F.I.T. Chllenge Do Epic fifth challenge

So for the fifth race from this company, another race at diamond hill park in RI. So as each race passes that they put on, the harder it gets, and in such a good way. All the hype leading up to this race is that it would be the hardest 5k ocr course you will do! This is highly possible, it certainly is the hardest 5k ocr I have done to date, so yes, it is true, at least until the next one that is.

So they have the typical walls through the course, of various kinds inverted, 3ft, and up, over/under, through. ect. But the exciting wall is the bran new to OCR Floating wall! so cool, and unique. I loved it, but it has work to be done to make it more secure. It was an incredibly windy day, and one of the supports came louse and was fixed before the day was over but still needs to be noted, I do not believe anybody got hurt, but it still needs to be tweaked. They also had atlas stone throws, bars to raise over head, wreck bag carries, rope climb, double ups, peg board, see saws.

They also had a hurc hoist, but as the day went on, maybe 1030 or 11 am, the buckets broke and had to be taken down, It seems that people had been letting the buckets slam, so just one thing to work on I guess.

One of the special additions to the race, something I had been looking forward to playing on for a wile now. The Destroyer! Yes the obstacle that was at OCRWC, and really cool, and really hard! For the elite wave they were not allowed the foot blocks, but after they went through the open waves were able to get the help.



Another notable thing is the rig that they created, you had 2 options. The left side, started off with rock grips, maybe 5 ft across, then monkey bars for another 5 ft, then Tarzan ropes, then 2 more bars, and then up and over a cargo net. The right side had just monkey bars to straight bars, on a chain to the cargo net. All that just before the end!!! after this, short sprint to a angled slatted wall, then the finish line.

The rig set up

The course was tweaked for this race, so the one hill, the highest point of the park, we went up maybe 4 times, I forget, it all blended together, but the course was almost exactly a 5k, my watch got 1/10th of a mile difference, and it is not 100% accurate, and elevation gain was said to be about 1000 ft per lap.

The fun about this race, is that you are encouraged to run as many times as you want to! untimed laps are free, but if you want timed laps, it is only 10 bucks per bib, (which is better than the big name race btw). Also, if you did 3, 4, or 5 laps then you got an award for it. and they were cool! I wanted to get 5 again, (I did in April) but 4 left me feeling just as bad as the 5 did from before, really rough course.

Those double ups can be hard,  good thing you can get help

Over shoulder stone throws

Awards for 3,4,and 5 laps

Also, for this race, there was mandatory obstacle completion for elite waves! I love that stuff, except with the destroyer, and the rig, I am so happy I ran this race open! So if you failed you had to do a penalty and then try again. For example, just before the rig, there was the stone throw (over your shoulder) and if you failed the rig you had to go back and throw the stone. The destroyer, it was immediately after the wreck bag carry, and if you failed you did the wreck bag again! (it was a steep hill). I only paid so much attention to the rules for elite as I knew I would not be running the wave, but you get the idea!

Also he has a great sense of humor!

So all in all, this is a blast, and easily harder than a spartan sprint, especially in the northeast region, and if you push for multi laps, then it is harder than supers, and some beasts, trust me on that! I felt worse after 4 this fall than I did after 5 in the spring, and worse than I felt after the NJ Beast, and certainly the spartan sprint/super in mass. Also remember, can't do an obstacle  no problem, want to get help, no problem, this course is hard as hell, but also oh so much fun! So why are you not doing this race, or #Racelocal yet????

