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Bonefrog Sprint April 2018

Our first Bonefrog race and we thought it was a lot of fun! We ran the Sprint distance. We found the obstacles to be different and challenging but not overly difficult. Several obstacles we've never seen on other OCRs which was very cool.

Plenty of volunteers serving water, explaining the obstacles, and directing the racers on the right direction. Rolling thunder and BlackOps had a little bit of a wait but otherwise it was a smooth race.

The race shirts and medals are BA and the military support was awesome. We will definitely do this race again.

Not quite sure why there are so many excellent reviews...

Due to the safety of the obstacles, the poor staff assist, long wait times/back up at obstacles, poor overall challenge of endurance/strength/mobility.

I did the Spring Distance with 20 obstacles. It was largely boring and easy. I.E. the running was most flat terrain, unchallenging, and obstacles lacked diversity and/or intensity not to mention SAFETY. I witnessed several nasty injuries. Just some common sense, some hay/straw/padding or some staff around would make a big difference.

I've completed the Civilian Military Combine years ago and if you ask me that was a 5 star mud run experience - not this run. Would not do it again.

Great first race in Tier 1 !!

My first run of the Hesco Bone Frog in Concord, NC was a different and great experience. I ran the Tier 1 non-elite which included running both the Challenge (8 mile) and Sprint (3 mile) courses back to back.

Looking at the Challenge course:
The terrain was a different challenge compared to other OCR races. Most other OCR races design the running trails in a semi navigable way; whether it’s using a hiking trail or bushwhacking a new path. This course however was mostly in the middle of the woods with small marker flags on the ground roughly 10 – 20 yards away from each other. There was no actual trail most of the time to travel. I found myself running through thick layers of fallen leaves, random thorn branches, root vines and fallen tree branches. The ground was non-visible while running which gave an additional challenge of uncertainty of footing safety.
On the obstacles, some of the rope swing areas had little grip on the already thin ropes to grab. Some of the grips where a round rubber object the size of a tennis ball to grab while swinging from one to the other. These required quick planning with a lot of forearm & grip strength to maintain stability. The 31 Heroes obstacles was also interesting. I’m not a new to burpees at all, but having to recite the first name of fallen military heroes -written in small font on a board -in the format of each person’s official rank (ex: Chief Petty Officer Matthew D. Monroe) was a different challenge. I kept finding myself getting lost keeping up with the order of names on the board. The grenade toss was unique, although not much of a challenge. Pretty much toss a grenade (like a game of cornhole) into a bucket about 15 feet away. This allowed as many attempts as needed until complete, so slight bottle necking did occur for racers.

Looking at the Sprint section of the course:
The terrain on this section of the course had a noticeable difference. The long running areas where rarely in a heavy forest area. The running happened in open fields that where clearly flagged, the terrain was visible although footing was a little random, and hills where not nearly as steep.

The random obstacles where a little easier aside from the challenge/failure consequences ones (which these seemed to be found mostly in the Sprint area). Most of the high walls to climb where not constantly tall (around 5-6 feet) and only 1 inverted. The sandbag carry obstacle wasn’t as heavy as other races and the travel loop was on a clear, flat, and minor hill area.
The only water soaked areas was during the Sprint race portion. The deepest the water in the stream got was about 4 feet deep. The only deep mud section was also before this area. The racers would travel through thick mud about 2 feet deep and then travel through the cold stream.

Other unique things:
-The wire crawl areas in Bone Frog compared to other OCR races are low, VERY low. Pretty much had to quick shuffle with my body completely flat against the ground. I was wearing a small camelback that kept getting caught on the lines if I wore it in the crawling attempt. After the first crawl area, having to stop to untangle myself multiple times, I ended up taking the pack off and crawling with it rather than wearing it.
-There is a good amount of water stations for racers with a small waiting time if any.
-The volunteers are hit or miss in telling people how to attempt an obstacle. Regardless, they were all very supportive and motivated racers to push hard.
-The race is very patriotic. The national anthem is sung before the first race, most the volunteers AND runners seem to have military association; and a lot of other things here & there.
-Teams can run together for time. Teams can register to run together working as a team and also have a separate area of results for competing.
-Runners in general had good running etiquette. Everyone knew how to respond to “on your left” when passing, people helped others who needed it on obstacles, and causal racers let competitive runners pass them in an obstacle line if the they called out “for time” or “competitive”.
-The race was a lot smaller running crowd wise compared to other OCRs. For all the events for the day, there was around 726 racers total. There was very little bottlenecking on obstacles; even later in the day. The festival area was small but good. 1 swag tent, 1 food truck, showers to wash off at, bag drop off, military interest tent, medical tent.
-Some obstacles have penalties if racers cannot complete what is required and multiple attempts ARE allowed (except for the Elite race). Penalties are usually around the lines of – 15 squats, or pushups, or jumping jacks etc.
-There’s not really much mud covering obstacles. There are shallow random pits through the course, but they are mostly ankle deep. Their wasn’t much to shower off in the end.
-The after party was non-existent? A few people who finished the race said thy usually have a beer tent, but this year it was oddly missing?

