“David and the whole crew over at Conquer The Gauntlet deserve a nod today from the entire OCR community.  It is incredibly humbling to see such an amazing organization make a hard decision that favors others over themselves.  We at BONEFROG thank Dave and the CTG crew and look forward to working with them hand in hand to grow the OCR community and continuously raise the bar at every level.”  

– Brian Carney, BONEFROG CEO

#OCRUNITED, Tested

The sport of OCR is actually a pretty small world, of the 2+ million athletes who participated in “mud runs” throughout the USA in 2016, we all have a pretty extensive personal network that connects different athletes, groups, events, websites, writers, and even the venues themselves. I bet if I name 3 race companies, you can tell me a dozen people you know personally who either participated in their events, volunteered at, or work for the company.

As the sport of OCR has matured, many race companies have crossed over from competitors to friends and colleagues, and with the advent of co-op obstacles at The OCR World Championships and now the US OCR Championships, event owners and staff not only share a few beers after setup, bonds of friendship are cemented that grow into partnerships. In 2014, during the development of OCRWC, the Brad, Adrian, Brian, and I batted around the term OCR UNITED to describe our grand vision for our OCR Utopia, and as these independent OCR championship events have grown and stretched out to encompass well over a dozen other race organizations worldwide, so has #OCRUNITED.

When BONEFROG and Conquer The Gauntlet landed on the same weekend in the same “metro” area of Mountain Home and Austin Texas, it was the first true test of #OCRUNITED; two races who play a big role in OCRWC and USOCRC and two friends essentially operating as rivals in one market.

Instead of taking sides or pointing fingers, we all jumped in to come to a solution that would benefit Austin-area athletes, while allowing CTG and BF to conduct their businesses. Adrian from OCRWC & USOCRC, Mark Ballas from Green Beret Challenge, and representatives from YO Ranch HQ examined possible dates and negotiated freely to put a plan in-place, and we're all pretty damn proud of the outcome. NOTE: Check the last bullet point for a discount that supports both races and all athletes in the Austin, San Antonio, and Texas Hill Country areas!

From David Mainprize at Conquer The Gauntlet:

We are writing to inform you of a date change for our Central Texas race, which was originally scheduled for April 29.  The new date for the race will be October 21, 2017.

As you may or may not be aware, we announced this race date and opened registration on September 23, 2016. Approximately two months later, BONEFROG announced a date of April 29 for their Austin, Texas race. This was not at all an intentional move on their part, both races have been working independently to hold a race in this area for some time without knowledge of the others intentions. Since the announcement, we've been working together to find a solution. The fact of the matter is there just aren't enough runners doing obstacle course races yet for two races to hold an event on the same day in the same area and have success. We are splitting the registrations and neither race is getting the registrations needed to hold an event that day. This is a no-win situation which is bad for both the runners and the race companies.  We want EVERYONE to have the best race day possible!

After much work and discussion, we, along with BONEFROG, the OCR World Championships, and the USOCR Championships, have reached the following solution: BONEFROG will hold their event on April 29 in Austin, Texas. Conquer The Gauntlet will hold our event on October 21, at YO Ranch HQ. We obtained confirmation on this new date this morning and are reaching out to you as soon as we could with this information. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you. If you are registered for the Conquer The Gauntlet race on April 29, you will be automatically transferred to the October date.  If that date doesn't work for you here are your options moving forward:

  • Transfer to another race
  • Registration credit for any future CTG
  • Sell or transfer your ticket to another runner

Special CTG/BONEFROG Discounts

Conquer The Gauntlet and BONEFROG, have come together to offer a special discount to those registered for the other race:

  • Registered 4/29 YO Ranch HQ CTG athletes can participate in Austin BONEFROG for 50% OFF! Just email them at contact@bonefrogchallenge.com.
  • Registered 4/29 Austin BONEFROG athletes can participate in YO Ranch HQ CTG on 10/21 for 50% OFF! Just email them at contact@conquerthegauntlet.com
  • ALL athletes can participate in either/both events for 30% OFF using the code OCRUNITED at checkout!

Conquer The Gauntlet Central Texas will now be held October 21. This decision was not made lightly, but after weighing all the options, this option will allow the athletes to support and experience both races without having to choose one or the other. We truly hope to see you at BONEFROG in April and at Conquer The Gauntlet on October 21. The fall colors will no doubt be beautiful at the YO Ranch HQ that time of year. 

– CTG HQ

#OCRUNITED, Realized

A huge thank-you to the athletes affected by the switch for being flexible, and all the events and staff that worked behind the scenes to make this possible. It's hard not to reckon this is a big step forward for the sport when race companies can come together to put business aside and work to come to a solution that benefits the athletes, the community, and reaffirm our commitment to #OCRUNITED.

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