So until next time
Stay active
Stephen

Panic in the Dark 2015

 
So this race is more of a fun run, and it takes place in Lowell after dark, with some well paced zombies. (This is one of the last race local events of the year) The makeup on the zombies is awesome! The race was not a full 5k, but that did not seem to matter to me, It was still fun even if it fell a little short. This year the venue was moved about a week before hand, we got an email with advance warning so we knew where to park. They bus you from the building to the start, and then from the finish to the festival. They provide your head lamps so you can run in the dark, you can use your own, but you do not need to, and they are bright enough to not have any issues seeing the trail. They have safe words n case you get scared and the zombies will leave you alone, this year it was biceps (a little joke about the FIT challenge owner). I have to say that the story before the race was not as good as last year, last year it was a bit of a story before you get on the bus, then when you get off the bus you had more story, and a person was shot with a paintball/air-soft gun, and then the race was off. Just before you left the "solider" leading you away shot a zombie, so still fun, just different. The festival are had free chicken soup, or chili, free bag check, a band playing, and a bar. One of the cool things about this race is that for the biggest team perks other than the sectioned off area, was the back of the shirt was our (New England Spahtens) logo on the back, instead of the sponsors, really a nice touch! The medals are pretty cool too, the eyes show light from behind the medal, nice touch!

Until next time
Stay active
Stephen

O2X at Loon mountain

Course map

So this race is truly unique, in that I have never seen anything like this before. This is a race to the top of a mountain, and the course is not a trail, it is off trail. You go over some trails, but much of the course has been searched for. There are no man made obstacles like you would find at ocrs, but instead you get giant boulders you have to scale. No tools needed, just the right clothes for the temps, and water if you need it, and you probably will. The race is up the mountain most of the way, a few sideways points, barely any down, mostly up, and several places that you have to crawl up. It is that steep, and so much fun! There were fallen tress, and really rugged slopes you ran (or hiked) up. This race is all about the elevation gain, they show it on the map, they mark it by increments of 500 ft, and on course they had 3 markers for you . They also had a few water stops, I believe three, and had some electrolyte water as well, which was great! This company is seriously the best around at marking, this is their second race I have done (I did Sugar bush last year, and was amazed that it was their first race) there was one spot I took exactly 2 steps and dd not see markings and turned back and knew where to go. Close to the end where you get to go through the boulders was awesome! One of the cool touches on the course this year, they had a person in a Sasquatch suit on course, and he scared a few people, and a few other people in full costume suits, as well as the founders, all of them were giving out high 5's and words of encouragement, it was one of those cool things you do not often see on a race course, and makes it that much more memorable! And once you finished at the top of the mountain, you got a gondola ride down, really cool, and the views at the top were great!

View from the top, epic selfie

Now for some of the other things that make this company great. They are committed to the planet, they put it best on their web page:


As a member of 1% for the Planet, we are committed to promoting sustainable living and environmental awareness in everything we do, both on the mountain and around the world.
You will see these practices put into place in every event. For example, we reduce or recycle municipal solid waste and selected industrial wastes, and we donate at least 1 percent of sales to nonprofit partners among the 1% for the Planet network. Other ways we put our environmental commitment into action include:

• Recycle cardboard, metals, paper and plastic through a single-stream collection method
• Offer compostable or recyclable dinnerware, paper goods and napkins.
• Compost all food scraps and coffee grinds
• Encourage carpool and public transportation for our event
• Work with local suppliers, business partners, and customers to reduce environmental impact of activity
• Donate salvageable foods to a local food bank or community outreach program
• Provide bulk servings of typical single-serve packages (such as coffee, creamers, sugar, etc.)
• Set benchmarks to limit municipal solid waste and recycling
• Collect, organize and create a simple report on municipal solid waste and recycling
• Strive for zero waste

Swag!

That is pretty cool, and is apparent at the venue. Some of the other really cool things about this race, the encourage you to camp out on the mountain, really close to the base camp (festival) and hang out the night before with the owners and have a fireside chat, and enjoy the atmosphere before the race! They know how to get the right kind of sponsors as well. They are sponsored by lululemon, so the finishers shirts were great! when I read that they were using lululemon shirts I thought awesome, and I wondered if it would be plastered with logos for other sponsors, but no, just a small O2X logo on the sleeve, nice touch! (now it looks like I paid for a super awesome shirt that I got for signing up1)



But that's not all! they also just got sponsored by Guinness, so on friday, before the race, from 4pm to 10pm, after you registered, you pick up a metal cup (that you got to keep) and all you can drink begins. You could get Guinness (reg or blonde) They also had 2 wines to choose from, hot choc (and Baileys if you wanted) apple cider, or hard cider (they added rum to it). So you could enjoy your day, and they also had the post beer the day after the race. Also a cool sponsor to have you may ask? Dunkin Donuts!!! so you could buy egg sandwiches, or all day on race day they had free bagels and cream cheese, I think 3 or 4 different kinds of bagels. They also had other food on friday and saturday, you could choose pizza, burgers, lobster roll, and so on.