Summary:
After completing a lot of Spartan Races, Tough Mudder, and Warrior Dash; I have to say that this race is my second favorite with Spartan being most preferred. I really like the vibe of the venue and the unique types of challenges offered. There are a lot of upper body challenges that involve dead hanging with traversing or wall climbing. This may be a little more challenging for beginners. The endurance areas that involve carrying or dragging heavy objects where much easier than expected due to the weight being considerably less than other races. The rope climbing sections where also a little easier because the ropes where much thicker than normal and simple to grip. I’m glad I ultimately ran the Tier 1.
The part I liked the most was the unique obstacles and how little the Challenge trail was marked. Although I did get lost momentarily once or twice (and I heard a lot of people didn’t like the lack of direction markers and called it a lazy setup from the event organizers), I saw it as a new CHALLENGE. Being a reader of the SealFit novels, one of the points addressed is how life won’t always give direct signs of the way to travel and you will have to look harder to find what you want. I took those lessons, and lack of visual path markings, as a challenge motivator to pay better attention and regulate energy more efficiently.

Advice for beginners- this race will provide a higher difficulty than Warrior Dash but not as hard as Spartan Race. I would stick to the Sprint if completely green to these events since the trail is easier to navigate.

Advice for the challenge seeking racer/experienced- This is a race where runners and physically balanced savvy people will have great time blasting through areas that require mainly great bodyweight endurance. The obstacles won’t really slow down race time. If you prefer longer races, then definitely try the combined Tier 1 race or Endurance; just watch your footing in the woods seeing as a lot of racers did roll their ankles early in the race. Personally, I wouldn’t have been as satisfied if I didn’t attempt Tier 1. If you are a heart attacked seeker and like going all out for a short distance, the Sprint is perfect for that as well.

“Life is what happens while you are busy planning for it – get up, get moving, and GET AFTER IT!”
-Bone Frog Ethos

Amazing experience!!

I’ve competed in many obstacle courses prior to this one.All great in their own way, but none had the same powerful patriotic feeling like this event. From the huge American flag to the silent professionals, The “voice” and DJ included, to the determined competitors and participants and the very reasonable merchandise prices, this experience was worth every penny!! I really hope it becomes as big as the Spartan, this experience needs to be shared with every Patriotic and grateful American.

Finished this race earlier today. I did the TIER-1 race. Totally worth it. Make sure to look for email prior to race about checking in and picking up race packet the day before. Well worth it. Just park and go the morning of the race. This race has less participants than a spartan race, which I’m fine with. Way more manageable and quick. Race crew are super friendly and cool. Some of the o stacked need to be modified. The grenade throw needs to be limited to three try’s max. to prevent back log. Also the helicopter monkey bar needs netting or closer to ground. I saw too many people eat it hard and one lady got knocked the fuk out when she fell. All in all, I dig this race. Liked it better than Spartan. Like how they support the troops. As a former Navy guy, I got a little choked up at the memorial wall on the course.

Bonefrog Challenge Atlanta 2017

I have run several of the major OCR's as well as several not so name brand ones. This was my first Bonefrong Race. I ran the Tier 1 open which consisted of 12+miles and 50+obstacles. While I can say for the most part it was pretty awesome there were some pros and cons to the race.

Positives:

-The Venue was held at an ATV, MX park which provided lots of hills and trails to test your endurance.
-There were a lot of new and challenging obstacles as well as some familiar ones.
-The lines were not that bad at any of the obstacles and seemed to flow well.
-Black Ops had some what of a wait but only when someone would slip off the monkey bars and fall to the net below.
-The trail and paths were well marked.
-Tier 1 participants received a large well made medal for completing the challenge and the sprint.

Negatives:

- I was one of the first vehicles to arrive at the venue because we drove through the night to get there. It was still dark when we got there. The signs to the venue were lacking and it was easy to go past the main entrance to the park especially if it was still dark out.
- The parking could have been better. I felt our spot was bad even though we got there early.
-There were two options to get to the registration tent. You could either go through a trail, (it was still dark and we didnt have a flashlight) or you could trek half a mile or so up a dirt hill to get to the tent. Because we had a wagon with our stuff in it and no flashlight we chose the road which was dark.
-There were plenty of water stations on the course but the stations were lacking any type of energy food or electrolytes.
-It would be nice to have a boost of energy available especially if you are running the endurance or Tier heats. Even tough mudder provides some sort of electrolytes or energy boost at the water stations.
-Obstacles like the rope climb and the sternum breaker(I can't remember what they call it) need some type of safety features like hay or straw below them in case you fall. I personally do not like the sternum breaker. The first time I went over it I had some assistance on the way down off top log. The second time around there was no one to help me down and I fell from the top and onto my hip on the hard ground. I saw several people get hurt at this obstacle.
-The finish line provided tiny cups of water but did not provide any type of fruit or energy food for recovery. For the price I was expecting at least gatorade or a banana or something to replenish what was burned on the course.
-There was only one food vendor. I can not speak for the food because I did not eat it.

