Report on a Leisure

and Recreation
Activity in Oman

03LRM

Mathew Chacko

Amal Binte Saleem

17s036
Introduction:

“It is well known that sport and physical activity is important for medical health and
subjective well-being and thereby functions as a kind of social good” (Seippel, 2006).
Spartan Race is a sport, a community, a training and nutrition program, a series and
activity of book, workout gear, and a timed race. Agoge (2020) stated that in the 7th
century BC, Spartans wanted to produce the most mentally tough and strongest citizens
on earth and to do this they created a system of training known as Agoge. This training
was done twice a year to get the people to be able to balance their class time and hands-on
practical skills. The whole purpose of this was to have a clear perspective on life by being
dedicated to themselves to a healthy and meaningful life through action. According to
Spartan race Inc. (2020), the race was formed by Joe De Sena, a world-class adventure
racer, in the green mountains of Vermont in 2010. The participants and the supporters
both have their different amount of fun. Where the racer has the thrill of crossing the
finish, on the hand it’s the supporters waiting ready to capture the moment the racer
finishes the medals and earns a medal. The website also states that the Spartan race is an
innovating global obstacle course with more than 130 races around the world per annum.
There are 3 main core races provided, the Spartan Sprint with 3+ miles and 20+ obstacle,
the Spartan Super with 8+ miles and 25+ obstacles and the Spartan Beast with 12+ miles
and 30+ obstacles. The Spartan racers are known as Spartans and they go through
different obstacles consisting of mud, barbed wire, fire, walls, water and ropes. It is not
just adults that participate in the race, they offer kids race which is ½ to 1 mile. For
people looking for a challenge, they offer 2 specific races. The first is Hurricane Heat
which is a Bootcamp style challenge and the second is the Ultra which is 26+ miles and
60+ obstacles. The main 3 races have been going on in Oman since 2016 but the
Hurricane Heat was introduced last year. Spartan is all about leaving the comfort of your
home and getting ready to be a part of something new. This report will be discussing the
attributes and issues related to the Spartan race.

Attributes and how it affects Oman:

According to Barroso (2020) an SGX coach, there are 5 main qualities that all champions
have in common. The first is that the champions have a purpose to compete in the race, it
can be for themselves or someone else. The second is that after their failures they don’t
blame anyone for it. The third is that they celebrate progressive gain as good things don’t
come all at once. The fourth is that they are self-motivated as before participating they
question themselves on what they will get out of it. The last is that they care more about
the process than the endpoint. The Spartan Race has introduced in Oman 4 years ago in
2016. Times of Oman (2016) published the news on 11th October 2016 about the Spartan
race being held in Oman for the first time at Jabel Sifah Beach, which featured ‘Spartan
Sprint’, a 5km+ run with 20+ obstacles, designed for participants of all types of fitness
level dividing the race into two categories, ‘Morning Open’ and ‘Elite’ races. A race for
the kids was there with the age of 4-15 years including all the outdoor fun activities for
them to enjoy and have fun. Apart from all these free Workout tour sessions are provided
at Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex. The Spartan Race has now become an event in which
not only the participants enjoy but their supporters can enjoy alongside them by
motivating them to cross the line and encouraging them to overcome all the obstacles put
in front of them. Micheal Jordan once said, “Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run
into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or
work around it.” So, no matter what happens these obstacles become easy to cross with a
little bit of encouragement. Oman Observer (2018) stated that thousands of Spartans
pushed their limits to join the XDubai Spartan Trifecta race which was held by Jabel
Sifah. The race called out people from around the world making them a part of something
big. Participants from all over the world travelled to be a part of the Spartan race and
earning their tittles as Spartan Champions. Due to the race being held at such global level
it attracted the regular participants of the race to Oman which benefited Oman in many
ways. “Globally, sports tourism is estimated to be worth $800 billion (RO 308 billion)
and we have seen a continuing increase in demand within the Sultanate over the years.
The annual Spartan race is a wonderful example of the magnitude of interest from
individuals around the world in sports tourism within Oman,” said Maitha al Mahrouqi.
Due to the Spartan race, Jabel Sifah experienced tremendous progress in Muscat’s best
destination in recent years. With more than worldwide 4 million Spartans embracing the
challenge, this event has now turned into a global must-see event. Since the Spartan Race
has come into Oman, the locals and residents of all ages take part in the race and become
a part of one big Spartan community. The kids have their races in which the parents
support them fully by taking them to Jabel Sifah to run. There is group participation for
the race as people run via their companies in which they are paid to do so. This way the
company benefits as they get their company name out in the open and the participants
have a great time running with colleagues. Spartan Race is not only about running and
crossing the obstacles, what excites the participants more is the medal they will receive
for crossing the finish line and the finisher t-shirt along with it. This gets them more
excited and ready to finish the race. No Spartan leave the racetrack in the middle if they
get down, the get back up and continue it because that is what being a Spartan is about,
not giving up.