Base camp also had solar charging stations, recovery area with a sponsor that was letting you test out muscle stimulating technology to speed up recovery. Also some games to play in the base camp, like corn hole, and over sized inflated bowling and Frisbees. there were several fires the night before (as well as the race morning) and blankets and fire towers to warm up the area, and that was nice as it was in the 40's when the sun set!

The medals were titanium sporks with a bottle opener on the end! you also got a draw string bag O2X branded, candy bar, a juti bar, and a Kill cliff bar.

So like I said, they care about the planet, they give back to the communities they race in, have the best trail marking I have seen, and the best swag around! also, the price may seem high, as it tends to be around 100, but keep in mind a few things. They do not charge you for: parking, bag check or processing fees, and seriously, THE BEST SWAG AROUND!!! so this race is well worth it, and to keep the environment the same, which is awesome, they are capping registrants so it  can still be a small race, and wonderful atmosphere, and I love the idea, so sign up early, Loon mountain was wonderful, as will there next races.

Honestly, my only complaint is that they only have one race in the north east, and that says something!

Next year they will be back at Loon, and so will I, if you want to check them out and have not heard about them their page is here

So until next time
Stay active
Stephen

24 Hours of Shale Hell Review

So for those of you who do not know, Shale hill is a top nitch upper body destroying ocr course in vt, well worth the trip. Not just for the obstacles, but the owners are awesome as well, they get to you, and your name very quickly, which is amazing! This course is also the reason that when somebody tells me be careful that race is hard, upper body heavy obstacles, I usually chuckle, I have yet to be on a harder course, but it is also a world of fun. Don;t let the difficulty scare you away, you don;t need to be elite to go there, however, if you want to complete every obstacle, then yes, you need to be elite. But they have journeyman division so you do not have to feel bad about not having penalties, it is there so you try your best, and sometimes you just can not get across the great wall (think traverse wall on steroids, 5 panels, longer than spartan, strung together with balance boards and overhead grip boards. It will tear open your hands, trust me, it happened on both my hands at this race), the difficulty is the point though! For example, almost every race, you get the discussions about what obstacle you were able to complete but could not before, It feels great seeing nt only your own growth but that of everybody else's as well.

 

So this particular event is just as it sounds, as many times as you can make it around the course from 9am saturday morning to 9am sunday morning. They very kindly let us camp out fr free the night before, right next to the start line, which is great if you wanted a nap inbetween laps, or did not want to walk to far to do so. Parking as always is a short walk from the start/finish line, and you could bring your car up to drop off gear, then park at the parking lot. They had a giant bonfire at night, which was great, because even in the summer with 90 plus temps it was pretty cool at night when you stopped running. The penalties were different for each lap: first 2 were 30 spiderman push ups (50 at the tarzan ropes), third was half so 15 (25 at tarzan), 4th was 7 (14 at tarzan), 5th was penalty free, but still had to try everything as much as possible. They had different penalties for 6 and up, but I only got to lap 4, and did not expect more than 6 anyway. There was also an 8 hour version, which was the same thing, run as much as you can in 8 hrs, if you were not back by the cut off, or only a few minuets over then the lap did not count, that went for both times. They also had a relay team, only one person per lap counted, the team could run with but their time would not count (and the Canadian team really kicked butt out there, so jealous). You could also have a crew with you, but for each person crewing they had to fork over some money, I usually go alone on these kinds of things, plus knew enough people I could ask for help if needed. The support crew could not help you on any obstacles, they could carry gear, give advise, and run next to you at night when it is dark, and that was cool, also with those fresh legs they helped pace people to move a little faster, and it was nice to see everybody helping each other. Racers were allowed to help each other on obstacles, and man did that come in handy as the laps racked up. There were no timers, just a race clock, and a white board that you recorded your own times.

