Tag Archives: featured

We at OCRAddict have been successful by looking at things differently and by doing so, we have helped bring new Ultra Beasts to the racer. In 2017, Colorado, Texas, and the UB Championships have all been introduced due, in part, to our interaction with Joe DeSena and Team. On that note, and wanting to bring things to the next level, here is another take on Ultra Beast training. Our first training plan was designed to address two areas. First, ‘what is the true obstacle of completing an Ultra Beast?’ which is embracing the suck and learning to tell that voice in your head saying that you cannot do it to go to hell. The next is if you are already beast length ready, but only have a commercial/basic gym to work with and how you can prepare for an Ultra Beast. The idea for that plan was to get you to a buckle, glow in the dark medal, or one time only high-five for your efforts. The idea for this guide is if you’ve been DNF’ing due to a lack of physical preparation causing; this article will help in getting you to that finish line. If you have been finishing, hopefully, we can help move you up to the top 50% or 25% of finishers.

It seems like each year we are up in the air as to whether or not Spartan is going to have their race in Tuxedo, NY. The venue has been battling some legal issues after some issues with a nearby casino project. Either way, this race has been one of the Spartan staples for years (7 to be exact) and each year we wonder if it is going to be the last time we race here. For many of us, when that day comes, it will be a bitter farewell as each year we flock here like moths to a light to run up and down this mountain.

You run an entry level obstacle course race. You sign up for another one. You join a few Facebook groups, update your profile pic (fire jump picture of course), and add a bunch of new friends on social media that you met over the weekend. More training, more races, more mud and obstacles, and more friends. Those involved in obstacle course racing know, it is a unique breed of people that seek out this lifestyle. Why do we pay (often a lot of money) to “suffer”? Is it truly for our own challenge? Is it for the sense of accomplishment we feel at the finish line? In today’s sedentary society, in a world of automation, are we seeking an experience that's closer to our long lost ancestors? Are we trying to replicate their struggle to survive in the environment? Is life just too comfortable and boring now? Or… could it be purely narcissism? With the boom of social media, are we looking to shock our Facebook friends with our new muddy profile pictures? Is it to boost our own ego? Scott Keneally attempts to answer these questions in the documentary, Rise of the Sufferfests. A must watch for any OCR athlete.

This year was supposed to be different, and it really is different. Having dealt with some serious injuries, I hadn't much considered participating in this year's Tri-State New Jersey Ultra Beast. As time drew nearer, I found myself feeling less like myself and more like a "never will". The decision came to run the race somewhere in the March time frame, and those that advised against it quickly realized that there would be little standing in my way. Last year's NJ UB was challenging, but I knew with all that I had been challenged with physically this year, my best bet of completion was here, not Killington.

When I first heard about Spartan Race's Winter Sprint, I knew it was something that I had to do. I have never been a fan of running when it is cold, but something about putting snow and obstacle course racing together entices me. Mostly, I spend my winters hunkered down in a weight room packing on some muscle, and fat, for the upcoming race season. Having an extra layer of fat means more fuel for the upcoming race season that usually kicks off for me with an Ultra Beast in NJ. This year, however, would be a bit different. This year, I would run no matter the weather, no matter the conditions; like the United States Postal Service, "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds."

People talk about epic failures at Spartan, Tough Mudder or Warrior Dash constantly: medal size complaints, being bored by the “same old obstacles,” a delay in getting the photos or results. These are all things I have personally had to defend as a volunteer for these race series, yet people still gladly pump out $140 to $245 for an event selling them out in mass, thousands, even tens of thousands, racers being reported as the official registration numbers. Then an imaginative new upstart has an issue with getting results posted, photos out, or not being a fan of a new finisher medal and the masses call for their heads, demanding that no one ever try one of these races. All while paying as little as $40 or so for an equivalent distance course with some obstacles new to the community, or even worse a $60-$80 race that is a superior product, well executed and no they cannot get more than a few hundred people to show up.

On April 8th 2017 twelve board members from seven national Obstacle Course Racing Association (OCRA), with one additional OCRA attending by proxy, met in Olbia Sardinia for the first official obstacle sports summit.

This is a deeply personal piece for everyone, but we have been getting a lot of requests for this as we approach our next Ultra Beast in the great Garden State (NJ). In this, I will cover my race day usages and recommendations as a baseline. It is up to you on how you would like to tinker with the specifics, or what you use.

It’s March, and thus time to shine the light on another two amazing women. Like many OCR Chicks, they won’t bat an eye at throwing a wreck bag on their back and running up a steep hill, take a few scrapes from barbed wire because “it will heal later”, or when they’re drenched in sweat; pushing a little harder instead of taking a break because that’s OCR. It takes a lot of grit, and hard work to be an OCR chick. Let’s celebrate them right now.

2017 will mark the beginning of many firsts for many people. It is the start of a new year, and each new year we make resolutions and vow to do things we either planned on doing the year before and didn’t, or doing things we haven’t done at all. This …