I made my annual trip to Warrior Dash, this year in Pulaski, Tennessee (TN). Despite personally enjoying more difficult obstacles, I always like to go back to check on the series that brought me into OCR. Warrior Dash still has one of the largest attendance numbers in the sport and for a good reason.
Epic Series is not like your “ traditional “ obstacle course races. It’s not “ a runner’s course.” It's a very short course combined with obstacle challenges focusing on strength and lifting heavy objects. There is very little running with the exception of the beginning sprint lap.
This past weekend I traveled up to beautiful Snohomish, Washington to compete in the Spartan Race: Seattle Super/Sprint weekend. This race also happened to be the first stop in the U.S Championship series attracting OCR athletes from all parts of the country to give it their all in what was bound to be an exciting race that challenged all of us both mentally and physically. This is certainly not a course for the faint of heart.
“Think Outside of the Mud” is the motto of City Challenge Race a very different kind of OCR that has been around since 2013. Rather than on mountains or other hilly terrains they are run on pavement in Urban areas. They have two locations in New Jersey, one on Randalls Island in New York City and one in Massachusetts.
The Scandanavian obstacle race series, Toughest, recently headed to The Netherlands for the first time over the weekend. The popular series is known for challenging and fun obstacles and continues to bring top athletes to each event. The race crammed 40 obstacles in a short 8 km course near the capital Amsterdam.
After years of racing other series, I finally worked a (long overdue) Savage Race into my schedule. For the last couple of years, people have been telling me “You need to get to Savage.” Well, I made it to their Georgia Spring event and here is a quick rundown of my thoughts.
Saturday's Warrior Dash was like visiting a good friend who always brings a smile to your face. The race itself isn't the hardest or the longest. But it is a great test for those new to OCR and want to see how they like the sport we've come to love. Plus it has one hell of a fun festival area for post-race festivities.
Mighty Mud Dash was a grand ole time. Great race, great venue, great course, great company, and it’s always a pleasure to be able to sit down and reflect on this amazing sport we have been provided with in OCR. I look forward to doing more MMD’s in my future; hopefully next time I won’t sleep through my race.
Tough Mudder has a new competitive option (Tougher Mudder) for those of us who enjoy being timed and competing against the clock and our fellow Mudder! The competition is attracting some new and great talent to events including Arizona. Here I’ll talk about how the competitive wave is different from the normal Tough Mudder and take you through the competition in Arizona this past weekend.
All Out Adventure Series recently put on their annual Checkpoint Challenge. Checkpoint Challenge offers participants a chance to take a dip into Adventure Racing with a short 2-4 hour and 6-hour race. Both events offer participants an opportunity to try out the world of Adventure Racing and still make it home in time for lunch or dinner.