start of fireman's tower

Second half of fireman's tower

(see picture to the left) I only got 4, I really wanted to make it an ultra and get 5 or 6, I like several of my friends could have done it (I may beat myself up for a bit, reguardless of knowing I made the right call with a long drive back to ma from vt) but considering how my calves felt, I knew it would be better for the healing process to stop at 4, even though I just missed the penalty free lap, so bummed. Speaking of which, as I write this my : forearms, triceps, biceps, calves, and core are beaten down, been a wile since my whole body has been beaten like this, and it just proves that I had all the fun, with so many friends. Friends who were awesome to run with, and chat with before, during, and after the race. Doing a night lap with one of my friends, realizing that as I ran with another that the balance beam around the herb garden was not getting done easily alone that lap, and another lap that I would not have made nearly as far on the great will without being pushed. That is not normally how I run, but it can be just as fun, and it was needed on a course like that. The only real things that could have made it better was reflective trail markers for the night time laps, for the bucket carry (bucket brigade for you spartan folks) was hard to stay on course, we did a bit of wavering on and off course, but it was mostly on course. Also there were a few places were tree branches were blocking the course, ad one of those walls on the anaconda with the 2 metal bars moves a lot, but those are all I really noticed for things that need improvement. They really take care of everything up there, and it shows when you run the course, and I could not be any happier, I mean unless  actually got that 5th lap that is. But the whole running with the best ocr team, New england spahtens makes things like that more palatable.

zig zag of awesomeness

zig zag of awesomeness

The two that run this place are always checking in, going around course, seeing how you are doing, I know Rob has given me pointers wile on course more than once. And they know their course, and what it does to its racers. At one point I got to the fireman tower, about 2/3 of the way through the course. There was a volunteer hanging out, and said hey, and asked what lap I was on, I said hello, and blanked on the lap question, then like 30sec later, realized he asked a question, apologized for ignoring his question. His answer you may ask? "That's ok, Rib said people would be delirious around lap 3 and 4" so good job on them both!

This is also a great idea if you are training for worlds toughest mudder, as they also do the 24hr event for that as well, but if you are not, it also helps with endurance and just a real fun weekend! think in 2 to 3 hours for each one, just amazing!

Tips for the future:

• gallon sized zip lock bags are great to store each change of clothes in for each lap, and when doing something like this, you will want to change a few times, you will be covered in mud!
• you will want a second pair of shoes (or more if you have them) you can quickly hose off and dry them wile you are running, it makes a world of difference
• changing socks at least evey other lap is highly recommended, if not every lap, take care of your feet or you will regret it!
• Trail toes, or some kind of foot care lube is a great idea, it really helps when you are putting down milage in this kind of terrain
• when you rip your hands on an obstacle (lets say the great wall, because of my 3 new rips on my hands) vitamin e oil, as pure ass you can get in liquid form helps shave a day or so off healing time, and helps speed up the initial barrier to prevent the raw skin feeling. and use glove to keep it on, at night it is perfect, and helps if you can get away with gloves during the day as well
• Work on your spiderman push ups, you'll need to know em!

Bottom Line, like I have posted about shale hill in the past on my blog, it is really hard, and really fun. Definetly a must for ocr enthusiests of all abilities. Unlike the big names you get way more of a challenge, more fun obstacles, they greet you by name with a smile, and are always thinking of new things to do. If you have not been here stop slacking, you don;t even need to wait for a specific race, they do training as well! which I will probably take advantage of before the ultra beast, because I need to work on some things!

Also for information there cite is here, check them out, it is worth the trip

Until next time
Stay active
Stephen

What happens when you race too much?

