Death Race

More than 250 racers will put their endurance to the test in the competition called the Spartan Death Race. The competitors are anything but amateurs. Most are elite endurance athletes who have trained for months to make sure they finish the race.

But the race is not just about endurance. It’s about being strong in mind than body.

“This race, you have no clue. They don’t know when it starts, they don’t know when it finishes, and um, that’s part of the challenge,” says Andy Wienberg, one of the creators of the Spartan Death Race.

John Waite from Orillia, Ontario prepared for six months. A veteran of the Death Race, John knows what it takes both mentally and physically to finish.

“The idea about the untraditional training is what makes it work. When I put a tire around my neck and run 5 miles it seems ridiculous except that’s the kind of stuff you have to prepare to do,” he says.

John’s untraditional training includes staying up all night running countless laps through the woods, doing more than 300 burpees and rolling a tractor tire until he can’t lift his arms.

The obstacles in the death race are designed to disorient, weaken, and frustrate athletes. Only 35 people finished last year. But that doesn’t faze John, he is determined as ever.

“I’ll finish I’m 100% sure.”

For seven months 16×9 followed three Canadians: John Waite, Don Schwartz, and Dan Grodinsky as they trained and competed in the Spartan Death Race. But not all of them made it to the end.

For the full story watch 16×9 Friday at 8 PM – AT/MT, 9 PM – CT, 10 PM – ET/PT.