with the distinction of being named winner of the 2015 Reebok Spartan Race World Championship.
Set on the same hallowed ground as the 1960 Winter Olympics, 10,000 athletes from across the globe scaled some of the most challenging mountain terrain to
compete for over $100,000 in cash and prizes. This comes as part of the $500,000 in cash and prizes Spartan Race will award during the 2015 race season — the largest amount in race history. Additionally, NBC was once again on hand to film all of the action, and will televise the Reebok Spartan Race World Championship on December 26th, 2015 at 5 p.m. ET– a culmination of the network’s comprehensive season-long coverage of Reebok Spartan Race which began in early July.
Taking first in the men’s elite heat was Robert Killian with a time of 2:25:54. Finishing in second place was Ryan Atkins from Canada in 2:26:58, and Cody Moat finished third in 2:27:58.
Emerging from the pack in the women’s elite heat to take first place was Zuzana Kocumova from Liberec, Czech Republic with a time of 2:53:01. Finishing in second place was Lindsay Webster from Canada in 2:58:02, and Rachel Paquette also from Canada finished third with a time of 2:58:39.
“We continue to push athletes to new limits with our races,” said Spartan Race founder and CEO Joe De Sena. “This is the toughest race we’ve designed to date, most definitely. We can’t wait to show the world what we have in store for 2016.”
The Reebok Spartan Race World Championship was situated at the crest of the striking Sierra Nevada mountain range in North Lake Tahoe, California, with the Reebok Spartan Race World Championship Beast (13+ miles/ 30+ obstacles) taking place on Saturday, in addition to a Spartan Sprint (3+ miles/ 20+ obstacles), a Spartan Beast, Ultra Beast (26+ miles/ 60+ obstacles), and Charity Challenge (3+ miles/ 20+ obstacles) on Sunday. The Spartan Kids race also took place on Saturday and Sunday.
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About Spartan Race, Inc.
Spartan Race—voted Outside magazine’s Best Obstacle Race— is the world’s leading obstacle race company and the first of its kind to feature timing and global rankings. With more than 120 events in 20+ countries planned for 2015, Spartan Race has more than 1 million global participants and offers open heats for all fitness levels as well as competitive elite heats. With 4-plus million engaged social media followers, brand extensions such as Spartan Training, which includes Spartan SGX certified programs and coaches, and a popular NBC television series, Spartan Race has made obstacle racing one of the fastest growing sports—and lifestyles— in the world. Spartan Race features races at three distances, 3+Mile/20+ Obstacle “Sprint,” 8+ Mile/25+ Obstacle “Super” and 13+ Mile/30+ Obstacle “Beast,” culminating each year in the Reebok Spartan Race World Championship. Visit http://www.spartan.com for more information, a schedule of events, and to register for a race.
Spartan Race is more than just a race that comes and goes. It is an event that captures people’s spirits. They train all year for events like these, pushing their bodies to limits untapped until these events unleash that spirit. Spartan Racers follow training programs, eating programs and motivational programs through a series of tools available online at spartan.com and a digital magazine that keeps them inspired.