Issues and trends related:

Leisure and recreation activities are not always as amazing as it sounds. There are other
factors bound to be related to it. Without support from the government, no activity can go
further since they are a huge backbone for the activity. Since the Spartan race has started
in Oman, the Omani government has supported the country throughout the race helping
them with anything they require. Alongside the government, the sponsors play a huge role
as they are putting their money on the line and making the race happen. Without them, it
can become difficult to get the funds for the race. According to the Spartan website
(2020), the sponsors of Spartan race were Rakuten, Ministry of Tourism, Muriya, Jabel
Sifah, Sifawy Boutique Hotel, Ministry of Sports Affairs, Muwasalat, Aquafina, Hi FM,
Hala FM, Dhofar Automotive, RAM, NMC, UFC Gym Oman and Oman Avenues Mall.
As soon as the Spartan season starts in Oman, people from around the world starts
booking their tickets for the race and then booking in advance at the Hotel to have a place
stay, since travelling for itself seems too far. The locals and the residents of Oman
participate as much as they can in the race but, alongside all this, some issues occur and
can be a problem for the people to take part. Since for running, you need to wear a
specific gear so it’s easy to move around. The men have no issues but when it comes to
women participation, it is on a very minimum level as some people belong to
conservative families and this type of things are not allowed in their culture. Then
different religious factors need to be looked at while racing. Every religion has its
traditions and cultures and with the people wanting to participate this can be an issue for
them. When the registration begins for the race in the kid’s category it is mostly the
foreigner names you can see. Omani kids don’t participate much for it.

Spartan U.A.E (2020) website mention that Spartan is only a way for people to have some
time for themselves, but they are times when all the money that has been from the race go
towards the charity. On 20th February 2016, Spartans from all over the country gathered
at Times Square to do burpee challenges to help the homeless. This was led by an elite
Spartan racer Carlos Uriarte who gathered at least 150 Spartans to complete the 50-
burpee challenge and after the challenge, they would roam around and “support them with
small donations such as food, clothing, water and general hygiene items”. Helping the
homeless and giving away to charity has now become a trend in the U.S. For the people,
helping the homeless has become their side job so, whenever they have the time, they try
to help them as much as they can. The Spartan website also states that no spartan gets left
behind. Their motive is to help as many people as they can. Another trend in different
countries is that complete families take part in the race. From age 4 and above, everyone
enjoys being a part of the race and they run different races either together or separate,
based on the age categories and have a great time supporting one another. To be a
participant in the race, people start to train themselves from the start of the year as you
need a lot of stamina and the will power to run because it’s not just running but also
tackling the obstacles that are set according to the type of races. If a person runs without
any training, there is a chance of them getting injured during the race which can ruin the
whole mood of participating for the runner and the supporters since the race will be cut
short for them. Here, in Oman, after the race date is set, training workout sessions are
held at Sultan Qaboos Stadium in which the people can participate and train themselves
for the race.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic has started it has closed a lot of activities that were
planned before the time for this year, but the people have been ordered to stay at home
and work from there. This meant the cancellation of Spartan Race for the whole year. The
Predictive Index (2020) describes that due to the current situation which is the pandemic
of COVID-19, they had to make a tough decision regarding the Spartan Race. The
company launched The Unbreakable Pass, in mid-March, to make the customers keep
“training, thinking, and eating like a Spartan”. The Pass included some facilities the
people can have while being at home and out of business. It included a limited edition of
the Spartan Magazine, ability to get great prices for any 2020 or 2021 race and one year
of free access to and online training program known as Spartan Edge. For this year, the
Spartan race will not be happening so to compensate it, they have put an online virtual
race which is free of cost and people can run in their homes, calculate the time and
kilometres they ran through an app provided and send their results off to Spartan Arabia
to see where they stand and they can then receive their medal for it.

Conclusion and recommendation:

In short, Spartan Race is a leisure and recreation activity that not only individuals, but
families also enjoy. There are races for kids from age 4 and above and be a part of
something fun and exciting. There are also different categories of the Spartan for people
to challenge themselves through the kilometres increase and more obstacles. Spartan Race
started in Oman 4 years ago and to this day it still goes on but, due to the pandemic this
year the race could not be held so they turned it into a virtual event in which everyone can
participate free of cost. The Spartan Race’s trends change country to country or place to
place. In some places, it can be taken as a fun activity to do with family or friends and in
some places, it can be taken to raise money for charity. People need to book their spot for
the race ahead of time so they can get the timings of the race they want and the race they
want to run. When the race season starts in Oman, training days held at the Sultan Qaboos
Stadium to train the participants before the race day so they can be prepared for
everything in advance. To ensure more participation from the locals, the race organizers
can keep specific timings where it can be the locals-only running and a specific day for
only women participation so everyone can be a Spartan.
References:

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Accessed on 4th November 2020.

Agoge (2020) Spartan Race, Inc. Available from http://www.spartanrace.cn/en/race/race-

types/endurance-races?article=29031 Accessed on 30th October 2020.

Barroso, M. (2020), 5 Qualities Champions Have in Common (2020). Available from

https://www.spartan.com/blogs/unbreakable-training/5-qualities-champions-have-in-
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Oman Observer (18th December 2018) International athletes push their limits at Spartan
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Spartan Race, Inc. (2020), Partners, Charities. Available from

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Spartan United Arab Emirates (2020) Obstacle Course Races, Hundreds of Spartans to
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The Predictive Index (2020), Customer Story, Spartan Race got smart with remote work
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