I headed to Neal Farms approximately 30 minutes east of music city for this year’s Nashville Tough Mudder (TM). Saturday marked my first TM Half event, thus earning the title of Repeat Offender x3. While this event didn’t live up to my last experience in Nashville, which was none other than the beta-test 5K at the Tennessee Titans football stadium in 2017, I did enjoy most of my day on the farm.
In a sport marked by overwhelming positivity, there is a disturbing growing trend toward negativity and destruction on OCR social media outlets. I am frustrated by this shift, and the issue hit home when trolls attacked a teammate and all-around badass of a lady recently.
After WarmUp showed some love on my Instagram page, my curiosity grew. Having already dabbled in protein coffee powders, I was curious how WarmUp would compare. I’ve run the entire bag WarmUp sent me through the ringer, testing all imaginable trials from the plain Jane black coffee to a frozen frap-style concoction that would put that popular corner coffee shop to absolute shame.
Shortly after launch this spring, I was lucky enough to be selected to try Human Octane’s newest line of compression gear built specifically for obstacle course racing. Here’s my take on the newest line of gear built for badasses, the Women’s Elite Sports Bra and Compression Shorts in gray/black/yellow.
I ran my first Terrain Racing event last weekend, competing in the competitive division and opted-in for an extra lap in the mid-morning heavy Tennessee heat. While my experience was largely positive overall, a number of hiccups along the way highlighted the brand’s growing pains.
I returned to Evansville, Indiana for the 4th Annual EPD Foundation SWAT Challenge for my second consecutive run of this downtown urban course. This was one of my favorite events of 2017, and that’s saying something comparing this local OCR to the several national and international series I competed.
Freshly cleared by my physical therapist to return to racing in the non-competitive heats, I jumped at the chance to mark my return to obstacle course racing with the fun and fast Warrior Dash. Though there was no hope of a repeated podium performance from last year’s effort at Warrior Dash, I approached the day eager to return to the open waves for a fun run. In the realm of fun, Warrior Dash never disappoints.
Stumbling upon Legendary Fitness just outside Milwaukee, Wisconsin on a weekend visit with old college friends was quite the happy accident. This facility and staff set the bar exceedingly high for the next time gym I visit closer to my home in the South. Allow me to rewind and review my 90-minute play session at Legendary Fitness.
As many OCR athletes enter the dreaded off-season, we reflect on the skills that need developing in the coming months. In my informal research, I see a very common thread among us—we must build that iron grip. “Nevermore will a rig claim our burpees/souls!” we exclaim in our goals for 2018. That’s a solid goal, but where the heck does one start? Enter Grip Builder 101 developed by the team at OCR Beast.
Spartan Race stepped out of the comfort zone hosting the second Atlanta Super this year at a new venue, Lake Lanier Islands in Buford, GA. The course featured the standard 29 obstacles over 9.3 miles wound in and along the edges of the island. It was very different than I’ve seen from Spartan before, and it turned out to be quite a treat.