It is easy to forget it is possible, or maybe it is just me that you can over race, just like you can over train. I have done 2 months straight of racing more than once. And when you are somebody like me you can easily get caught up in all the fun, and not realizing how many back to back race weekends you have planned. For example, I signed up to do an ultra at least 6 months in advance, long before other races popped up on my radar. Then I signed up for other race local events, and not wanting to fall far behind in mileage, or points, or swag (but I ill be honest, I do not expect to stay high on the point scale). and I raced for 6 weeks or so after the ultra marathon (Infinitus, great experience, I truly think many things can be learned running ultras, but that is another story). Now you are probably thinking, why would you race the week after an ultra? well you shouldn't, PERIOD, but I also already bought another ticket, not realizing how close they were (the next week) and it kept happening. So please learn from my mistakes, and do not be afraid to take time off from racing, running, or just working out. Do not forget that REST is an equally important part of training. Without rest, your body can not build itself back up stronger than before. After tearing and regrowing muscles, trashing legs with running. You also need rehab days for your body, with things like yoga, recovery runs, or recovery tools for running, now matter what kind (I wrote something about how to re-purpose tools for recovery, that work as well as the more expensive stuff, you just need to know what you are doing). You can always cross train, but, you still need to work in rest. I just hopped back into the water after over a decade out of it, and not having a strong swimming backround. And man, it was hard! Proving the point that even if you think it is okay to keep going, as long as you switch up what part of your body you work on. You may feel fine for a wile, but eventually it will catch up to you. I have pretty good endurance, and can handle myself, and know my body. So when I tell you that for those 2 month spans of races all I did was my monday night training, and the race each week, you know that I had plenty of "rest" but my workouts suffered. My strength stagnated, at best, and my legs were beaten down, so for all my post ultra races, I had slowed way down, like half speed down. I had a knot in my left leg, on the line between my hamstring, and it band. Whenever i tried to push, I was forced to slow down. So like I said, sooner or later, it will catch up to you (I am at 20 races this year already, that is the number I did last year! and I have way more planned!!). It is easy to get caught up in all the memes that say rest is for the weak, but truthfully, you will be weak if you do not rest! It is also easy to have your mind be full of doubt because you have not worked out in a few days. Even if you do not have D.O.M.S. It is just a fact of life. So be sure to get plenty of sleep, rest and plan out your races so you have down time, and still get excited for races, after all the is the main point of these types of events.

Until next time

Stay active

Stephen

Samurai Sprint Review

So this is the second event that this company has done, I missed out on the fun from the first, so I was not going to let that happen again. Especially after hearing about all of the fun that it was last year from friends that ran it. The obstacles are challenging, you have the typical walls, and heavy carries, and rope climbs.

But I love traverse ropes, they have ninja warrior type obstacles a reverse stair case, and a swinging bar that you leap from  to a sideways bar, I love a challenge, and this race has stuff you will not see at a spartan! There was also a slip and slide (always fun!) He also had a box jump obstacle, you jumped up about5 steps. That obstacle seemed like it needed work, it did not inspire confidence jumping down, but if that is the worst thing I can say, it is a good thing.

They had a typical 10 dollar parking, they did not have waivers on race day, but they did send out several emails to inform us to bring our own though, which is nice to give the heads up twice in the week leading up to the race, it (sort of) makes up for not having it.

They also have a lot to offer in the perks department: (Copied from the email)

FREE Services:

• There will be FREE CHAIR MASSAGES by Mary Lou.  She is great and helped me through many injuries. 
• Health Source Chiropratic  will also be offering the following services including stretching, muscle work, RockTape (kinesiology tape), and foam rolling.
• We also have FREE product from Muscle Milk and Hint Water.

 So to be fair, the massage table was not there, however, the chiroprator, was awesome! He is very knowledgeable, and explained what he was doing wile he was fixing you, he was very nice as well. He was also able to help out a friend who was hurting worse than me. He was also tapig people up, all free of charge, and with a smile.


 One thing that i really want to make clear here is this. A very big reason that I am happy with smaller races, and the whole #racelocal movement is that a bunch of that money goes to charity! Here is a post from Facebook, from FIT challenge

 I have spoken with Steve the RD about the multi-lap donation money. He would like to donate ALL the proceeds that come in from extra laps to the Greater New Bedford Suicide Prevention Coalition as this organization has special meaning to him. F.I.T. Challenge will match the donation amount received by you folks up to $500 for this very worthy organization and cause. Again, this is NOT required but ALL the money raised will be donated! Can't WAIT to see you all tomorrow! Its going to be a BLAST!!!

