Among the myriad of races and mud runs that took place over the weekend a few stood out from the rest. The two race series that people were talking about were Spartan Race and BattleFrog. Spartan Race hosted several races over the weekend in four different countries but it was the races in the US that got all the attention.
Spartan Super returned to Mountain Creek Resort in Vernon, New Jersey. I can’t speak for the weather on Saturday, September 12, but Sunday’s event was near perfect conditions with plenty of sunshine. The Spartan Village was a great setup at the base of the mountain with plenty of vendors. For a Sunday event, there were a large numbers or racers on the course.
Continuing our series on the road to the world championships, this week Evan Perperis had a chance to get the inside scoop on the Spartan Race World Championships with Mike Morris. With the Spartan Race World Championships only weeks away all eyes are now on Lake Tahoe.
Let's talk about the brands that are the bedrock of OCR. As the sport has grown over the last 3-4 years, one thing has stood out: there are a few brands that are the biggest and best - the Chili's or Chipotle of the sport; you always know (within reason) what you're going to get when you show up. You're not going to be (too) surprised with the event, as there reputation of quality precedes them.
September 12, 2015, marked a very special day in the running, OCR and endurance communities. No singular event occurred that day. There were no purported “world championships” happening, and although plenty of races and events took place, it wasn’t about who made the podium.
I recently had a chance to chat with Jay wright and Steve Hornick, the team behind the creation and execution of the Mud Mulisha Obstacle Course Run series. Having just completed the Shawnigan Lake 6km Mud Mulisha obstacle course race with my husband, I wanted to understand why the team of Jay and Steve loved the mud so much, and why they decided to create a race series of their own.
Any of you who follow my race reviews know that I am always open to try new things and we gals love an adventure. Last weekend we were pleasantly surprised by a new event that just launched in our own neck of the woods; it was a great short drive to the race site and there was an element of intrigue as we were only given snippets of information prior to race day.
This week, Matt changes it up a little bit. We are going from what you are going to be doing during a race, to what how you should prepare for one. Anyone new to Obstacle Racing has asked the question, "What shoes should I get?"
All of these events are big on fun, and in descending order of difficulty. WIPEOUTRUN is the easiest, all the way down to Spartan Race Sprint as the hardest "beginner-friendly" races. If you're looking for a good reason to get muddy and experience an actual mud run/obstacle course race with guys and gals, our best suggestion is to start with Warrior Dash. Yeah, we know you're the adventurous type - but recommend getting at least one OCR under your belt before you move up to Spartan Race Sprint; even the short distance is pretty darn difficult with mandatory obstacle completion (the only one on this list that requires it)!
OCR World Championships is just about a month away. We recently sat down with both Adrian Bijanada, OCRWC founder, and Garfield Griffiths, Race Director, to get the inside scoop on this year's race. They gave us the insight we need to continue to prep for this World Championship event in October.
