Reebok Spartan Race, a leader in obstacle racing, has been developing the fast-growing sport and lifestyle event industry since 2010. With races held in various environments and in all sorts of weather around the world, and having various degrees of distance, challenge levels and obstacles to overcome, the music is carefully orchestrated to provide the inspiration to keep the participants going in the festival area and along the race route, that sound inspiration is delivered by QSC K Series Loudspeakers.
“When participants are running the race, and perhaps face one of the obstacles, such as climbing over a 35 foot cargo net, they need inspiration to meet the challenges,” says Daniel Goldstein of Spartan Race. “Having music along the way is important to keep them motivated; it keeps everyone’s spirits high, and music is the way to do that.”
Goldstein’s involvement with the sport of Obstacle Racing and Spartan began with supporting logistics for the races, which were growing at the time from hundreds to many thousands of participants and attendees, and working out all the details needed to accommodate them, such as food, parking, and entertainment. As the races grew in size, the music needed to be orchestrated and taken to the next level, so Goldstein strategized and organized the setup of the new sound systems.
Bob Lyday, emcee of the Spartan Race, with the QSC K Series loudpeakers.
QSC K Series loudspeakers were selected for the race, which serve a dual purpose at the events. In the festival area, the K12 speakers are setup for the emcee and a DJ playing music, both to keep people entertained as well as to help keep the timing of the events moving along throughout the day. The music is curated to be family-friendly, and works in conjunction with the emcee and DJ, and is coordinated to match the progress of events. And all along the course itself, which ranging from 5 to as much as 20 miles, K Series loudspeakers deliver the music to keep the athletes motivated.
“We live in a world where it is quite common to see people wearing earbuds when they are out doing physical exercise; today people are ‘plugged in’ to the audio experience. For athletes, we know that music helps to keep them on track while training and elevate their effort to achieve peak performance,” says Goldstein. “So in setting up for the races, the music is a very valuable component to it. Having the QSC speakers in Spartan’s trucks is as important as all of their other event preparations—they are a staple.”
QSC K Series loudspeakers on back of truck at the Spartan Race.
While Goldstein is busy with the audio setup for Spartan Race, he wears many hats in the audio and video worlds, including owning a film production company which produces videos for the races. He also owns his own recording studio, Herd Studio in Roxbury, Mass., working with a variety of acts from quartets to big bands to rappers. And for the past 15 years, he has been part of one of the biggest sound camps at the annual Burning Man gathering in the desert in Nevada.
“I have been producing events for a long time, and I have always used QSC products,” adds Goldstein. “The K Series is ideal for sound people like me on the move, who are setting up events for large groups, moving from stop to stop and throwing them in a truck over and over again. Most of the time with other speakers, if you use them enough, the sound quality diminishes. With the QSC K Series, I’ve put them through abuse and rugged situations over and over again, and they always sound excellent.”
Find information about QSC K Series loudspeakers.
Visit Herd Studio at herdstudio.com.
For information about the Reebok Spartan Race World Championship, go to www.spartan.com.