And then post race details
47 extra laps $470 brought in, plus our donation gives $1,000 to The Greater New Bedford Suicide Prevention Coalition! AMAZING my friends just amazing! THANK YOU!!!
(sent from FIT Challenge. Fyi there were about 500 runners that day, so if you ask me that is a great number considering how small, and new a company this is

That, on top of a fun event, is a large reason as to why everybody should really take a look at these smaller races, For small companies to pony up that kind of cash, i feel like that is more than some of the big guys give away to charities, i could be wrong, but I have more faith in the people in the smaller races, they are nice, and humble people, that know how to give back!

So I would really love for any readers out there to seriously look into the smaller companies, they are usually cheaper, kinder, and put their money back into the communities. I am so happy that race local came around so that I can learn about all these cool races in my back yard.

Also One of the fun things I feel like I do not always get the chance to do is the fun lap, my last lap, I was hurt, and most of my friends were tired from the extra laps that they did. So we all went kind of slow, mostly walking, and playing on the obstacle. The great company, from at least 6 of my friends, really put the smile on all of our faces, as we played on the obstacles, and really brought back that social aspect to these races. This was absolutely a highlight of the day, I have said this before, and will say it again. Friends help make the miles pass by quickly. And any race (or time spent regardless as to how) with my fellow new englnd spahtens, makes for a wonderful experience. 

To check out their web cite click here

So until next time
Keep training
Stephen

Zombie Charge Review

Soapy Slip and Slide finish

Zombie Charge in Ct, is one of those fun ocrs that you get to run, wile being chased by zombies! what is not to love about that? you still get obstacles, and the zombies go after flags on a belt that you are given, (like flag football) The big draw (as you would expect) is the zombies, you can play a zombie, i think it costs around 30ish (i did not pay attention, I prefer to run!) And the make up looked great, and the people really got into character, and made it hard to keep your flags! So as a part of Race local I did 5 laps (gunning for top milage) and each time the zombies had moved slightly, which is nice. They had several ambush areas, making it impossible to keep your flags for the end. I just barely kept a flag for the 3rd lap, and got better as the day went on. It had nothing to do with the fact that they had been out all day, nothing (kidding, i got lucky). They had typical walls (6ft, and an 8 ft) solid, slatted, Traverse (or some people treated as an over wall, a bit confusing, and if it was a traverse wall the support frame was in the way, if it was an over wall it needed to be clearer). The obstacles were not all that challenging

In case you can't tell, it is a rope, then cargo net

I could go into the obstacles more, but it is the typical stuff. You could buy more flags for a dollar a pop, and they had 2 places on course that you could get another flag.The first was in a fenced in area with 2 zombies, then the other was given out of you could do a rope climb. But then they had zombies waiting to ambush you for your new flag. By far the best zombies were just after the rope climb, It was a Santa (who was a very quiet runner) and a clown, that often hid behind a very small, very see though branch, very funny. Oh and he had a horn, it was great, those two, and the rest of them were great, very into the character. when i ran out of flags (most of the laps before 2 miles, probably one before mile 1 marker) most zombies just let you pass, all you had to say was I am dead, or no flags. At that point most of them left you alone, a few broke character, just wanting to grab some flags as the day went on. But there were a few that followed you and snarled all along you. They were not allowed to shove or touch, just to go after your flag. So keep that in mind, you will have your but grabbed because that is were your flag will be, but it really isn't a problem, just a heads up. The last obstacle was a slip and slide (pictured above)

So the parking was on site, typical 10 bucks, and real close to the festival area. The end of the parking lot had a great view of the course

These hills were filled with zombies

This race has a cool finishers shirt, a buff, and cool medal for swag, they had food and beer on site, but I spent the day running the course, so I did not see much else. they did not have as detailed story as you get with panic in the dark, but they did set the scene by shooting a zombie at the start line before each wave, which was cool. I think probably 3 water stations, no changing tent, but i have gotten the hang of using a towel, and the typical garden hose to clean off. 

