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.
This was one of the OCR’s I was not going to miss; Lynn Hall and her amazing team create both an amazing course and event every time they step up to the plate and I had very high expectations for this event The morning started out on the cold side and I was worried early on it may not warm up all day. It was funny to see so many racers at registration wearing long pants and a jacket when they would be racing shortly. Mother Nature was awesome and the day ended up being perfect weather.
"A win is always exciting, but nothing can compare to back to back wins with my family cheering me on for Mother's Day!" Jackie Rust double winner at Spartan Race Texas. It was a weekend of Spartan this last week with five different races in three locations.
High Rock Challenge in it's third year offered a solo version of the course this year. They are the state of New York’s oldest obstacle course race and have been putting the team event on for thirteen years. This also is another great event put on In memory of NYC Police Officer John Kelly who was killed in the line of duty, so being retired law enforcement, I was honored and excited to be running in this race.
Savage Race again has returned to Georgia and is again at the beautiful Moonlight Stables Equestrian Center. While the weather the week of the event was less than perfect for building the course it was great for making a wet, slick, muddy mess. Even with the rain Savage still managed to pull off a great course and some fun new obstacles.
This summer, Bear Grylls brings his renowned spirit of endeavor, fitness and adventure to the Obstacle Course Race (OCR) market, with the launch of the inaugural Bear Grylls Survival Race (BG Survival Race). BGSR 1 will take place in London; the first race weekend of its kind in the world.
BattleFrog Carolinas just took the top spot on my Race Resume as the toughest overall Obstacle Course Race I have ever done. I got my butt kicked. Repeatedly. “Misery loves company” may be a popular cliché, but I gained no solace from the fact that many “Elite” racers who seemingly NEVER fail an obstacle were forced to hand in their bracelets after hours of trying to comply with the “Complete all obstacles rule”.
Rugged Maniac unveils new finisher medals for events. One more reason Rugged Maniac is known as one of the best values in OCR.
The drive to Binghamton was long and after the day before of racing two races, I expected the day and race to be a challenge both physically and mentally. As soon as I arrived, I was impressed by the obstacles visible from the entrance of the course and parking area, these were not obstacles made out of cheap building materials or someone that was building an obstacle course for the first time. They were all designed perfect and built just as well as any obstacles you see at the big name OCR’s.
I started the last wave of the day at 2pm for the Spartan Race Tri-State Beast with mostly volunteers as this was the volunteer wave. It may have been the end of the day, but Spartan pre-race announcer Dustin Dorough was able to recite his pre-race speech without missing a beat and faster than ever.
