How to Train for an OCR at your local park!

If you are getting ready for a Tough Mudder, Spartan Race or Savage Race and are looking for great ways to train outside of the traditional gym, take a look at our video taking advantage of our local park and it's unintended obstacles! Leave any questions or thoughts in the comments!

Running Dirty- Chantilly Virginia Saturday September 7th 2013 Review

Let me start off by saying that I enjoyed myself very much at Running Dirty as did each member of our team. We had a crew of ten, six of which were first time Obstacle Racers and the overall mood of everyone was that of a memorable day. That being said, with so much competition to put on the next great race many of the newer races don't always live up to the marketing machine they employ. By providing some constructive criticism, these races have the opportunity to build on things for next year (hopefully) so they can put some pressure on the 'Big 3' to keep them honest.

Obstacles: 6/10
This race advertised 23+ Navy Seal inspired obstacles that will push you to your fitness, toughness and athletic limits. They covered the staple obstacles like berlin walls, barbed wire crawl(s), Log Carry, and Person Carry (No Man Left Behind). They had a few obstacles that were really well put together like Drunk Monkey, Spider Wall, and Going A Wall. These were the only real challenges of the day. Drunk Monkey was an inverted Monkey Bars built over water that started high, went low, and made you end high again. My main critique of this obstacle was the fact that the bars started too high for everyone to reach. My wife, who is 5'1", needed a boost to reach the first bar and had to very carefully dismount as to not potentially slip on the wet wood and crack her head open while landing. This could be alleviated by either raising the starting platform or extending the last bar further above the wood landing platform. I did the bars twice and would rank them as an intermediate difficulty. The main difference in difficulty between  Drunk Monkey and Savage Race's Sawtooth and Tough Mudder's Funky Monkey is the length of the obstacle. Drunk Monkey, while well designed was not very long, which made it less challenging than it's counterparts. Going A Wall, was a roughly 16-20 foot tall A frame wall with ropes to climb. This obstacle was very fun and the pitch of the A Frame made it a challenge. While I did not experience a line in the early wave, my goPro captured quite a long line behind me as I was going up. Another unique obstacle was the Parallel Bars, which added a challenge while running through the trails. Overall I thought that the obstacles were well made but that a few more larger scale and harder obstacles would be necessary for future races.

Venue: 7 /10
The race took place on Ticonderoga Farms located in Chantilly, VA. I actually work at an office about 10 minutes from here and literally had no idea that this place existed. It is a wonderful farm and this rating has nothing to do with the farm itself, but Running Dirty's use of the facility.

The first thing that could have been improved would have been marking the entrance. While Running Dirty had a volunteer standing outside the farm's main entrance, there were no signs signaling that this was the right entrance for the race. In fact, I missed the entrance along with a number of other cars and turning around on the small dirt road was tricky. Once inside, parking was smooth and the volunteers had a good system for organizing car rows. There was about a 1/4 mile walk to registration and everything went very smoothly. This was actually very impressive considering the fact that Running Dirty acquired about 1,000 runners by combining races with Rogue Runner relatively last minute.

They made great use of the trails, but apart from a few mud crawls, there was really very little mud. We ended up being dirty at the end, but the last obstacle was a mud crawl. Aside from that, mud was almost non existent. One of the more frustrating developments was the lack of direction to the shower area and once finding it deciding it wasn't worth waiting on the long line. I ended up washing off in a burger king bathroom on the ride home.

The after party section was well done with corn hole set up and easy access to the beer trucks. The band was really good and our team really enjoyed ourselves. We took pictures with our team as well as other participants. The vibe was on point and I would have stayed longer if I didn't my have to pick my son up from the babysitter. Sadly, Ticonderoga farms had their own food stand area but not only was it not advertised it was a 1/4 mile away from the party area. I ended up getting food on the walk to the car, but definitely could have used a burger while drinking some beers. The burgers were pretty good too!

