Spartan Race makes impact in Newberry
Aug. 7—NEWBERRY — Spartan, the world's leading endurance sports and extreme wellness brand, came to Newberry this past weekend with the Spirit 5K and Super 10K at the Johnson Farm and Lynch's Woods.
Blackwell Johnson, of Johnson Farm, said the conversation to have the Spartan Race here in Newberry started with a call from City Manager Matt DeWitt asking if he'd be interested, which was followed by a call from Scott Sawyer, the now retired director of the City of Newberry Parks, Recreation and Tourism department.
"We said sure, love to talk to them. The next day, I talked to a Spartan representative, we talked through everything, he flew in the following Thursday and toured the farm to see if it was a good fit for Spartan. It was between us and two other venues and they ended up choosing us, which was awesome," Johnson said.
Johnson, and his wife Allison, participated in the race as well.
"I thought the course was great, I grew up on the farm and playing in Lynch's Woods and Allison and I really wanted to do the 10K, to see how they did the race. The way they tied Lynch's Woods to the farm, all of the trails inside, was amazing. I was super impressed with how they did it, how they incorporated the obstacles and creeks," Johnson said.
During the weekend, Johnson said the people they talked to loved Newberry and the community, not to mention the farm and Lynch's Woods.
"I talked to some people who have done these races all over and they came to Newberry and loved it," he said.
It wasn't just people from across the United States to visit Newberry, Johnson said he met one woman from Australia who won her age group and a man from England.
"I really hope they come back. We got to know a lot of the Spartan employees and all of the Spartan people loved Newberry, they loved the farm and Lynch's Woods," he said.
Rachel Hester, race project manager, said during the weekend they had 5,500 adult racers and 800 children for the youth course and the response was super positive.
"I think all of our team members probably agree, one of the smoothest races we've had in a while. The support from the community made it a very refreshing course for us," she said. "Everyone loved the course in Lynch's Woods."
As for the Spartan Race returning to Newberry, Hester said it is going to be a topic of conversation. She said they are looking at a couple of venue options, but based on how well the race went, Newberry will be a contender.
"Hosting the Spartan Race was an amazing and unique experience for Newberry, and it made a significant economic impact. We're proud a national competition was held in Newberry. That's a big deal. The Spartan Race staff and competitors had glowing comments about Newberry, the Johnson Farm and Lynch's Woods. We would love for them to come back to Newberry," said Mayor Foster Senn.
Reach Andrew Wigger @ 803-768-3122 or on Twitter @TheNBOnews.
