The Spartan Obstacle Run, or Spartan Run, has been at the University of Tampa for 13 years under various names. This year, the race was run on Oct. 18, the Kids Challenge 1k starting at 7:45 a.m. and the adult 5k starting at 8 a.m. The Spartan Run was originally created to raise scholarship money for UT’s cross country runners. For the past five years, the cross-country team has partnered with UT’s Alumni Association to help the race grow and make it a full campus event.
Jessica Burns Fugate is the Assistant Director of Alumni and Parent Relations at UT. Fugate was very involved with the organization of the Spartan Run this year, arriving at the UT campus to help set up before 5 a.m.
“The Spartan Obstacle Run is such an incredible event because it brings together UT students, faculty and staff, as well as the local community to support our students,” Fugate said.
Coach Dror Vaknin is the assistant coach for the cross-country team, and is very hands on when it comes to the Spartan Run. Vaknin starts off every race and stands at the finish line to greet all racers as they finish. The race is run through the scenic UT campus.
“Our hope this year is to showcase our campus as well as involve the student body,” Vaknin said.
The Kids Challenge consisted of a run around the track, a cargo net crawl and a hale bale jump. There were 10 runners this year in the Kids Challenge.
The top runners were Shannon Gomez, age nine, and an almost tie between 11-year-old runners Amir Taariq and Junhao Zhang.
There were 200 adult runners who participated in the 5k race. The track runners had several obstacles including: a large sand mound, a cargo net crawl on the volleyball court, tire run, hay bale jumps and a wall climb.
The top male runner was 32-year-old Scoot Fountain with a time of 19.27 minutes. The top female runner was 39-year-old Kristine Claffie, who placed ninth with a time of 22.14 minutes. In the 15-19 year old female student runners division first place was by 18-year-old Mallory Kuba. Followed by 19-year-old Shae Smith for second place and 18-year-old Sidney Hopkins for third place. One of the most interesting runners for the day was Bill Welch. Welch is a 77 year old runner who completed the entire Spartan Run, which was his 846th overall race.
Overall, the race was a success, with over 200 attendees and sponsor tables it was a great event for students, alumni, and Tampa Bay citizens. Fugate and Dror hope to have an even larger turnout for next year.
Claire Jack can be reached at claire.jack@spartans.ut.edu