All in all the race kicked my butt and I would probably do another Bonefrog but would like to see improvements on the course and more safety features.

Makes Killington Beast look like Chuck E. Cheese ball pit

Hardest mofo OCR ever. I've ran tons of spartan races- sprints galore, supers, beasts and even did an ultra beast in Killington. Those pale in comparison. Only issue i had was that at mile 7, i had to take huge dump, so i had to wade into the water and peel down my compression shorts to drop a duece in the water. Felt bad haveing the other competitors wading through that water after my dump, but that's life.

Bone Frog Challenge Berkshire East 2017

So, my first Bone Frog. Done oodles of Spartans, couple Battlefrogs (RIP), etc.. The Course = nice and tough-check, imaginative obstacles-check, big friggin mountain-check...WHAT, Norm Koch designed it.. honey I may be home a little later than I thought tonite.

First the positives:
- This was HARD, 40 obstacles on a psychotic 3 ascent/descent course. It will test your grip and reach muscles far harder than even a Killington Beast.
- The obstacles have very few "gimmies", and some are really complex where you need to stop and plan your attack, seriously.
- Penalties are posted at each obstacle, and they vary from burpees to jumping jacks, etc..Thumbs up.
- They managed to find space for some open trail running which was nice. And it was cool running past a solar farm, and close up to a giant wind turbine.
- Water stops were plentiful, though they should just have water bottles set up and volunteers handing out cups instead of trying to fill them one at a time.
- Parking was right at the gate, and the base area had a good amount of room, food, vendors and porta-potties.

Negatives:
- The registration line was poorly done. Was 1 line for all, took FOREVER. They need to set up like Spartan, multiple lines.
- Shower area was a few hoses and only 5 wood pallets to stand on, and no changing tents !
- There were long lines for Sway Bars and Slide for Life, needed more than 3 lanes on the Bars, but a pass on Slide as we were all glad for the break at that point.
- Not consistent enforcement of the 1-attempt rule. On some of the easier obstacles people were just doing them over and over, wasting everyone's time.
- I know the Dirty Name is a signature obstacle, but this is a really dangerous one. They need to put a net underneath, you hit that top log wrong and you can break your sternum or shoulder. Fall off and break your neck.

But all in all, the negatives are minor'ish quibbles. The race was hard as hell, good photos, made some new friends :), cool medal, and the burgers were REALLY good. I will be doing another Bone Frog next year.

Bone Frog Challenge Tier 1

First off forget the AROO AROO AROO Spartans...there is a new breed of warrior in town, HOOOOOYAH Bone Frog SEALS! What a blast, what a venue! You will get every bit of your monies worth and then some. I'm retired Navy so of course I was all in to see what some fellow sailors had achieved in getting into the OCR world and decided to go big...why not go big or go home so I chose to do the Tier 1 Elite challenge (Endurance, their newest race was not out at the time). Hells Yeah if you want sweet glorious masochistic soreness and sprinkle in some pain then look no further! If you want to push your body then look no further! I'm not going to give you play by play details about the race or this or that. Its is up to you to get your butt to a Bone Frog and experience it for your own and make your own story book about it! I will be doing it again for sure but taking on the Elite Endurance next go round. So "Get After It"!

My daughter and I love doing OCRs together. We have completed 5 Warrior Dashes, 2 Tough Mudders, a Spartan Military Sprint (another scheduled for this year), a Savage Race (another already scheduled), a Rugged Maniac, a Terrain Race (10k), a BattleFrog (RIP) & other various local races. We are not elites but rather a team that likes to challenge ourselves while having a great time. We have been trying to hit each of the majors/mid-majors so when Bonefrog came to Talladega, we jumped at the chance to do it. We signed up for the 8+ mile Challenge and it ended up being close to 9 and I have to say this was one of my favorite races yet! It started off with the best Motivational Starter in the business, Coach Pain. We had him for the first time at our BattleFrog event last year and was stoked when we found out BoneFrog got him for this race among others. I know some people dismiss the importance of the start line but it is one of the things I really judge races on after the obstacles. Once Coach Pain got us all hyped up and going the course itself was different than any other OCR I have done. Their goal was to test you and push you to the limit and mission accomplished. I never felt in danger but was pushed to my limit. They used everything around such as the grandstands (Wreck Bag carry up and down the grandstands almost pushed me to the limit but the sense of accomplishment once I finished was unbelievable) I also love the fact that the penalties were not the same throughout the course. The obstacles had penalties but they varied on each one. One could be 30 burpees while the other could be 25 push ups, etc. That made for a much better experience IMHO (My daughter said the same thing.) Also the fact that they incorporated emotion in it with 31 heroes and the Memorial wall was also a great thing. I can not say enough about this one. I am considering Atlanta in October and if they come back to Dega next year I KNOW we will be back!