Last year we wrote a comparison article between Spartan Race and Savage Race. We wanted to revisit it this year because some things have changed since then. In this article we'll look at Price, Obstacles, Terrain/venues, Prize Money, and Medals. Let's see who wins: Spartan vs Savage.
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To keep comparisons as fair as possible, we'll be comparing the Spartan Super in Colorado Springs on June 16 to the Savage Race on June 15 in Charlotte, NC. We will be factoring in the price of photos into the comparison as well. The normal distance of a Savage Race (not Savage Blitz) is right around 6 miles, so we're comparing roughly equal distances for races that are going to happen on the same weekend. All of the research for this article was done on May 24,2024. Let's go!
PRICE:
Spartan Race is advertising the Super (open wave) at $116.00 on the event page. When I click to purchase and I go to the actual purchase page, the cost listed for my ticket is now $154.00 and my total cost for the race at this point is $197.72. That's the result of a $22.79 processing fee (the processing fee increases from $19.72 to $22.79 after you add the photo package), a mandator $10.00 parking/baggage/murch discount fee, and a $14.00 mandatory admin/insurance fee. Spartan does not offer free photos anymore, so I add the photo package and it costs another $29.00. The total price for a Spartan Super, open wave (without a discount) with photos is $230.78. Goodness. The video below details the process.
Savage Race is advertising open wave tickets for their normal event at $159.00. Once on the actual registration page, the price is still listed at $159.00. You have the choice of racing earlier in the day (between 9:25 - 10:25 in the morning) and that will cost $14.00 extra. However, we just need to choose any open wave time, so the rest of the wave times are still $159.00. That's it. Historically, Savage Race does have you pay for parking onsite ($10 for the event I did last year), so your all-in buy-in including parking is $169.00. Race photos are still free with Savage Race. (Note: The video below is blurred for a second to cover personal information).
Additional Optional Fees: Spectator Passes
Spartan Spectator Cost Per Adult: $20.00
Savage Spectator Cost Per Adult: $23.60
Spartan LOSES this one. Savage costs about $60 LESS.
Savage: 1 point
Spartan: 0 points
OBSTACLES:
Arguably the most important part of any obstacle course race are the OBSTACLES. I won't dive too in depth on this one. Suffice to say that over the last 5 years Spartan Race has come up with very few new or creative obstacles. In that same time, Savage Race has created numerous new obstacles and variations of the obstacles they already had. They change things up a lot and challenge racers in unique ways. I encourage you all to check out the different obstacles (Youtube or the event websites) for each race to see which obstacles you like better.
That's another point for Savage Race.
Savage: 2 points
Spartan: 0 points
Terrain/Venues:
I'll just tell you now...Spartan Race wins this one. Spartan hosts races on some of the most beautiful mountains in the United States...and some of the most beautiful places in the world for that matter. Some of their races hit the tops of mountains that have gorgeous views for miles in all directions. Savage Race does well with terrain/venues, but they are mostly flat courses with short (often steep) hills throughout. They don't have big mountain climbs or amazing views.
Savage: 2 points
Spartan: 1 point
Prize Money:
At most races, neither Spartan Race nor Savage Race offer prize money. Both have events where they do have prize money (or races in a race series), but they don't have prize money for the normal races and normal winners. Now, that being said, Spartan has dramatically increased it's prize money this year for certain events/series. It is considerably more than what Savage offers in prize money. I want to give them both a tie because they both do the same thing with prize money, but Spartan is way bigger and offers more money overall. THAT BEING SAID, there have been reports from Elite racers in Spartan Race for years about how they either haven't been paid their winners or how it took extremely long periods of time to pay them. Most recently, Kris Rugloski, a top OCR athlete world-wide, said that Spartan Race owed her many thousands of dollars from race winnings, but hadn't paid her for a very long time. For that reason, and the fact that Savage Race has a very strong history of paying its athletes, Savage Race wins.
Savage Race: 3 points
Spartan Race: 1 points
Medals:
See for yourself. Personally, I think the Savage Medals are cooler. It was a tough choice though. I like the design on the perimeter of the Spartan medals...and the Ultra Buckle looks REALLY good. Ugh. Wait, I think I may have to change my mind. No, I love the axes on Savage's medals and I love the "cracked" background design and overall style. Yeah, I'm going to give it to Savage on this one, but just by a hair. Spartan's medals this year were a big step up compared to previous years.
Savage: 4 points
Spartan: 1 point
WINNER: SAVAGE RACE!!!
Not to mention that in the competitive divisions spartan has penalty loops if you cannot complete an obstacle. Savage is completion based. Meaning you can attempt the obstacle as many times as you want but if you do not complete it you lose your place as a competitive contender. I do not like penalty loops because it insentivises running over ocr. Ive seen people complete penalty loops quicker than the obstacles themselves. Ive completed 24/25 obstacles(missed spear throw) for a super and still finished in the same time that a long distance runner had gotten.