This was my first trip to the Spartan Race venue at Rough Creek Lodge in Glenn Rose, Texas and it did not disappoint. I was thinking to be in Texas it would be flat and fairly easy and boy was I wrong. There was one good size hill at the venue and Spartan did what they do best by making the course go up and down it multiple times. For those that would assume Texas would be too dry, think again.
Over the past couple of years, Smithfest Events have become staple runs for many Obstacle Course Racers living in and around the New England area. They "make it (their) goal to add 'WOW' factor to each event" and Panic In The Dark was no exception. Here is a breakdown of my experience. Hopefully influences you to try something a little different when you are filling out your race calendars for 2018.
Savage Race is filled with challenging obstacles, rugged terrain & grip exercises to your heart's content. For individuals & teams who want a real challenge, this race is for you. There were 25 Heart Pounding Obstacles & 7 miles of Memorable Fun. Ice, Hills, Dirt, Water & Fire! All elements on display!
The Hardcore Mudd Run, just a few minutes from the main campus of Penn State, was our destination. Tussey Mountain does not look big from the road. But like a lot of Pennsylvania mountain terrain, it soon proved to be the main obstacle of the event.
Hopes were high for the first Spartan Beast held at Snow Summit in Big Bear, California, literally. The 4,000 feet of elevation gain in 12.2 miles did not disappoint. Well, it actually did disappoint a few competitors, who suffered the elevation, dust and tricky technical terrain.
Make sure you check out the Acre Breaker Adventure Race in Manheim PA. The Acre Breaker race provides a great experience in a smaller loop course to give the racer and the race viewers a really fun experience. The course is on about an acre or so of land, but a number of obstacles and the running trail that is the course were a great surprise as I moved through the terrain.
Spartan Race stepped out of the comfort zone hosting the second Atlanta Super this year at a new venue, Lake Lanier Islands in Buford, GA. The course featured the standard 29 obstacles over 9.3 miles wound in and along the edges of the island. It was very different than I’ve seen from Spartan before, and it turned out to be quite a treat.
Goliathon is an obstacle course built especially for Indiana Jones. Think the Last Crusade movie where our hero meets up with the ancient guardian of the Holy Grail. “You must choose…wisely.” That is the mantra of Goliathon.
Illinois has always been a fantastic place to introduce the newness and the amazing. Illinois is where the first baseball game was played, the first Twinkie was created, it is where Honest Abe launched his political career, and now it is also the location for the first annual Highlander Assault obstacle race.
You could feel the nervous tension in the air at the OCR World Championships at dusk on Thursday night. In 12 short hours, the first racers of the weekend would be taking their mark. Athletes from 67 different nations were congregating around the obstacles as the finishing touches were being made. Strategies were developing and although we did not speak the same languages, you could tell we were all thinking the same thing; this course is going to be brutal.
