There are so many great things to be said about this race! This was my very first time running Rugged Maniac and it was AMAZING! This year, Rugged Maniac- Portland was held at the Portland International Raceway which has always made for some pretty great racing terrain.
Almost one year to the date I started training my friend John for OCR. It was therapy for me as I recovered from ACL surgery. It was torture for John. He had no idea what to expect. Like many first-timers, he thought he knew. He felt like he was in shape. After all, we’d been [...]
Every athlete has a moment in their life that has inspired them to set their mind on achieving a goal within their sport of interest. They train for many hours, for many weeks, months, and even years. They train their minds and bodies on accomplishing that goal, and when that moment comes in competition when they don’t think they can go that extra step or mile, that is when they reflect back on that moment that inspired them to pursue this journey in the first place. This is where the real test begins.
Goliathon put on their annual spring event and OCR photographer Bob Mulholland was on hand to compile the action for this photo essay.
I started my Spartan Race journey in Tuxedo NY back in 2013. I went into that race having no idea what to expect and with no “special” training. Fast forward 4 years and I returned to do my 12th. Spartan Race. There were a few things that made this different from all the other years..but more on that later. This is one of my favorite venues for two reasons. It is super close to my house and the terrain makes for one of the hardest sprints Spartan puts on.
Every so often you find a race that really does fit your personality. For me, it is Mud Hero, and yes, I like getting dirty, I like romping around with lots of obstacles to keep me entertained and I love a flat course so I don’t overdo it. This race returned to Commando Paintball located just outside of Ottawa.
Spartan Race Virginia changed locations in 2017. Last year, a very challenging Wintergreen Resort hosted the Super/Sprint weekend. Rumors are that a change was made because of too much litter on the course, which upset Wintergreen management, which I think is totally fair.
As the racing season swings into high gear, we traveled 4 hours East to Owl’s Head in Mansonville, Quebec, Canada for the Spartan weekend. This challenging location offers a vertical incline of 540 m (1,770 feet) with a top elevation of 756 m (2, 480 feet). The base elevation alone is 216 m (709 feet).
Back in March I shared the upcoming Memorial Beach Challenge 2017 by interviewing one of the race founders, Mike Vaules. This 2+ mile OCR is all on the beach of Ocean City, NJ. The tide was high this morning so in some spots, the beach was very narrow due to severe storm erosion over the winter. But that funnel did not stop the 425 runners from doing this course. No. What stopped them was exactly what Vaules said to me back in March. The hardest obstacle here is the sand.
Being used to the competitive atmosphere in most of the OCR races I have participated in, I thought I would start off the 2017 racing season with the race that is made to get the first time OCR runners into the fold, Tough Mudder.
