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.
Getting to the XX RACE at iMETTLE is just two turns off I-76 in King of Prussia, PA. Finding it is as easy as following your nose. A huge bakery fronts the shared building. For some unknown reason, I chose to follow the alluring scent up front instead of the three guys running towards the back where iMETTLE resides.
“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.
All women have an obstacle in life that they need to overcome. For some, it is the pressure of society to act and be a certain way, for others, it’s the obstacle of being perfect. The main thing I love about the OCR community is that no one is perfect, and we are all strong in our own ways. For Kelli although she is strong, has done 105 races in over 5 years and wants to push for more, has to deal with Panic and anxiety on a daily basis.
Warrior Dash announced today that the popular OCR series will return to Missouri. The return is set for September 30. Warrior Dash hinted to Mud Run Guide that they would be releasing additional venues for the season and this appears to be the first addition.
While most people think it is unusual to jump over fire, crawl under barbed wire and climb over walls on the weekend, that is just the tip of the iceberg. Obstacle Course Racing (OCR) is weird…like really weird. Before you know it, OCR has infiltrated all aspects of your life and is affecting how you dress, how you act and what you think is normal.
Over the weekend, myself like many in the obstacle racing world turned their computers on for the first Spartan U.S. Championship Race. For the week leading up to the event, Spartan Race promoted the live coverage of the event on YouTube, Facebook, and Spartan.com. Many wondered what the coverage would look like and how it would be received my the often fickle obstacle racing audience.
Tough Mudder has continued to revamp their offering year after year to adjust to the changing landscape of the obstacle racing industry. Not only do the obstacles continue to improve and change but the company continues to adapt as their athletes demand various challenges. Tough Mudder began in 2010 with a single 10-12 mile event with the ethos "this is a challenge and not a race." Millions have recited the pledge throughout the years.
For the team at Colorado Obstacle Racers; the night of February 24th, 2017 changed their world. Three of their team; Kym Butcher, Elizabeth Rotter and Corrina Vaden had made the last second decision to head to Arizona for the Spartan Race weekend. Corrina was driving while Kym and Elizabeth had been stretched out in the back seat.
This week, Spartan Race Kicks off U.S. Championship Series and makes volunteer policy changes, DICK’S Sporting Goods Enters the OCR Apparel Game, Tough Mudder adds Team Relay to World's Toughest Mudder, and finally, MuckFest MS announces new National Sponsor.
