Yeah, I know we're all just a little nuts right about now, the Spartan Race WC, Warrior Dash WC, and OCR World Championships have already passed, and World's Toughest Mudder is still more than a couple weeks out followed by BattleFrog Series' own WC in December - not to mention Black Friday, winter holidays, and New Year's
Hard to believe that the sport of obstacle course racing (OCR), as we know it today, is only seven years old in the United States. In the afterglow of the Obstacle Course Racing World Championships (OCRWC) and the upcoming "off-season" for US OCR races, it seems an appropriate time to look at where the sport is right now and what is brewing for 2016...and beyond.
Tough Mudder Philly was originally scheduled to be one of the first events of 2015 in the Pocono Mountains. For unknown reasons, the event was rescheduled for mid October and changed locations to Coatesville, Pa. The Saturday/Sunday combo welcomed Mudders to the small town located about an hour west of Philadelphia. The lasting memory of this event will likely be the chilly weather that hung around all weekend proving to be the extra obstacle which seemed most difficult to prepare for. In this review, you will get the his/her perspective from Jason and Lisa.
Today was our first stadium race at Dead End and our last OCR of the season, and we were not disappointed. The event was held at the TD Centre Stadium is located near Ottawa, Ontario. It was a great indoor/outdoor venue for this 25 obstacle event.
The Spartan Race Fittest Bride Challenge presented by QALO concluded over the weekend resulting in Ms. Polly Lynn from Killington Vermont, being crowned the winner. “It hasn’t quite sunk in yet that I’m Spartan’s Fittest Bride, but I’m thrilled,” said Ms. Lynn, 32.
I003n a secret location north of San Antonio, there is an annual 5K Mob Run and a very unique one at that. It’s set up in an active rock quarry, meaning that every year’s course can be completely different from the year before. There are some permanent obstacles, but each year the race directors look for new ways to challenge the competitors. I was able to ask the race directors, Laura and Kevin Tift, some questions about ThunderDash.
The Mud Run Guide team is on site at the 2015 OCR World Championships. We are bringing you all the action and special behind the scenes footage all week long from Mud, Guts, and Glory, the site of the 2015 OCR World Championships. Monday we caught up with Race Director, Garfield Griffiths, tests out one of the obstacles his team created.
OCR World Championships announced this week that the 2016 race would feature championship races for three different distances – short (3-5 miles), medium (8-10 miles), & long (12-15 miles). Years from now, that announcement could effectively mark the beginning of specialization in obstacle racing.
In 2016, the OCR World Championships will continue it’s mission to help push the sport of obstacle racing to the next level. As the sport has grown, not only have the obstacles evolved, but the distances have as well. More and more athletes can now be considered specialists at certain distances throughout the season, yet when it comes to an end of season championship, they are all asked to run one distance - usually, the longest and most difficult.
This coming weekend marks a historic moment in the eyes of Tough Mudder Legionnaires. Two of the athletes highlighted in my previous article on Mud Run Guide, The Multi-Lap Legionnaires are on the verge of hitting 100 Tough Mudders at Tough Mudder Missouri.