Bottom Line here, this was a blast, I got to run (jog, I have not recovered from Infinitus yet, but I was still able to have a bunch of fun, and completely fall into the gimmick of zombie fun through the race, So the obstacles were average (except the rope to cargo, as pictured above) But the energy that the zombies gave was great, it really made the race, I had so much fun. My friends even hugged the zombies to help others get passed them, it did not go as planned, as sometimes the zombies still grabbed a flag, but that was the fun, and I really can not say enough about how perfect the venue is for this race, whoever scouted it out was amazing, The course looks like it is pulled from a zombie movie. I really loved the vibe of this thing. But It is a gimmick race, if you have a love for zombies have at it, they seem to have no problem getting people to wear make up and lungs, and run after people for about 4 hours. If you are looking for a local version of a spartan or a tough mudder, that is not this, but they are not trying to be that, so just go out and enjoy the day, running from zombies!

Until next time
keep training
Stephen

Bonefrog Tier 1 Review

Because ya know, Proof!

So this race is truly grueling, on a great mountain venue in western mass (Charlemont). The Tier 1 challenge was a combo deal, one lap of the challenge, and as many sprints as you could do. The Challenge was 10.2 miles long, with 51 obstacles, and they were hard! The sprint was bout 4.2 miles long, and 51 obstacles. This race also offered on site camping as well, and it was pretty cool, it was real close to the course, ad not far from start line. The venue left a close by building open for us, and it had a giant bathroom were allowed to use, it was creepy as hell, but it was nice to have an actual toilet and sink near by, seriously It was great, but i have to describe it correctly. Also they offered a dinner the night before at the mountain venue, but for 15 bucks the pasta dinner did not seem worth it, it was typical of a race venue, so it did not look horrible, but we chose to eat don the street, as did many others, the closest restaurant was overclouded, and had trouble keeping up, but the food was good and service was nice, so it worked out in the end, even though we waited forever.

Race Map

The Challenge:

This course was a blast and very tough, (but had more of a varying terrain than the sprint). I really do like the local races, you get some really unique obstacles. there are too many to remember, especially when the race has so many. They had the typical walls of various levels, plenty solid, some slotted, several inclined with ropes, some declined, and the over unders, and through walls as well.. One problem I saw with the rope climbs, they did not have anything bracing you if you fall, no water, hay, or anything. hat goes with the tough territory, but if you are new and do not have the technique down yet, that can be scary. I loved that they tarped over a few obstacles to make you go under them in the dark, which was awesome! One of them was a short trench. But the really cool one was pretty long, filled with glow sticks for light, but it didn't really light up much, the cool part? 3 through walls. 2 Shorter ones, and a big one in the middle, really fun! They had2 sandbag carries, and two other heavy carries. They had a few low crawls, but no barb wire, it was an awesome change from all those other ocrs out there. Another cool thing you will not see at many other races was the amount of rig style set ups, they had a rope climb to monkey bars, then slotted wall down. They had a few other rigs like this on course. They had a few sets of monkey bars, and a few styles of them. I loved the traverse rope, they had it marked off to about midway and then drop into the water, and had 2 racers on each rope at a time. I can not swim, and the water was deep, so i just traversed the whole way across, which was not too bad because they did not burn out your upper body yet, and it was in the first few miles, (if it had been 5 miles later, it may have been an issue for me). After the traverse rope, then a traverse wall, then what they call "cliff hanger" and that was a beast of an obstacle! luckily the wait was not super long wait, the boat crossing over the water "assault craft" then to the drunken monkey (which is a great explanation for the amount of unevenness on the pegs you traversed) along with the "uss mami traverse" (rope traverse) all added up to a wait, so you were not all stuck at the cliff hanger (the boat crossing took about20 min in the sprint, and the rope traverse got up to 20/30 min as well in the later waves) The cliff hanger is like the handles for the cable weight machines at the gym, but picture over a hundred hanging from different levels, and such, for roughly 15 to 20 ft. Also there was one spot at about mile 8, that I was in heaven!

found randomly on google

They also had a spot with a giant poster with 31 names on it, fallen soldiers, you had a 35lb wreck bag, and did an overheard press, followed by a burpee with a wreck bag. One of the worst parts of the mountain we climbed had the best view, which was nice considering the fact that it felt like an 80 degree incline up, and then right back down, with plenty of rocks flying down as you make your way down the mountain. So at the top you see 2 things, the beautiful mountain surrounding you, and a memorial for those killed in action, with markers to add a name if you wanted.

