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.
Since Warrior Dash runs races about every other weekend, I hold them to a higher standard. As an established race series with so many events nationwide, Warrior Dash should have most of their problems fixed through trial and error. Chances are if you are reading this, you have done at least one Warrior Dash before, so I will spare some of the details normally associated with a race review instead focusing on aspects specific to the Illinois race, planned for both Saturday and Sunday. Of note, I ran in the competitive wave, so my comments reflect the experience around the first half of Saturday’s race.
This weekend over forty mud runs and obstacle races will take place across the globe. A few of those events stand out in the United States and Canada this weekend in various parts of the country with Tough Mudder, Spartan Race, Shale Hill and BattleFrog all taking place this weekend.
Now that racing season is well under way, it is time to learn some tricks on how to look good in photos. Although your main reason for racing or exercising may not be looks, everyone cares about how they look in photos on some level. Although pre/post race will allow for better utilization of these techniques, some are also applicable mid-race. These tips and tricks are common practice in the supplement industry for “after” photos and techniques you will see on the bodybuilding/physique stage.
Mad River Mountain is probably one of the few locations in the country where you can run up ski slopes, through the woods, and on rolling hills in the middle of a cornfield all while running a route just over 10km. That alone was going to make the venue worth the cost of registration but the way Savage Race utilized the area made it an event to remember. If anyone was weary of the series’ recent spotlight, being considered as a one of the up-and-coming contenders to the big three of Spartan Race, Warrior Dash, and Tough Mudder, all doubts should now be shattered.
If you have ever visited any social media site or group after an OCR race in the past few years, you have undoubtedly seen some version of the following comments: “Great race, but it was definitely more of a runner’s course”“WAY too much of a runner’s course for me”“Too flat, too much running”“Too much running for my taste. Runner’s course for sure” These comments left by discouraged and exhausted competitors represent one of the more confusing myths alive and well in the OCR community today. Just what is a runner’s course? Why does it exist? Is it fair? How did this phenomenon come about? Hang on, as we dive headfirst into this touchy subject.
Your first Mud Run is an event normally geared for new athletes to OCR, however it's proximity to Tuxedo, NY coincidence with the Spartan Sprint there as well as charity partner made it an enticing mud run to check out. I wanted to write about an event/race that first time racers would want to try so they had something to read and know what they would be getting themselves into, and most importantly the event/race is put on purely to raise money for the amazing charity Hope for Heroes that funds the life-saving work on childhood cancer and blood disorders at Columbia University Medical Center.
Mud Hero was part two of a recent trip north to Canada. I figured I was already the country for Xman Race and decided to get as much Canadian racing experience possible in one trip. I researched Mud Hero and knew it would be a course that is designed for all levels of racers and happy to have a second race with such long distance travel involved in a weekend.
Recently, my wife and I took our first real racecation – a vacation featuring a race that we wanted to run. We’ve traveled for races before, but almost always to locations that are easily accessible by car, and then we spent a couple of nights before heading home. Las Vegas, Phoenix and Monterey are great examples of this type of close travel, and they tend to be a very fun weekend.
When deciding my 2015 schedule, I researched races in England, Canada, and America and set a goal of trying to do almost every OCR race that looked amazing. When I researched the Xman Race and watched the videos I found, I could tell it was a great race and I decided right away I wanted to do an Xman Race. I drove from New York to Canada on Friday night.
