At 61, Local Businessman Excels at Spartan Races
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Spartan Races are considered the hardest on the planet, but for one 61-year-old Saratoga Springs businessman, they’re just another exhilarating weekend.
“I’ve never, ever been happier than these last few years since I was racing,” said Bob West, president of Old Saratoga Restorations. “I attribute it directly to the hard work, which is just putting in that daily grind and then putting out as much effort as I possibly can.”
West has participated in more than 100 Spartan Races all over the country, completing 1,851 obstacles at a distance of over 640 miles. In the 60+ age group, he’s won dozens of races, including most recently the Vermont Spartan Sprint 5K on September 15. And despite competing against much younger foes, West has placed as high as 11th overall. As of press time, he was ranked third in the 2024 National Series.
West said he’s long been interested in adrenaline rush-inducing sports. At 14, he started racing motocross. In his 20s, he took up surfing. Later, he gave mountain biking a shot. But he wasn’t especially interested in running until he stumbled upon posts about Spartan Races on Instagram.
“Wow, this is freaking crazy, man,” West thought when he learned about Spartan racers. “Who the hell runs these things? I wonder if I could do that.”
West’s first race was a bit of an accident. He intended to sign up for a 5K that included 20 obstacles, but he instead competed in a 10K with 28 obstacles that are progressively harder as the race goes on.
“It was pretty brutal and I was beat down pretty hard because I failed a bunch of it, but when I finished and I recovered a couple hours later, I was just blown away at how I felt. I felt amazing, like holy shit this was so hard but I got through it,” West said.
West said he was struck by how his fellow Spartan racers celebrated each other’s achievements rather than viciously competing against one another to score a victory. That camaraderie helped reel him in, and he’s been participating in Spartan races ever since.
West said the hardest race he’s competed in thus far is the Vermont Spartan Beast 21K at the Killington Ski Resort, otherwise aptly known as the Killington Beast.
“My first race, I wanted to quit many times and I almost did. I sat down at one point and decided that I was done, I couldn’t finish it,” West said. “I was on my hands and knees crawling up the hill because I was really not prepared for it.”
West stared down the Killington Beast once again on September 14, this time placing second in his age group. It was another difficult task checked off of his to-do list.
“I definitely proved to myself that I’m one of the top three or five guys in the country at racing Spartan,” West said. “I guess my message is that finding something that is hard to do and rewarding at any age is really important. I just think that if there’s no effort in, there’s not much of a reward out.”