They also had an interesting memory test on course, they put up a sign with the names of the charities that they support (31 heroes, one team one fight,  and the navy seal foundation) then several miles later they asked you to name one of the charities, if you didn't know one, you ran an extra maybe 1/10 of a mile total to a sign, then told the soldiers who asked you, then you ran another 1/10 mile to another sign with details about a rifle (I loved that the decryption said rate of fire "pew and pew, pew, pew). The finish was cool, and obstacle heavy, they had a heavy carry, wall, log traverse, gut busters (jumping up and forward onto logs like at shale hill) then the rig with the rope straight up a wall to monkey bars then slotted wall down, finished up with a roll through water, and then sand, so much fun!

The Sprint:

This course seemed to have literally all of the inclines of the challenge, so it took forever, and was brutal, I could only do one of these (so could my friends that I went out with, I know 1 that did two, Never mind my 3 friends that did 2 laps of the challenge, talk about beasts!) This course was interesting, not at all what I would expect from a sprint. They did have a bunch of issues with the trail markings, and volunteers not knowing where to go next, having a, overlapping course on the same day is hard, and they had all of us confused, volunteers and racers. You still got two heavy carries, a bunch of upper body heavy obstacles, that were all fun. The boats you cross over the water on were backed up horribly, and the traverse rope did not have any life vests and that is annoying, the offer was a 2 min wait as a penalty, but I am sorry, that is really not cool if you can not swim, like me, and after my first lap, I was not pushing it to go all the way across on the second lap.

Tier 1 Challenge:

So the challenge that was offered was that one lap around the challenge, and as many as you wanted around the sprint. Also a part of this package was a pair of sleeves (seen in photo above). The sleeves are pretty cool, and to get them you had to earn them, by finishing both courses. It was a cool little addition, and was actually provided but one of the running teams. Only problem with that was that nobody knew about it. and the person running the merch tent was very hostile about it, other than that, no issues to be had. Gotta get those miles in for Race local!

Cool Pic I found online

One problem I ran into on race day was an abundance of bugs! obviously no fault of the race, but has to be said the long trail run was the only real break all day I had from swatting the little bugs out of my face and around my head. Also there were some demon spawns that feasted on my calves, the one spot that was not covered in clothes, and they are worse than any bugs bites i have gotten to date, oh well, it is a reminder of an awesome day right? 

The Volunteers were pretty cool, except the ones on course that had no idea were people were supposed to go. But hey it happens, they were all really nice. The thing I want to emphasize about the volunteers though? The fact that they had a bunch of ex armed forces (and paid employees as well I am sure) That were actually pleased that you showed up and did the race! The older gentleman that was at the finish line, the ones that handed out the medals, and the ones that handed out the shirts, they were sincerely happy that you showed up and ran, and thanked me! And nit just by saying the words, they looked me in the eye, and were very sincere, and they loved that we enjoyed the race! I have had plenty of interactions with volunteers, and employees from all kinds of races, hell even if you throw in all the various establishments i have been to, that stood out, It seemed to touch these guys that so many people showed up! Now I could totally be reading WAAAYYYY too much into it, but the interaction i had with those guys, however brief it was, it was very real, and refreshing, and they really put the right people at the finish line!

So in case you have not guessed yet, You should really put this race on your radar, it is run by Navy seals,  they support 3 charities, and put on a great event, if you are up to the challenge, go for it, and it will be one of the harder ones you do (think worse than a spartan super, maybe on par with a spartan beast)

*Update*

It has just been brought to my attention, that as a part of biggest team, we get a 15 credit, and you guessed it, the New England Spahtens got biggest team yet again we killed it with the numbers! just another reason you should join the best team around! check out our fb page New England Spahtens