Happy Memorial Day Weekend and a special thank you to all the men and women who serve. With the holiday weekend the obstacle racing world was a bit quieter with three major races taking place in the US - Badass Dash Las Vegas, Mud Guts and Glory in Ohio, and a Spartan Stadium Race in Miller Park. Be sure to check out OCR World Championships World Rankings to find out who tops the list this week.
After interviewing Bridging Abilities Race Director Amy Reichenbach the race was one not to miss. The day before was Bone Frog Challenge had taken a toll on me and Sunday at Bridging Abilities would be a push. After finishing my last two laps of Bone Frog I plugged the address into my GPS and drove several hours and ended up arriving just after 1 AM and yet again slept in my Prius.
Located at Reveille Peak Ranch in Burnet, TX, this 1,300 acre property boasted lots trails, ponds/lakes and green scenery. This was a perfect canvass for the Spartan masterminds to plan a course. The site offered lots of space and a large covered pavilion overlooking a private lake. At first, it almost seemed that Spartan was not going to open the gates due to the wind, rain and lightning. There was a slight delay of entry, which caused the waves to become backed up. I was mentally preparing myself for a miserable day of wet spectating, but the rain eventually stopped and the clouds gave way to the sun later in the day.
Bone Frog Challenge was one of my most anticipated races on my 2015 race calendar. I drove down to the event which wasn’t as far as a drive as I expected from NY. Right away it was easy to tell Bone Frog was going to have a huge turnout and the day would be fun times.
Being my first time in Montana, I was not quite sure what to expect. Needless to say, I was blown away by the natural beauty of Bigfork and the grounds of Averill’s Flathead Lake Lodge. From the snow-capped Rockies to the never-ending Flathead Lake to the pine covered mountains of the course, Mother Nature left me in awe. Spartan picked a great venue to hold both the Beast and Sprint Founders Race.
I am not sure how others decide what OCR events they want to run or make a priority to take part and race, but for me it’s pretty simple, I love to try new events (large and small scale) and most of all I want to race any event/course that looks amazing and challenging. Rat Race Dirty Weekend fits the bill perfectly; it’s a 20 mile race with over 200 real deal obstacles, so from the moment I learned about it and watched the promo video I was caught, hook, line, and sinker!
Monday morning the internet was buzzing with the what some have dubbed Shirtgate 2.0 (we're fond of "Shirtstorm at Spartan"). The controversy comes after a podium photo posted online from the Reebok Spartan Race in Montreal featured the elite men posing with founder Joe De Sena. In the photo the male winner, BattleFrog Pro Team athlete, Ryan Atkins shirt was been altered to coverup the BattleFrog logo.
The couples that train together win together at BattleFrog. Spartan Race has three events around the country and more this past weekend in OCR.
THE BATTLEGROUNDS at Cedar Lake in St. Louis, is the Midwest’s only permanent mud run obstacle course, and obstacle course with its very own vineyard! It offers a 5k and 5 mile running option along with 30+ military themed obstacles. It is truly where “Life is better Battled”. This race has been getting a lot of publicity behind the scenes with OCR Warrior and the city’s very own KSDK News Channel 5. I had to come check this out for myself.
On October 10th, 2015, The Dead End Race will present a brand new event like none other... The Dead End Race Stadium Edition at the TD Place in Ottawa! For the first time in Canada, obstacle racers will be able to participate in a race that takes place 100% in a stadium. 25 obstacles will be positioned throughout the stadium, directly on the turf and in the upper levels.
