SPARTAN BABY BADASS ULTRA BY R RICCARDI
THE STORY OF SBBU
THE STORY BEHIND THE
SPARTAN BABY BADASS ULTRA BY R RICCARDI
Each April, as autumn brings in its caches of orange leaves and shorter days, a small group of civilian runners attempt the Spartan Baby Badass Ultra( SBBU). They set up barracks at the Italian Club in Bedfordview, Johannesburg. At the allotted hour * they start their 4.167km loop. Once a loop is complete, they rest up until the top of the next hour. A cowbell is rung to signal the start of their next loop. They complete 24 loops. For those of you mathematically inclined, you’ d know that 24 x 4.167km equals 100 kilometres.
The SBBU is a self-supported running race. No race marshalls, drinks stations or massage tables on any of the loops. Once you leave the barracks you are on your own.
One of the world’ s biggest and most prestigious ultramarathons, The Comrades Marathon, is only 90 kilometres long. So for anyone completing the SBBU, this means you have bragging rights for life because everyone knows 100km is more than 90km. If there was any fairness in the world, anyone wearing an SBBU finisher’ s belt buckle should never again have to buy their drinks in any South African sports bar.
For some runners, and there are always a few, 100km is not enough. Those inclined have an option to convert the distances to miles. So in 24 hours, some choose to run 100 miles or 161km. This is not an option encouraged for everyone. Some people like“ LEMON & HERB” on their Nando’ s chicken wraps. Some like“ EARTH RE- ENTRY HEAT HOT”.
It would be incorrect to try to explain the SBBU in its entirety without mentioning one of the founders, Johnny Cobra.** Last year, after completing my second SBBU, I wrote the words below to describe Johnny Cobra and I stand by them.
Johnny Cobra’ s heritage is all Greek. This explains his affinity for the Spartans. However, his appearance is that of a ginger Viking. Or a Scottish Highlander. Grow out his hair, weave the sides into pleats and paint a blue cross across his forehead and he is Hamish Campbell from Braveheart.
In 2021, the year before the first SBBU, Johnny Cobra was in the mood for testing ultra-distances and sleep deprivation on his friends. Ignoring the scourge caused by the Covid pandemic, he lured some friends to the neighbourhood of Bedfordview to test them on the 4x4x48. The Four by Four By Forty-Eight( which is how you say it) was a race invented by a Navy Seal. The 4x4x48 involved the athletes running four miles every four hours for fortyeight hours. Two days of running mixed in with a dash of no sleep, all the while evading capture from the South African Police Services for breaking curfew, made for an interesting cocktail. If the SBBU was Johnny’ s world’ s hottest ultrarunning chilli, the 77-kilometre 4x4x48 was the chilli seed planted in his experimental laboratory.
2022
In his spare time Johnny Cobra, when he is not tending to his chilli plants with his rubber gloves and protective eyewear, spends hours in his study designing lures for fly fishing. He cuts out designs from balsa wood. Sometimes he uses cedar or basswood if he can find any. He coats it with waterproofing and secures a hook to the fly by wrapping thread to the hook’ s shank before adding wings. If he has the time – and he often does for his creative endeavours- he secures in bright feathers. Johnny finishes the fly by tightening its components and tying off the thread with a pair of switch-blade-sharp pliers.
In early 2022, an invitation to the SBBU was prepared and shared between friends. It explained the distances and read:
“ The SBBU is a 24-hour running event and not necessarily, in fact definitely not, for everyone. Success is unlikely. The meek of heart need not apply.”
Despite the minimal information, the invitation was well received and sufficient to attract 25 runners who attempted the inaugural SBBU. Nineteen finished. Six people did not and their
“ Johnny Cobra grows the hottest chilis in the world in the back of his garden. So he is not to be trusted.”
10 SPARTAN BABY BADASS ULTRA 2025