Spartan Central Florida Trifecta Weekend Race Reviw 12/13/14 - The Mathematics of Flat
- Tom Shankapotomous
- Dec 22, 2025
- 9 min read
Updated: Jan 5
Intro
At the start of my first Spartan Ultra in 2018 at the USC campus in Fayetteville, the race director announced at 6 a.m., “You thought this course was flat — it has 3,000 feet of elevation gain. Good luck," and he sent us off into the dark.
My brain, barely awake, short-circuited. Damn, I thought this was gona be flat. As I started running in the dark, headlamp bobbing I began doing the math.
The curb in front of my house is six inches high. If I step up once every two seconds, that’s 30 steps per minute, or 15 feet of elevation per minute. Over fifteen minutes — roughly a mile — that’s about 225 feet of climbing. Stretch that over 30 miles and you get 6,750 feet of elevation.
But the race director said this race had 3,000 feet total. That’s only 100 feet per mile — the equivalent of stepping up on a six-inch curb about 200 times per mile. At mile one, the panic evaporated. The number sounded big at 6 a.m., but mechanically, it was almost nothing.
So by mile one, all it took was a little math in the dark and the problem went away. Bottom line 3,000 feet over 32 milies is equivilent to stepping up and down a curb a 50 times every .25 miles. Nothing.
But if you tink that is nothing. Central Florida a race venue that has been on the alendar for almost ten years now has 87 feet over thirteen miles — so flat it would be like stepping up and down on a curb 174 times over 13 milies. There is no accurate definiton of a flat course untl you run Sebring. It redefines flat.
Ground Below
Central Florida's geology is really interesting. The Lake Wales Ridge is the oldest land in Florida that's still above water. It's a 150-mile strip of ancient islands that stayed dry while the rest of Florida was underwater many times over the last five million years. The Ridge was created from white quartz sand that washed down from the Appalachian Mountains millions of years ago.
This ancient ridge created everything that makes Sebring special: high ground that drains well, clear lakes fed by natural springs (like Lake Jackson), and rare plants and ecosystems you won't find anywhere else on Earth. Without the Ridge, Sebring couldn't exist. There would be no lake, no solid ground to build on, no place to grow citrus that can survive frost, and no foundation for George Sebring's town plan in 1912.
Everything in the area—from where Native Americans first settled to where modern buildings stand today—exists because of this geological feature. When you walk around Sebring, you're actually standing on what used to be a beach two million years ago. The rest of Florida slowly built up around this ancient core over time. Ifyou want to know more....
Sky Above
When youre Cin Florida you gotta shoot a picture of the Sun! Captured from Bowling Green Florida on Saturday, December 14, 2025, this white-light solar image records the Sun in a calm but active state, with several clearly defined sunspot groups visible across the photosphere, including a prominent central spot and smaller clusters toward the lower right quadrant.
The uniform disk and clean limb suggest stable atmospheric conditions and a well-balanced exposure, emphasizing surface detail without dramatic contrast. Shot with a SeeStar S50 with Solar Filter.
More specific info about data capture and links to solar research are here.
The Path Behind
Sebring's prehistory spans at least 14,500 years of continuous human adaptation to a carbonate platform in constant flux—a peninsula that was twice its modern size during the last Ice Age and gradually drowned as seas rose through the Holocene. The earliest Floridians hunted megafauna at spring-fed sinkholes preserved in sites like Page-Ladson, where butchered mastodon remains date to 14,550 BP. By the Early Archaic, the Windover bog cemetery near Titusville preserved textiles, wooden tools, and human remains in peat for 8,000 years. As estuaries formed along migrating coastlines, Middle Archaic communities built massive shell middens and invented some of North America's earliest pottery—fiber-tempered Orange wares used for boiling shellfish and plants. This trajectory culminated in late precontact chiefdoms like the Calusa, who engineered canals and shellworks in Southwest Florida and sustained political hierarchy entirely through fisheries surplus, without maize agriculture. The Sebring area's archaeological record documents not a linear march toward complexity, but regionally tuned innovations shaped by prolific springs, karst sinkholes, and water-rich ecologies that structured settlement, technology, and power for fourteen millennia. Want more detail, click here
The Path Thru
Travel and Logistics
You have two airport options for Sebring: Tampa International (TPA) and Orlando International (MCO). Tampa sits 90 miles northwest via US-60 East to US-27 South—shorter than Orlando's 110-120 mile toll road route via Florida's Turnpike, but Orlando offers more direct flights and simpler routing. TPA consistently ranks among North America's top three large airports for passenger satisfaction, winning multiple J.D. Power awards and recognition from travel professionals like Samantha Brown, who calls it the best airport in the U.S. Its hub-and-spoke terminal design minimizes walking distances, maintains short security lines, and places rental car counters directly in the main terminal. The airport earns its reputation through above-average cleanliness, strong dining and shopping selections both landside and airside, and consistently friendly staff.
Orlando International (MCO) doesn't match Tampa's service rankings but provides more flight options at competitive prices—airline yield pricing means the best deal varies by booking date. MCO operates two terminal complexes: North Terminal (A and B) uses trams to gates, while the newer South Terminal C uses automated trains. Both have full check-in, security, and baggage claim facilities, with color-coded wayfinding between them. Dining and shopping are available pre- and post-security throughout the airport, and Terminal C connects directly to Brightline rail service. Rental car counters for major agencies sit on Level 1 of the main terminal with no shuttle required.
I settled on Orlando due to a pricing difference but smarter people than me including the OCR Kings flew into Tampa without any problems. I thin its a tossup depending on price and what time of the day you want to travel.
