CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Thousands of athletes from across the country will be in Beckley this summer to participate in the 2017 U.S. Championship Series for the Spartan Race.
The Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve is hosting the event Aug. 26-27. It will be televised on NBC Sports.
This is the first time the race will be held in West Virginia. Spartan Race has partnered with Wild, Wonderful West Virginia including both Charleston and Beckley-Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureaus.
Alisa Bailey, president of the Charleston CVB, said the event will benefit the city because many people will have to pass through Charleston to get to Beckley. During that weekend, Bailey said visitors can enjoy events in the city.
“We already have Live on the Levee going on, so we can sell them on that and we’ll also have a Charleston Street Fest, so we’re going to try to entice them to stay in Charleston,” Bailey said.
Many event goers will need to fly into Charleston’s Yeager Airport. Mike Plante, spokesman for Yeager, said the airport partnered with the CVBs to provide free transportation to and from the airport.
“They come here, it’s an hour drive for them and its one less transportation hassle/an expense they have to worry about,” Plante said.
The Yeager Airport Marketing Committee voted Wednesday to recommend a $10,000 contribution to the Spartan Race, as part of the package put together from the CVBs and state Tourism Department. The full Yeager board will vote on the recommendation at its meeting scheduled for Jan. 25.
Plante said having the event at the Summit Bechtel Reserve is a great way to promote West Virginia.
“It’ll be a great way to showcase West Virginia and it’ll bring travelers that we wouldn’t otherwise have through Charleston and through Yeager Airport,” he said. “The Bechtel Reserve is sort of already made for the kind of things that they do with the Spartan Race. It’s a beautiful venue.”
In a news release posted on the Spartan Race website, Joe De Sena, founder and CEO of the Spartan Race, said:
“We are thrilled to partner with Wild, Wonderful West Virginia and the Summit Bechtel Reserve to bring the final race of the Spartan U.S. Championship Series to the great state of West Virginia. This world-class venue with its impressive terrain and amenities makes it the ultimate destination for Spartan Racers and adventurers, and is the perfect stage for the world’s best athletes to test themselves one last time before the Reebok Spartan Race World Championship in Lake Tahoe.”
Nearly 25,000 people are expected to come to West Virginia for the event which includes a series of challenges featuring obstacle courses of various sizes and difficulties.
Visit summitbsa.org or spartan.com for more information.