Post Race: 6.5 /10

A rare but good shot of Chris, Kenise and me!! (Sorry Kel)

One area that tends to be overlooked is what happens after the race. Running Dirty was on Facebook a few days later adding photos and updating the page. As far as photos for this particular race, professional photos were on the low side. Oddly, this is the first race that has captured me in action with a decent shot, but based on the number of participants there are likely a good deal of unhappy campers because to date there are only  323 photos from the race (My wife being one of them). Running Dirty addressed this in a response to a customer post advising, 

"Unfortunately we were not able to use the company we had used before with the timing and photos being done at the same time. Therefore, we have to do these in house/with volunteers and upload the photos/watermark them ourselves. Because of this it takes quote some time. Since we did not have many photographers onsite not everyone is guaranteed their own photo op. We apologize for the inconvenience and are working to improve this for future events"

This is unfortunate, but on the positive side they are aware and are taking note for the future. That being said, based on the website and past events, people were expecting more photos and they should have planned better prior to the event.

Overall: 6.5 /10

As I stated earlier I enjoyed myself very much at this event. Despite some shortcomings I would certainly recommend that people sign up for Running Dirty and give it a shot, especially if this is your first attempt at an Obstacle Course Race. For those that have done higher mileage or other bigger name races (Tough Mudder, Spartan, Savage) I would go into Running Dirty knowing that you will have a good time, but as it is currently constructed you may not be as challenged as you may have hoped. With some tweaking and planning this race will be headed in the right direction. At the end of the day, each participant takes something different away from these races. For me it was fun times with friends old and new and experiencing my wife running her first Obstacle Course (and conquering the Drunk Monkey!!) I would definitely Run Dirty again!

Monkey Bar Training: How to Conquer Tough Mudder's 'Funky Monkey'

With the interest in obstacle course racing at an all time high, more and more people are signing up for races and beginning to train for what at first glance appears to be an impossible feat. The truth is that with the proper training approach anything is possible. One of the more daunting obstacles for newcomers are the Monkey Bars. We all did them as children during recess, but unless you are a rock climber or have been consistently keeping up with your pull ups you most likely haven't used all of the muscles you may need in quite some time. Below I have listed some helpful tips and exercises that will get you ready for Tough Mudder's 'Funky Monkey', Savage Race's 'Sawtooth', or any other monkey bars a mud run might throw at you.

Exercises:

1. Pull Ups: This one is obvious, but also the most important. Form will be the key to making these count. More often than not folks doing pull ups will not fully extend their arms after the initial dead hang and only lower themselves down halfway. Make sure you go all the way down to a dead hang each time and then pull yourself back up. If you have trouble doing this then keep training and give yourself some time between reps. If you need pull up assistance, you can purchase Pull Up Bands that will reduce the weight you are pulling up so that your body can strengthen itself. Once you progress far enough, you can begin to do unassisted pull ups.

Depending on the type of pull up bar you have access to there are variations that can help simulate the obstacle. If your bar has multiple grips you can alternate grips on each rep of your pull up. For example, start with both palms facing out on your first rep and when you lower your weight back down switch one hand to face in. You will do another rep with one hand facing out and the other in. From each dead hang switch your grip to another hold. This works best if you incorporate a wide grip as well as an inside grip. This will help you prepare for the trip up and down the monkey bars as it improves your grip strength and allows you to practice moving your hands from one bar to another.

2. Playground Monkey Bars:

The best way to get your body ready for monkey bars is with...... yep, you guessed it! with Monkey Bars! The only downside to playground monkey bars is that these days they are not very long and typically are separated by an unavoidable step. This means you may not have as much length as you would like to practice on. Additionally, they will not be able to prepare you for the incline and decline of the 'Funky Monkey.' That being said, the more you can get out to a playground the better off you will be. The first time you try them you will most likely do poorly as you won't be used to them and the bars will start to callous your hands. It is amazing how much more we were able to do as children.... You will want to start by transferring each hand to each bar. Skipping bars can save time, but will require more strength and control. If you can use one hand on each bar that is great, but if you have trouble just stick with both hands on each bar. Once you get comfortable on the bars make sure to use your feet like you are pedaling a bike so you generate some momentum. This will help you get across smoothly and can take some stress off of your muscles. Another downside to local playground monkey bars? If you don't have a kid you may end up being the awkward adult hanging out on a kids playground.....

