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The atlas stone is a staple in any Spartan Race (and many other OCR events). It's not the longest obstacle/carry, but it's certainly possible to be inefficient/slow on it and lose precious seconds. If you're aiming for a great Elite or Age Group placing, losing 20-30 seconds to a competitor on any obstacle is a massive loss that can be hard to make up (especially in a short event)! In an effort to round out my own training after losing ground on this very obstacle to some competitors during a recent major race, I started researching how I could make my own atlas stone. The simplest way to make one would have been to buy a pre made stone mold (there are many reputable companies that sell stone molds which make great stones). This is also the most expensive method of getting your hands on an Atlas Stone as many of these stone molds cost upwards of $100 CAD (or more). If that's in your budget, go for it! It will be the quickest and easiest way to get the job done. If you're like me and you're looking to save some money but still want equipment that will get the job done (and aren't afraid to get your hands dirty), consider making your own stone mold and atlas stone for under $40 CAD. Making your own stone mold is certainly not the fastest way to make an an Atlas Stone and will require some patience, but the end product was worth it. I'm not to most "handy" person, but I was still able to make one easily enough. Here is how you can also make your own atlas stone for a fraction of the cost: Supplies Needed: -1 ball (can be found at Walmart or a Dollar store such as Dollarama)= $4 -1-2 bottles of white glue (Elmer's Glue)= $20 (2 bottles) -Newspaper (alot!) = Free (I used local grocery store flyers). -1 bag of sand = reused the sand inside my sandbags. Probably $5 if you don't already have any. -1-2 bags of concrete (I used 30KG bags), depending on estimated ball weight = $10 ($5 each). -Wheelbarrow (or other container) to mix concrete Total= $34-39 CAD.
Step 1: Buy a ball to create your mold The first step to creating your own atlas stone is getting a ball that you can use to create a stone mold. Try and get one that is similar in size to the race day stones. I'm sure there are some official measurements out there for the Spartan stones (depending who you ask, men's stones may weight 100-115lbs while women's stones may weight 75lbs), and there are certainly graphs that others have come up with to estimate stone weight based on the ball's measurements, but I just eyeballed it as the ball seemed to be around the same size as race day stones. I got this Hedstrom brand ball from Walmart (below) for around $4 which measured 13.8 x 13.8 x 13.8 inches.
Step 2: Creating the mold This is the longest part: creating the actual mold out of paper mache. In order to do this you'll need 1-2 big bottles of white glue (ex: Elmer's Glue) and alot of old newspapers. I went through about 2x 950ml bottles of Elmer's Glue seen below (which I also bought at Walmart):
Next: cut up strips of paper, throw them in a bowl with some water and glue, paste to the inflated ball! Simple as that! Make sure to leave a 6 inch hole so that you can pull the pin out of the ball and deflate it later (more on that below) Some websites suggested layering your paper mache until you had created a mold around the ball that was around 1/4-1/2 inch in thickness. By feel, I'm sure I had at least that much, but to be safe I added more paper/layers than I thought was necessary. I added about 2-3 layers of paper mache per day for about 2 weeks, leaving the ball out in the sun to try during the day.
Step 3: Preparing the mold
Next you'll need some sort of strong container to house your mold and sand so that you can add concrete. The sand and container are a crucial step as you cannot just pour concrete into a stand alone paper mache mold and expect it to hold (if you did so it would likely just rip open). As you add concrete (which pushes against the mold), the container and sand will push back against the mold/concrete so the mold does not rip open.
Some people built their own box/container out of scrap lumber, I used an old plastic garbage bin (below).
Here are the steps to prepare your mold: -Add a few inches of sand to the bottom of your container. -Insert the ball/mold on top of the sand.
-Slowly pour sand evenly around the ball until it is almost entirely submerged in sand.
-When the sand is in place, deflate the ball and remove it through the hole at the top.
Step 4: Adding concrete My mold was large enough that it took almost 2 full bags of 66lb (30KG) concrete. I used "Quikrete" for this ball (seen below), which I got from the local Home Hardware, although if your store does not have this brand you can get something similar at any hardware store in their building/construction section (Home Depot, etc).
*Some people reinforce their concrete with fibers, but I wasn't planning on slamming this one (I was only planning on lifting/carrying it) so I didn't add anything.
Things to make sure of:
-Consistency of your concrete shouldn't be too thick or too soupy, somewhere in between seemed to be best for me.
-Add concrete to your mold one shovelful at a time, making sure to tap the container/mold gently in between shovels in order to level out the concrete and remove any air bubbles
Step 4: Let the concrete set
Follow the manufacturers directions found on your bags of concrete. I left mine for about 48 hours before removing it from the container.
Step 5: Remove mold This is the fun part. Remove the ball from the container and start ripping the mold off! You may notice that the paper mold is still somewhat damp, or that the ball doesn't feel 100% dry. I left mine out in the sun during the day for the next 24-48 hours to allow it to dry out. Step 6: Finishing your stone At this point you may have some slight imperfections in the shape of your stone (which is normal). If you have a grinder, use this to round out the stone (I haven't gotten around to doing so yet, but it hasn't stopped me from using the stone during training). I ended up with a 120lb stone (below) which felt significantly larger and heavier than the race day stones. I was able to throw this into race simulations and practice running, lifting/carrying the atlas stone (the same race distance), and then doing monkey bars/rigs/pullups/rope climbs, just as we would on race day. I can confidently say that the Atlas stone at the Spartan Blue Mountain Beast felt significantly lighter than my stone (I would estimate around 20lbs lighter) and I was able to get in and out of that obstacle significantly faster than my previous race where I was gapped by my competition. With your own stone you'll now be able to recreate the demands of race day as well and gain an advantage on your competitors who don't have access to an Atlas stone!
If you liked this DIY suggestion and you want to take your training and racing to the next level like all of the athletes above, please check out our 1 on 1 personalized running and OCR training plans (which are used by all of these athletes) by clicking here:
Have question about our training plans? Send us an email: outlawocr@gmail.com.