Palmerton will welcome more than 11,000 competitors who will take part in the 2026 Pocono Spartan Race at Blue Mountain Ski Area this weekend.

St. Luke’s University Health Network is the health system and hospital provider of the 2026 Poconos Spartan Race Event to be held July 11 to 12.

Carbon County is one of the top five Spartan events on the East Coast.

“Spartan is built on overcoming obstacles and expanding what’s possible, but nobody accomplishes that alone,” said Brian Cox, director of Global Partnerships at Spartan. “Having an elite Partner in St. Luke’s provides our racers with the high-level preparation and unmatched recovery support they need before and after an intense weekend at Blue Mountain. We hope to continue to grow this Partnership for many years to come.”

This weekend’s Spartan events will include a 5K sprint with 20 obstacles, a super 10K with 25 obstacles, and kids races from ½- to 2 miles with obstacles. It will also feature a Spartan Trail race on pristine single-track trails too narrow and inaccessible for obstacle building.

All races will take place on Blue Mountain.

John Graham, senior network administrator of Fitness and Sports Performance and a Spartan participant, is excited to mark St. Luke’s fifth year as presenting sponsor in partnership with Spartan.

“It’s absolutely incredible to see such determination and human spirit on display,” says Graham, who is a cocaptain along with Dave Wood of St. Luke’s Spartan team. “As we celebrate our fifth year, we look forward to everyone stretching their limits and overcoming every obstacle with us. Participants are tested at every turn, making it such an empowering and life changing race.”

During the event, St. Luke’s Chiropractic Care and Sports Medicine team members will be available at the “St. Luke’s Spartans” tent, where participants can go for assistance with recovery. The tent will include postrace stretching and recovery tools to help speed up the body’s recovery from the intense event.

St. Luke’s will also provide snacks and drinks to help participants rehydrate during and after their events.

All finishers receive a T-shirt, medal and professional photos.