Posted Sep 26, 2013
KILLINGTON – On Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 21-22, a crowd of 15,000 watched as Hobie Call, age 36 from Utah, and Amelia Boone, age 30 from Chicago were crowned the new Spartan World Champions at Killington. The winners emerged from the daunting 14 mile course which made up “The Spartan Beast” race. Over 9,000 competitors and 6,000 spectators came out for the event.
The course on Killington Mountain is infamous for a half marathon worth of steep inclines, technical terrain, and challenging obstacles such as carrying 65 pound sand bags, climbing walls, and crawling through mud under barbed wire.
“We continue to push athletes to new limits with our races,” said Spartan Race founder Joe Desena. “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 2014.”
Vermont Adaptive fields team of five for Spartan challenge
KILLINGTON – On Sunday, Sept. 22, a team of five, including one adaptive athlete, competed in the Spartan Charity Challenge as part of the Reebok Spartan Race World Championships.
The Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports team, included: 22-year-old athlete Vasu Sojitra who lost his leg to Septicemia when he was about 10-months-old, the husband and wife duo of Jim and Lindsay Sweeney, of Strafford who volunteer with Vermont Adaptive; and Sojitra’s friends, Branham Snyder and Spencer Fitz-Gerald. These five athletes made a great team.
“I Iost my leg to Septicemia when I was about 10 months old, but I don’t remember any of it,” said Sojitra, who holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Vermont. “But none of this ever stopped me from doing what I loved. In India, [where he was born], I always played soccer with my friends and brother, who’s a year and a half older than me. Once we moved back to Connecticut, I started to skateboard and play hockey. From that I picked up skiing and the instant I got on my rental ski, I fell in love and never looked back. When it was time to go to college I decided to go to UVM, mainly for the skiing. From that I picked up camping, hiking, backcountry skiing, and longboarding. So basically, I’ve done everything I can. Now my goal is to get sponsored for backcountry skiing.”
The teams of five competing in the Spartan Charity Challenge ran in one four-mile heat beginning at 10 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 22.
Vermont Adaptive volunteers also helped with a special farm-to-table Pre-Beast Feast at Aimee Farm in Pittsfield. Approximately 400 athletes, including Olympians, world champions and professional athletes, dined together at one big, long community table. Monies raised at the Pre-Beast Feast were donated to local organizations including Vermont Adaptive.
For more info, visit www.vermontadaptive.org.
Photo submitted
Vasu Sojitra, age 22, competed in a team representing Vermont Adaptive last Sunday at the Spartan Charity Challenge.
