FORT BENNING, Ga., (April 20, 2016) -- Civilians and Soldiers participated in the first Reebok Spartan Race hosted on Fort Benning April 16. The event drew more than 2,500 competitors eager to take on the infamous mud obstacle course and sprint.

The race marked another milestone for Fort Benning as it was the first time a Spartan Race was part of the Best Ranger Competition. The Best Ranger competitors ran the course early Saturday morning just before the elite Spartan men took to the course.

As part of the course, competitors were challenged with more than 20 military inspired obstacles over three plus miles, according to Spartan.com. If competitors failed to complete any of the obstacles, they were tasked with completing 30 penalty exercises called burpees before moving on to the next obstacle.

Durojaye Myrie, a competitor from North Carolina, said she made the drive because she wanted to compete in her first Spartan Race, but as an active-duty Marine, she also wanted to see Fort Benning.

"I saw that there was one here at Fort Benning, and it was also great to see that it's also military as well," said Myrie. "It was great to see the camaraderie doing this race together." While the obstacles were a surprise, and competitors found themselves caked in red Georgia mud due to previous rain, the greatest challenge was mental, said Myrie.

"The most challenging thing was just having that mind over matter. Just knowing that there are so many obstacles, just getting through one obstacle and knowing, oh my gosh, I still have to continue on," said Myrie.

2016 Best Ranger winner, Staff Sgt. Erich Friedlein said that the Spartan Race was a "smoker" when he and his partner, Capt. Robert Killian, ran through it early Saturday morning.

"It was still really cold out and there were tons of water obstacles, we had our uniforms just drenched in sweat and then water. Luckily I happen to have a Spartan World Champion as my partner so that really helped getting through all the obstacles," said Friedlein referring to Killian's 2015 Spartan World Champion title.

"Seeing the incredible strength and endurance that the best Soldiers from the United States armed forces demonstrate through the competition is truly inspiring, and seeing 2015 Spartan World Champion Robert Killian being named 2016 Best Ranger tops off an incredible weekend," said Vinny Cappadora, race director.

Official results from the race are posted at Spartan.com.