Going into Tough Mudder Whistler I was scared. This was the biggest event I was going to take on, and of course you always hear horror stories and those that freak out when you mention its name. I had only done a few smaller races (Spartan Sprint and the Dirty Dash), and I had no idea what to expect.
I have been anticipating and looking forward to them for many months. Based on my experience at last year’s Tri-State BattleFrog event/race at the same venue I had lofty expectations for this year’s event/race to be amazing and even better. Unfortunately, the 2015 Tri-State BattleFrog did not deliver.
What better place to hold a Spartan race than in the gorgeous mountains of Breckenridge, CO? The Beaver Run Lodge was the host site of this Beast and Sprint weekend. With elevation reaching 11, 238 ft. and temperatures that vary by 30 degrees from night to day, runners were challenged not only by the course, but by Mother Nature. T
I anxiously jump out of bed early and check to see what the weather has in store for us; this is one of the first challenges when racing outdoors in a Canadian climate. The ideal weather is one that is not too cool so we can reduce our layers and not too hot so we can push through without the worry of dehydration. We were in luck, warm and overcast with the risk of showers later in the evening. We loaded the car and headed off to Commando Paintball in Ottawa.
This weekend, I went to the Irvine Lake Mud Run, a semi-annual local event in Southern California. This event makes no claim to having the best, newest, or nastiest obstacles. It doesn't have a huge amount of elevation gain, and there are no penalties for skipped or failed obstacles. There are few shirtless studs or their female counterparts in tight compression shorts and sports bras showing off their spectacular abs to onlookers. In fact, other than a single heat in the early morning, there were no timing chips at all. And boy, was it fun!
Although it is cheaper and better to prepare your own food, you may often experience times when it is both impractical and inconvenient. As an OCR athlete who travels frequently, this is often the case. Why should you care about eating healthy? It is simple, the less unhealthy weight/fat you are carrying while racing, the faster you will be able to run.
The Mogollon Monster Mudder a 5k race with over 30+ man-made and natural obstacles returns to town of Payson, Arizona at the rodeo grounds for another great race for a third year in a row. Last year in only their second year they had 345 participants. This year was proof this race is definitely growing in the OCR Arizona community.
This was my second Down & Dirty event since last year and both events had a great festival area in common. The turnout for Down & Dirty events (at least the two I have gone to) is high and varies from friends and families hanging out which makes for a good time and lots of smiles and celebrations throughout the event/day.
This past weekend was another busy weekend in obstacle racing and the entire OCR industry. BattleFrog moved north up to New Jersey. Spartan Race was in both Boston and Dallas. Shale Hill celebrated Father's Day with a relay race, and Tough Mudder had participants climbing to new heights in British Columbia.
The festival area was much like the venue used for the event, a laid back and relaxed group of racers, family, friends, spectators, volunteers, and staff. Some were hanging out under the trees and out of the direct sunlight as it was a very hot day (I know several racers got sun poisoning even with sunblock on). Several families were hanging out as well with little kids that were having a good time all day.
