The weather was looking a bit threatening as the committee and volunteers worked through a few of the final details on race day for the Mudmoiselle Ladies Mud Run. The vendor village was all set up and just some minor finishing touches had to be added as the racers began to arrive around 830 a.m. The first heat out was scheduled for 10 and the dark clouds appeared to be holding off, temporarily.
Marco Bedard showed up in Lake Tahoe with a new company logo on his back - The Northman Race - during his win of the Ultra Beast. Bedard, a former Olympian, has been spending more time behind the scenes these days as a former Race Director for BattleFrog Series and directed the Canadian BattleFrogs this past year including the Montreal race which brought together several race companies to work as one on the event.
Tough Mudder is making it's way to the television soon with the CBS Sports Series showcasing World's Toughest Mudder and Toughest Mudder announced a few months ago. Recently, Tough Mudder inked a second deal with The CW network to have a multi-platform series on both their CW Seed online network as well as the broadcast CW channel in 2017.
I know most people hear the words OCR (Obstacle Course Race) and think mud, barbed wire, fire, bruises, pain – but not all Obstacle Course Races are created equal. My husband Ryan had discovered the Insane Inflatable 5km race online and signed us up as it looked like fun. We love our mud and challenges, but once in a while you just have to embrace your inner child and bounce.
In obstacle racing, it seems that the more the sport grows the more change that happens. As the sport develops and the people working behind the scenes work to ensure that the progress is happening in the right direction there will be lots of updates and changes. One being IORF is no longer IORF but is now OCRF.
The midwest continues to be a hidden gem of obstacle racing in the United States. Two companies recently came together to create a one of a kind event; Conquer The Gauntlet, the Midwest’s OCR series, and KC Extreme Timber Challenge, a permanent course teamed up for the CTG-XTC Mega OCR, 10k, and 65+ obstacles.
Last week Mud Run Guide posted this article - Big Trouble in (Little China) Agoge 003 - written by former Agoge finisher Chris Cow. He was troubled after this personal experience didn't resemble the same event that he wrote two glowing articles about - Inside the Spartan Agoge Class 002 - and - On Leadership and Endurance. Something didn't add up in his mind.
With the 2016 OCR World Championships (OCRWC) complete athletes are already reflecting on their performances and planning on how to improve for 2017. Several comments have appeared on Facebook reflecting on which races to do to prepare for OCRWC next year. This raises the question, which race series should you fill your calendar with for 2017? That depends on your performance and areas of weakness in 2016.
A couple months ago Tough Mudder announced a new offering to their lineup of races. The latest addition to the Tough Mudder family is Toughest Mudder and is set to be a stepping stone for those looking to race World's Toughest Mudder. Toughest Mudder is an eight-hour night obstacle race that bridges the gap between the traditional Tough Mudder race and the grueling 24-hour World's Toughest Mudder.
Tough Mudder Tri State made its return to the Mecca of the event. Raceway Park hosted the weekend event this past weekend taking advantage of the surrounding woods as well as the enormous dirt track with manmade hills/jumps for the motor cross bikes and trucks. The hills/jumps while small in size were challenging as there were so many scattered providing the only vertical climbing on this otherwise flat course. Depending on which day you ran, you most likely had 2 very different experiences. If you were fortunate enough to run both days, you will not forget the weekend spent at Raceway Park in New Jersey.
