The famed Adventure Racing company Primal Quest announced it will host the first official Expedition OCR World Championship, sanctioned by World OCR, the Fédération Internationale de Sports d’Obstacles (FISO), formerly the IOSF. The multi-day event is set to take place September 6 – 15, 2018 in British Columbia, Canada.
The five-day championship race is a shortened version of the full Primal Quest and allows for teams to have support crews. Team for the event includes 2, 3 and 4-person mixed, male and female team categories. The event includes mountain biking, kayaking, rappelling/climbing, mountaineering, map navigation, and traversing the British Columbia landscape. The course is estimated to be 300 kilometers with up to 40 teams racing.
“World OCR is thrilled to add Primal Quest to the international roster of worldclass OCR events,” said Ian Adamson, FISO President. “Expedition OCR is a natural step up from events such as World’s Toughest Mudder and Spartan Ultra Beast to 60-hour Spartan Agoge. The evolution of challenge from man-made obstacles to Mother Nature's obstacles is an exciting progression that provides another level of competition for athletes competing in OCR.”
The full press release below.
Primal Quest Inc. has announced that it will host the first official Expedition Obstacle Course Racing (OCR) World Championship, sanctioned by the World OCR, the Fédération Internationale de Sports d’Obstacles (FISO), the sole competent authority for obstacle sports and related disciplines worldwide. Primal Quest Expedition Adventure Race is set to be hosted in British Columbia, Canada, September 6 through 15, 2018, with an international field of competitors.
Primal Quest is a multi-day, non-stop, expedition-style adventure race. It has been called one of the most difficult athletic events in the world and was cited as the most prestigious expedition event in North America. The 8th edition offers two racing categories – the traditional full-length PQ PURE event with 4-person coed teams, and the new shorter PQ PURSUIT event that includes 2, 3 and 4-person mixed, male and female team categories.
This NEW PURSUIT race distance is the 2018 Expedition OCR World Championship and will invite obstacle racers of all levels into adventure racing where they’ll have the opportunity to take their cross-over-skills to the next level. PQ Pursuit winners will be crowned World Champions and featured in high-level media opportunities.
“We are honored to host the official Expedition OCR World Championship,” said Maria Burton, Primal Quest CEO. “This exciting endorsement and partnership with FISO is significant in offering further challenge for the OCR community, and creating a distinct pathway for athletic advancement and recognition. At their fundamentals the sports are very much aligned and we believe this will grow interest in outdoor adventure sports and in turn sustainability for the sport.”
FISO, the world governing body for obstacle course racing and related disciplines, recently announced it’s 75th National Member Federation and is pursuing recognition by the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) for recognition by the International Olympic Committee. With over 20 million active participants, it is the largest and fastest growing mass participation sport worldwide.
“World OCR is thrilled to add Primal Quest to the international roster of world class OCR events,” said Ian Adamson, FISO President. “Expedition OCR is a natural step up from events such as World’s Toughest Mudder and Spartan Ultra Beast to 60-hour Spartan Agoge. The evolution of challenge from man-made obstacles to Mother Nature's obstacles is an exciting progression that provides another level of competition for athletes competing in OCR.”
For more information about the Primal Quest Expedition Race and to register, visit Primal Quest website.
There is likely to be Mud in OCR and AR events but that is all they have in common. I love both sports and participate in both. While I would love to see OCR athletes participate in AR. Creating an Endurance OCR world championship which is a simplified AR event is almost as bad as getting Baseball athletes to compete in Tennis for the Baseball world championships!