Hotels
I've been racing in Sebring since this race was first announced years ago, and I no longer stay in Sebring. There are only a few hotels, the good ones fill up quickly, and none are closer than 15 or 20 minutes from the venue. For the last few years I've stayed in Bowling Green, and I think it's a better move. It's a local community with a brand new hotel, l restaurants, and the all-important Walmart. You can laugh all you want, but the Walmart backup plan has gotten me out of jams when I forgot something or just needed to pick up last-minute race items. Bowling Green is a 35-minute drive to the race venue on an empty country road—that's two cups of coffee, and I'm cool with that.
Best Western Heritage Inn & Suites - 2727 US Highway 17 N, Bowling Green. The primary modern hotel option in Bowling Green. This hotel sells out and has become a Spartan stronghold for the race weekend. New hotel with a pool and a whirlpool and a working coffee machine. My recommendation.
Inn on the Lakes — 3101 Golfview Rd, Sebring, FL 33870 (lakefront rooms near US‑27)
Seven Sebring Raceway Hotel — 150 Midway Dr, Sebring, FL 33870 (trackside at Sebring International Raceway)
Residence Inn by Marriott Sebring** — 3221 Tubbs Rd, Sebring, FL 33870 (extended‑stay with kitchens)
La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Sebring— 4115 US Highway 27 S, Sebring, FL 33870 (budget‑friendly)
Tru by Hilton Sebring— 1775 US Highway 27 S, Sebring, FL 33870 (modern, casual stay)
Restaurants
Taco Express - 1448 US-17, Wauchula, FL 33873 (5 minutes from the Best Western in Bowling Green Land one of the standouts on the entire race calendar.
Charlotte's Webb Pub- 3315 State Road 64 West
Java Cafe - 202 W Main St (cafe with sandwiches, salads, pizza)
Wauchula Family Restaurant- 502 S 6th Ave (classic American, home-cooked meals)
Woody's Bar-B-Q- 902 S 6th Ave (BBQ with full bar)[[4]](https://woodys.com/locations/wauchula-fl/)
Festival Area
There were a surprising number of vendors and food trucks at this event. However, a fair warning to anyone traveling with friends: this venue is wide open, with no tree cover or shade. If you have friends waiting for you, it is advisable to bring an umbrella or portable shade. Out on the course, I paid attention to hydration and used sunscreen. Traveling to Florida in the winter is deceptive, but it's easy on the course when you are moving. Spectators sitting in the sun for 3 or 4 hours can get sunburned and are advised to plan ahead.
This was the last venue for multi-Trifecta medals and weekend Trifecta medals, and I saw no issues. Spartan brought everything they had left in inventory, and it seems like the end of this era is upon us. I am personally looking forward to the new EHx design. It's something different and should eliminate the drama of missing medals we experienced over the past few seasons (hopefully).
The Course
The venue is now at Skippers Ranch. IIn previous years, this course was notorious for the one-mile swamp slog, which actually became two miles with the return, and could sometimes reach hip depth. However, in the past two years, this section has been completely dry, and the course itself has changed. What was once a nightmare for the IT Band has transformed into a flat and fast track, turning race weekend into more of a season-ending victory lap than a true challenge.
The course may be flat, but the terrain isn't—it features constant small ridges, bumps, and depressions. After all, this is a working cattle pasture. Pay attention to your footing, particularly at the beginning, to avoid twisting an ankle. I found I adapted quickly, but I remained mindful of where I stepped throughout the race. It's not a major issue, just something to be aware of. If you've ever run a trail or Spartan race on a farm or ranch, you know cows leave manure everywhere. You'll encounter it every five feet. Again, it's not a big deal—just keep it in mind during the barbed wire crawl or you risk maxing out your protein macros without knowing it.
The Sprint, Super, and Beast courses shared the exact same terrain since there was little to no water this year. Previous seasons saw a mile-long trudge through a swamp and a bigger trudge back, but those years are long gone in this area. Venue changes and lack of water made the swamp nonexistent. So all the courses did endless back-and-forth loops and zigzags to get the mileage out of the same general area. I stayed pretty conscious of where I was headed because it wasn't out of the realm of possibility to accidentally cut the course—paths were that close together.
Spartan also did something they do a lot in Europe: you could run all three races on Saturday or jump in a Super and Sprint heat on Sunday. I think this is a great format that I hope they carry into 2026. The biggest advantage I see is being able to get about 20 miles in one day as prep for an ultra. That alone makes this a great format.
Obstacle Placement
I felt that the obstacles were fairly evenly distributed throughout. This race featured another chain carry, but the most significant improvement in obstacles was an idea that should have been implemented long ago. The bucket carry was combined with the Hercules Hoist, followed by another bucket carry back! Spartan has rightly faced criticism for not changing the obstacles much over the years. This approach somewhat addresses that issue by merging obstacles into a new challenge. They should consider doing this at every venue, as it requires no additional effort, makes the venue memorable, and doesn't necessitate changing training plans to accommodate an unknown obstacle for competitors.
Fans of Occam's Razor unite!
End of the Season
The 2025 Spartan Race Season has concluded. Participation numbers increased, more venues were added, and this trend appears to be continuing into 2026. However, there were some missteps. Not hosting the Trifecta Championship in Sparta, Greece, was puzzling. Although West Virginia is a great venue, it lacked Greece's gravitas. With the announcement of returning to Greece in 2026, that issue seems resolved. The online controversy over new T-shirts and medals for 2026 persists, butgotta wait until the season kickoff at Perris Lake to determine if this is progress or a recalibration. I believe Spartan realized they couldn't maintain enough stock for these medals and decided to reinvent the situation, focusing on logistics and inventory management.
So with the Year of the Boar coes to an end and The Year of the Wolf is upon us. Train hard and see you in Perris Lake at the SoCal Trifedta Weekend in late January.
Comments