The Remarkable Story of the 2018 Race to a Million, and What to Watch for in 2019

In 2018, Spartan founder and CEO Joe De Sena announced that he would award $1 million to any athlete who won the Spartan World Championship in North Lake Tahoe, the Trifecta World Championship in Sparta, and the Ultra World Championship in Iceland. After the initial stunned reaction to the tremendous purse, the next question from fans and athletes alike was: Can it be done? Is a Spartan Triple Crown achievable? Just like that, the Spartan Race to a Million was born.

In the documentary above, we highlight the incredible journeys of these athletes as they traversed the world and stared unthinkable obstacles in the face. We tell their stories of triumph up-close and personal, their highs and lows from start to finish, from both a physical and mental standpoint.

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Three different women were victorious in the three major events — Canadian Lindsay Webster won Tahoe, Czech Zuzana Kocumova took Sparta, and Slovakian Janka Pepova reigned supreme in Iceland — but the Race to a Million came down to the wire on the men's side. Britain's Jonathan Albon took first in Tahoe and Sparta, but was outlasted by Canadian Ryan Atkins in Iceland.

MORE: How Lindsay Webster Stays in Insane Shape

So who, if anyone, will win the $1 million in 2019? With Tahoe in the books — Robert Killian won on the men's side, Nicole Mericle on the women's — all eyes are on Sparta (Nov. 1-3) and Sweden (Nov. 8-10), which has replaced Iceland as the site of the Ultra World Championship. In addition to Killian and Mericle, Atkins and Webster are the other athletes still in contention for the prize. For more on the Race to a Million, click here, and for information on the point system and how it works, click here.

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