Over the weekend, Spartan Race had some controversy with one of the elite athletes, Robert Killian. Killian while attempting the Rig obstacle had his foot brush the ground but the officials did not see it happen however others observed the action and lack of penalty and the Internet started buzzing.
The obstacle racing season has entered it's own the dog days of summer. Much like the baseball season, with the hot weather and multitude of games around the country it can be hard to keep up with it all. Obstacle racing seems to be in the same place only it's worldwide. As OCR slogs through the steamy summer days it is not too early to focus on the championship season quickly approaching.
Recently, Jones of New England Spahtens started another venture and avenue to continue to promote the sport of OCR and the local obstacle racing scene in New England with the formation of the New England Spahtens Podcast. In doing so New England Spahtens is the first club in the United States to have their own dedicated podcast.
MuckFest MS mud run headed to Detroit over the weekend. MuckFest MS has been around for years not only offering a family friendly mud run experience but also at the same time raising money for the National MS Society. Millions of dollars have been raised over the years and awareness of both the event and cause continues to grow. MuckFest MS recently hit a milestone in for the National MS Society.
The obstacle racing landscape is dominated, at least in the social media groups, by a few organizations. In reality, the obstacle racing landscape is vast and diverse, with everything from international corporations to local mom and pop races run by enthusiasts who want to share the love of OCR with those in their community. Then there are other events, ones which many may have heard of but never actually done.
Tomorrow night some of the best in the world battle it out on the ESPN League Championships. Following the College Championships format which aired its second season earlier this summer. The League Championships pits countries, cities, and regional teams against each other. BattleFrog and ESPN invited some of the best in the world to complete on this short course. Tune in at 9pm eastern time tomorrow to see all the action.
Shale Hill Adventure consistently known as one of the being a hidden gem of OCR has their annual 24-hours of Shale Hell coming up soon. One lap on this course is enough for most but those looking to take it further can challenge themselves with up to 24-hours of running and hundreds of obstacles, on August 6-7 starting at 10am. If 24-hours of continuous obstacles are a bit extreme Shale Hill Adventure also offers what "mini-hell" with a 5k, 10k, and 8-hour running options starting on Saturday, August 6.
The summer continues to roll on with obstacle races across the globe taking place every weekend. This past weekend OCR was everywhere from the Spartan Race European Championships, Terrain Races in Flagstaff, Arizona to BoneFrog Challenge in South Carolina. Rugged Maniac made a stop outside of Kansas City while Tough Mudder was outside of the Big Apple, with both a full course and a Tough Mudder half. With over 40 obstacle races and mud runs taking place this weekend around the globe, that is a lot of muddy, wet, and challenging obstacles to overcome.
Last night the Spartan: Ultimate Team Challenge season finale aired on NBC pitting the six top teams from the qualifying rounds against each other in the two-hour finale. The teams squared off to see who would take home the $250,000 prize purse. The finals brought in a few new obstacles to challenge the competitors including a 16-foot wall and the dreaded tire swing.
"This is going to be a short day" said Dominic "PlatinumRig Dom" Maurice the founder of Platinum Rig as we left his house, outside of Montreal, Canada, at 7am to head to the Platinum Rig headquarters for what would turn into a thirteen plus hour workday. Over the next few days, this statement would prove to be true. Since it's beginnings in 2011 Platinum Rig is a name that has become famous in the obstacle racing world has been non-stop for it’s founder. For five days I got to live and work along side Dom.
