I recently had a chance to chat with Jay wright and Steve Hornick, the team behind the creation and execution of the Mud Mulisha Obstacle Course Run series. Having just completed the Shawnigan Lake 6km Mud Mulisha obstacle course race with my husband, I wanted to understand why the team of Jay and Steve loved the mud so much, and why they decided to create a race series of their own.
All of these events are big on fun, and in descending order of difficulty. WIPEOUTRUN is the easiest, all the way down to Spartan Race Sprint as the hardest "beginner-friendly" races. If you're looking for a good reason to get muddy and experience an actual mud run/obstacle course race with guys and gals, our best suggestion is to start with Warrior Dash. Yeah, we know you're the adventurous type - but recommend getting at least one OCR under your belt before you move up to Spartan Race Sprint; even the short distance is pretty darn difficult with mandatory obstacle completion (the only one on this list that requires it)!
It goes without saying, when you hear the name “Tough Mudder” you picture getting down and dirty. The Pittsburgh event for my second year in a row has delivered big time, only in two different ways. Last year’s event located at Powerline Park, in Southeastern Ohio, was mud drenched throughout the course. It was my first try at any OCR and I thought they would all be as muddy. Unfortunately however, I was wrong. Most of the Tough Mudders this year in the Mid-Atlantic have been on the dry side with spots of mud only here and there, leaving Mudders with a thirst for more mud in their mouth.
Casey Jindra and Nikki Call brave the elements in Kansas City - torrential rain, high winds, and Evan's hair nightmare made this one of the most harrowing OCR Warrior showdowns yet! Who will survive the weather and the course to come out on top as OCR Warrior Women's Champion?
Wintergreen, very few events regardless of which OCR company is doing them, brings to mind such suffering. While Spartan does have events that are more difficult, this is the mass event which everyone respects. The weather this year was a huge improvement from last year. The few days leading up to the event looked like it could be a repeat of the rain and fog. But Spartans everywhere prayed to the proper gods and the skies opened to allow for beautiful views of the epic scenery and a light breeze to keep it reasonable, but in true Spartan fashion that is where the nice things ended.
Rugged Maniac returned to the Georgia International Horse Park in Conyers, GA and once again showed that they are making moves to become one of the big players in the OCR world. They staged the event in a familiar venue where Spartan, BattleFrog, and Merrell Down and Dirty have staged races in the past; yet used their imagination to make sure they stand apart from the others.
As the emails started to roll in, our interest was piqued! The advertising for SuperSplash 2015 kept us informed yet teased us as to what to expect at the upcoming event. We had booked our hotel rooms well in advance at Mont Habitant and were excited to head up early and enjoy the town, the food and the beautiful mountainside with lakefront properties.
This is the third year in a row that I’ve participated in the Udder Mud Run and this wonderful local OCR keeps getting progressively better. It is a fairly challenging race that every athlete or just a “fun runner” of any fitness level can complete while enjoying a family friendly event that’s a blast for everyone.
I pride myself in not being just someone that runs the larger OCR company races, but also goes to the less known and what some would consider less challenging (not me) obstacle courses.
This week on Obstacle and Adventure Weekly, Margaret takes on Warrior Dash in Arizona along with Brian Burns, a marathoner and triathlete participating in his first obstacle race. Then, we sit down with the product managers for Vibram FiveFingers at the Outdoor Retailer show in Salt Lake City to learn more about new & upcoming products!
