Popular Races

Most people who dabble into the crazy world of obstacle course racing in the U.S. have heard of at least the Big Three: Tough Mudder, Spartan Race, and Warrior Dash. While the first two are widely known for being gritty, competitive, challenging, difficult and not for the faint of heart, the last of these is known for being quite different. Warrior Dash is the mischievous little brother of OCR—a fun, short course that people do in order to get off a couch or shake off the monotony of daily life, get muddy, grab a celebratory beer and bottle opener medal and slap on a cool fuzzy Viking helmet, take questionable pics that end up on social media, and head back home with some bragging rights.

Having completed many Spartan races, things need a little spice once in a while. After completing my first Ultra Beast in the Great Garden State, I noticed that my piece of the pie looked a bit lonely. A black wedge just doesn't look right amongst the blues, reds, and greens of the Spartan World. I decided to start the journey to completing the proper Endurance Trifecta. With that in mind, I signed up for the Boston Hurricane Heat HH-088. Having never done a Hurricane Heat, I went into the event with little knowledge. Here is what I learned.

A few weeks ago, a bunch of us decided to run one of the hardest races that many of us have ever attempted, The Tri-State New Jersey Ultra Beast. That race truly did a number on some of us, especially me, my knees, and my feet. I decided to take the week after light and signed up for the Ohio Beast and Sprint races. I had done the Beast in 2014 (my third Spartan Race ever) and remember the course being... well... flat. I figured this would be a nice break from the grueling course we faced in NJ and would serve as a nice recovery run.

Endurance racing is not a new thing, but it has finally started getting attention as OCR becomes increasingly popular. When I started OCR 3 years ago, Spartan Ultra Beast was the big daddy race, until I discovered Death Race, WTM, TPK, etc.... This form of racing takes on a whole new meaning to those of us that claim to be an Endurance racer. In OCR, that looks different from just running 100 miles on trails or roads (which is still hella endurance racing), just...different.

Spartan has been holding their races in the Tri-State area since I first learned of their series. Through these years, the Super had been the primary focus with a Beast thrown in the mix later. This year, things would be different. This year, New Jersey would host its first Ultra …

When I signed up for the NJ Ultra Beast, I didn't have any idea what I was in for. I mean, you hear about the mileage and the number of obstacles, but you really won't get it until you try it. Also, I joined the best Facebook group on the planet and talked with everyone I could, but having attempted the race, none of that matters. With that said, I learned some valuable lessons that I feel I should share with you.

It's 6 a.m. Saturday morning and everyone is excited, nervous, and anxious to try the new battle frog course at a new Venue. It's Battle Frog’s 2nd year in Dallas (actually Mesquite), the new course is at the River Ranch Texas Horse Park. The game plan is to run in the elite wave, finish in two and half hours and go back and run it again to take photos some photos. What ensued was the longest I’ve ever been on a course, 6 1/2 grueling hours.

If you had been sitting by and waiting for the email to come, wait no longer. The fine folks at Spartan have finally released the Athlete guide for the 2016 New Jersey Beast and Ultra Beast. A good majority of the information is standard fare, but the interesting bits are as follows.

The vertical cargo net is similar to the A-Frame obstacle. The idea here is to challenge someone's fear of height by climbing to the top via a cargo net, then transitioning to the opposite side of the obstacle for a decent. The transition is the most challenging part of this obstacle.

Well, if you are reading this you are probably a few days or a few weeks from your first or next Ultra Beast. Most likely, you are past the “What the Hell did I sign up for?” phase and moved into the “How do I ensure my survival?” phase. This …