ESN Hybrid Games vs. Spartan Race: Distanz, Stationen, Preis & Schwierigkeit im Vergleich (2026-27)

The ESN Hybrid Games - R.I.S.E. was a hybrid fitness race presented by ESN (Elite Sports Nutrition) at Forders Gym near Birmingham, UK, on 29 March 2025. The organisers billed it as ESN's first fitness race in the UK. R.I.S.E. stands for Resilience, Intensity, Strength and Endurance.

The race featured seven stations, including running, rowing and farmers carries. It offered several divisions: a Pro Athlete division with heavier weights for experienced fitness racers, and an Athlete division with lighter weights for those newer to the sport. Participants raced alongside a group of invited elite hybrid athletes, with cash prizes from a stated £10,000 prize pool across divisions. No later editions or official website for the event could be found, so race.fitness lists it as a single past event rather than a running series.

Spartan Race is an obstacle course racing series established in Vermont, USA, in 2010, with events in more than 40 countries. Courses combine off-road trail running with obstacles such as walls, barbed-wire crawls, monkey bars and a spear throw, and they often include mud and water.

The main distances are the Sprint (5 km, 20 obstacles), the Super (10 km, 25 obstacles), the Beast (21 km, 30 obstacles) and the Ultra (50 km, 60 obstacles). Completing a Sprint, Super and Beast in one calendar year earns the Spartan Trifecta, and many venues host Trifecta Weekends with all three races. Spartan also runs Stadion races in sports stadiums, trail races, kids' races, competitive Elite and Age Group heats, and endurance events. The Sprint is pitched at first-timers, while the Beast and Ultra suit experienced racers.