NBC Sports Ventures will be partnering with Spartan Race and Reebok to gain the exclusive media rights of the Reebok Spartan Races, which will air beginning July 22. Spartan Race is an obstacle course developed by Joe De Sena, which includes spear throwing and barbed-wire crawls.

“De Sena is an entrepreneur and longtime endurance and adventure racer. A decade ago, he sold his Wall Street trading firm and moved to a farm in the small central Vermont town of Pittsfield, in the Green Mountains, where he lives with his family,” a recent in-depth story from Outside stated. “Soon he started hosting his own races, including the Death Race, a multi-day event that is a cross between an adventure race and a military survival course. In 2010, he launched Spartan Race Inc., which is now a $60 million business and one of the most popular obstacle-race series in the world.”

The television schedule will begin with the Tuxedo, New York race on July 22; Palmerton, Pennsylvania on August 19; Washougal, Washington on September 13; Amesbury, Massachusetts on September 23; and Wintergreen, Virginia on October 25. The last competition to be aired will be the Spartan Race World Championship in Killington, Vermont on November 16.

“By amplifying the level of visibility for the sport of obstacle racing, we’re taking a huge step toward our mission to pull people off the couch and get them living fit,” De Sena said in a news release. “We have big dreams for this sport, and exciting times are ahead. Our alliance with NBC Sports moves us firmly toward our goals.”

Image courtesy of Crs9740 /Wikimedia Commons