Bone Frog Challenge kicks off their season with their marquee race in Charlemont, Massachusetts in May. We sat down with Bone Frog’s Chief Executive Officer Brian Carney to provide us with some insight regarding the race/event. Without giving away a lot of top secret information about the course, Brian was able to paint an amazing picture of Bone Frog’s upcoming race. We had many questions and Carney was kind enough to take the time to answer each and every one of them for us:
Why will the Massachusetts course be better than the New York Bone Frog race last year?
Carney: For one the terrain, our New England course has over 6000 feet of elevation change and the natural terrain of the Berkshire Mountains Ski Resort makes it an ideal location for an obstacle course race. This venue also allows us to put up permanent structures, which allows us to make much bigger and more elaborate obstacles than would be possible to take on the road.
How many obstacles do you expect/estimate the 15K and 5K courses will have?
Carney: The 15k is actually going to be 10.2 miles this year in New England with well over 50+ obstacles and the 5k is going to have 20+.
Where do you rank the 15K course compared to other hard OCR 15K races?
Carney: We honestly rank our 15k number one in the OCR world right now. We have taken many comments and suggestions to heart on what people don’t like from the other “hard OCR’s” and even from two of the “Big 3” and have created a course around that. We limit the size of our heats to avoid long backups, which seems to plague most of the larger OCR’s out there. We designed the course to systematically challenge racers at the exact moment of fatigue. Any OCR can simply place their XX amount of obstacles on a course and call it good but to us it’s a science of not just where to place the obstacles, but when in the race do we want our racers hitting it. That’s what makes us different and that’s what makes us number one in our eyes for the best 15k out there right now.
Why should our readers pick Bone Frog over many other OCR's having an event on the same day?
Carney: There’s simply nothing like the Bone Frog Challenge. People have said “if you’ve run one OCR you’ve run them all” well that’s not the case with Bone Frog and our past racers will attest to that. Our course is harder, our obstacles are not “traditional”, we do not have that “Corporate Feel” and it is put on and owned by U.S. Navy SEALs with countless years of experience in military obstacle courses. On top of that our New England course is and will always be our premier venue. This is where we build our test bed for the rest of years courses and this is where we push it to the limit. Not to mention what would be more fitting than to run a Navy SEAL race on Armed Forces Day?
How much money do you expect to donate to the SEAL charities?
Carney: That’s entirely up to the size of our registrants for the year. In 2014 we donated over $30,000 to the Navy SEAL Foundation and The 31 Heroes Foundation off of just two events. This year our goal is to double if not triple that.
Will there be a cash prize for the Elite heat and if so how much for each place?
Carney: Yes, we are having cash prizes for the Elite Heats but the amounts have not been set yet. We are still waiting to see what the final numbers are going to look like before we choose.
For those traveling and wanting to make it an adventurous family weekend, are there other things in the area to do?
Carney: Yes, Berkshire East has a lot of activities that are worth also taking advantage of on race weekend. Some of them are:
- North Americas largest Zip Line “Canopy Tours”
- North Americas longest gravity fed mountain coaster
- Down Hill mountain bike courses (bikes for rent at the mountain)
- White Water Rafting.
Tell me about the course layout and anything else you think readers want/need to know.
Carney: This one is going to be our best and also hardest course yet. We are changing up the layout due to Berkshire East adding new features to its summertime business, so to our past New England racers… you haven’t seen nothing yet! 🙂 We are adding in new parts to the mountain that hasn’t been seen by Bone Frog yet. We are adding MORE obstacles and MORE elevation change. We are taking some of our past obstacles and improving upon them to challenge the racers in other ways and we “may” be adding in some more water features.
“This will be the one chance in 2015 to run a Navy SEAL owned and operated OCR that will provide a 15k+ course with well over 50+ unique obstacles. Come for the pride and bragging rights and leave with one of the best finisher medals in the business.”
Carney and the team at Bone Frog Challenge has set the bar really high and we are very excited for the event. For those in New England, Bone Frog Challenge is now part of the #RACELOCAL series put on by the New England Spahtens. Personally, for many months I have been planning to attempt the 15K course twice and then the 5K course on race day and this news that the 15K is actually going to be 10.2 miles with well over 50+ obstacles has me a little freaked out at the moment, but you know what they say? The only easy day was yesterday, so bring it on!
Want to try Bone Frog Challenge for yourself? Use discount code BONEFROGMRG for $10 off your Bone Frog Challenge registration
Editor's Note:
Have you done a Bone Frog Challenge before?
What was your experience in the past?
Are you headed back there this year?
Chime in and share your comments below.
Do you live in the northeast? Sign up today for a Bone Frog Challenge near you…
I’m 32 years old with the physical body of a 60 year old. I currently am suffering from a right knee replacement, separated left shoulder, Siatic nerve pain in my lower back and down my left leg and a few other maladies. None of this matters comes Race Day.
I participated in the 2014 Staten Island NY Bone Frog Challenge on October 4th. I had an absolute blast when I competed last year. I truthfully thought I had been on the course for no more than 45 minutes. Turned out, I had been on the course for just under 2 hours. My favorite part about the BFC, unlike so many other OCR races, is the mutual teamwork and respect that everyone gives to one another. There were certain obstacles that were exceptionally challenging to attempt on your own. That’s when the other racers within my heat came together and started helping everyone else out. I really haven’t seen that in other OCR races where everyone is solely focused on getting the best time or being one of the top finishers that they leave others behind. Not so with BFC.
I will be taking part in Charlemont MA on May 16th and I can’t express how excited I am for the 3rd week of May to arrive already. The Staten Island BFC was also dwarfed in comparison to the Berkshire East competition, so I’m excited to see what Brian and the guys have come up with this year to push us to our limits.
“Only Easy Day Was Yesterday” Wouldn’t have it any other way!
The Miami Mudders have been at every Bone Frog Challenge since they started. The one reason that we will always be at every Bone Frog Challenge race is that it is the toughest and best obstacle course race out there. Many of us have competed in Tough Mudders and gotten our Spartan Trifectas but none of those come close to the vourse that Brian puts on at Charlemont, MA. We have team members coming from Florida, Wisconsin, Seattle, and Virginia. That is how good this race is. And if Sandy finishes both fulls and a sprint in one day, I’m buying him his own body cast that he will need for the following week. Yeah, it’s that tough! NYC was CAKE compared to what you will experience in May. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. If you have tried the rest, come do the best!!!
I did the NY challenge last year after the ABF Mudrun in the morning and I thought that course was creative and challenging. I’ll be up to volunteer in May and am very excited now to run it after reading this!