Our weekend event was no exception with extreme humidex alerts and no cloud coverage to start the day. The race was held at the Smiths Falls Memorial Centre in Smiths Falls, Ontario. This location provided ample free parking and is centrally located with multiple access routes from Kingston and Ottawa.
I have been looking forward to Conquer the Gauntlet since the series announced that they would be expanding to have events across the nation this year. I eagerly checked the schedule and found the venue closest to myself; looks like I’m going to Louisville, Kentucky.
Mud Ninja is a little race in little itty-bitty South Salem, OH. Or so that’s how it seems when you take a look at their website which hasn’t seen a real update in years. You decide, it’ll be fun to get a small local event in and not take things so seriously for a weekend, so you register and plan for a casual weekend amongst all the machismo, competitiveness, and brutal courses in this sport.
I was super excited about BattleFrog Series coming to British Columbia, as it was going to be the first time it came to western Canada. If my memory serves me correctly, I had signed up for this in September / October of 2016.
The Bonefrog Challenge made its long-awaited debut in the South this Saturday at Carolina Adventure World (CAW) in Winnsboro, SC. CAW has hosted other races on the OCR scene such as Spartan and BattleFrog for several years, and Bonefrog is a welcome addition to the area. The more OCR’s, the better!
Tough Mudder continues its international expansion with an event this fall in one of the most beautiful places in the world, Bali. Tough Mudder Bali is set to take place on October 1-2, 2016; the international OCR series heads to the island nation in Indonesia. For those looking for the ultimate racecation, this could top them all. Planning a honeymoon around that time, Bali could be a legionnaires dream spot combining the love for all things obstacle racing and mud runs as well as the idyllic island nation.
After years of running around Haspin Acres in Laurel, IN for the Indianapolis Sprint, Spartan pulled a fast one on us all and changed the venue to Perfect North Slopes in Lawrenceburg, IN. The initial reactions were negative, there was no way they found a venue that would be more challenging than Haspin which was often regarded as one of the toughest sprints and also, what was the deal with moving the event to a site that is actually far closer to Cincinnati, OH than it is to Indianapolis as the name implies?
That was an interesting way of looking at the event for the day; the Indian Mud Run in Coshocton, Ohio. Held at the Coshocton City and County Park, today was the setting for an epic OCR event. Located east of Columbus and south of Cleveland; this venue allowed for competitors to attend from multiple directions. The drive-in was as much as a challenge as the course was. Rally racers dream as the windy country roads twisted and turned all the way to the park.
What could be a better venue for and OCR event than a swamp? Many might argue a mountain or ski resort, but each utilizes its own unique terrain. The aforementioned “swamp” was the Black Swamp of Oak Harbor, OH; site of this year’s Black Swamp Dash. The event, now in its 3rd season, is a quality event put on by an amazing pair of OCR enthusiasts: Troy and Sandy Anthony.
This past weekend, the Gladiator Rock'NRun returned to the Barona Motocross Park in San Diego for the first time since 2014 (they were unable to secure this venue last year for some reason). Put on by Dan "Nitro" Clark of American Gladiators fame, the Gladiator Rock'NRun is a solid fan favorite for smaller race series. It sits solidly in the middle of the spectrum, easy and fun enough for first timers looking to get muddy, and enough of a challenge to keep more serious racers interested.