3. Soccer Goal Swings

Another great way to practice for the monkey bars is to try what I call 'Soccer Goal Swings.'  This is more of a lateral movement, but it allows you to exercise different parts of your shoulders that you might otherwise miss while also allowing you to practice swinging yourself and using your momentum to help carry your body weight.

To begin this exercise, you will want to find a local soccer goal and dead hang from the crossbar with your arms shoulder width apart. Begin swinging your body from right to left and when you feel comfortable enough, lift your left hand and move it further left on the crossbar. As your left hand grasps you will quickly reach your right hand over so your hands are again shoulder width apart. You will repeat this until you reach the end of the crossbar. Once you finish you will repeat the exercise going from left to right.

Once you feel comfortable completing this exercise from a dead hang, you will eventually progress to locking out your arms at a 90 degree angle. The movement remains the same, but by locking out you engage more of your arm muscles and reduce the fatigue on your hands. This exercise can also come in handy when running a course with 'Just the Tip', which is a large plywood structure with 2 x 4 grips across the top for you to laterally cross a water ditch.


4. Hang Board Exercises

If you are really serious about training and think you will be doing this for awhile, I recommend getting your hands on a Metolius Climbing Simulator 3D. Long story short, this board will really help improve your grip strength as well as your back and shoulder strength. It is a simulator and practice board for rock climbers and it adds a new dimension to anyone's workout.
From Metolius' Site:

The master is CNC milled for perfect symmetry

The holds are arranged along a broad arc that tapers outward and downward for
better ergonomics and reduced injuries

Tapers from top to bottom in both dimensions for better forearm clearance

Fine texture

Massive variety of holds

Includes comprehensive instructions, training guide and all mounting hardware

The board can fit over your doorway (be sure to measure first) or in my case I mounted mine on the joists of my garage. It costs 79.95 and unless you have plywood for mounting you will want to invest 19.95 on their backboard mount. Adding up to just under $100, I consider that money well spent.

Tips and things to Remember

1.  Momentum is your friend. Use your body weight to help you, not hurt you. By acting as if you are riding a bike with your legs when you transfer from bar to bar you keep your weight constantly transferring, which helps to move you along. It also takes the stress off of your grip, because with momentum you won't be hanging on one bar for too long.  Make sure you practice this on local monkey bars before your event.

2. Grip strength is key. If you dedicate yourself to improving your pull ups your grip strength should come along also. By adding a hang board into your workout, you can better isolate this area and speed up the process.

3. Just keep moving! The longer you hang in one place the quicker your strength will disappear, so keep it moving. If you end up falling, you will know what you need to improve on for next time.

-Keith

OCR Gear Ambassador

Roughly 3 months ago via a cryptic daily social media reveal, the endurance racing website Travlete teased it's followers with an advertisement showing the names of popular Obstacle Course racing athletes. On 5-15-13, they announced that a sister site by the name of OCR Gear was launching and it would focus on clothing and accessories specifically tailored for obstacle course racing. From moisture wicking shirts, recovery tights (both tops and bottoms), gloves, to some nutritional supplements, the site only sells what they have used themselves and believe in.

2 weeks ago, OCR Gear launched their Ambassador program by inviting some of it's initial customer base to apply for a chance to represent the site and grow the sport of Obstacle Course Racing. This morning they announced those chosen, and I am proud to say that I am one of them.

After running my first obstacle race in 2012 I was instantly hooked and I enjoy introducing people to the sport. I have yet to have anyone that has raced with our team not enjoy themselves and want to do more. I look at the ambassador program as a great way to help introduce obstacle racing to even more people so the phenomenon can stabilize itself, grow and be around for awhile. Thanks to OCR Gear for the opportunity.

-Keith

Mid Atlantic Savage Race. Saturday July 20th 2013

This past  Saturday I ran the Mid Atlantic Savage Race. Our Mudder Faulker team ran with only two original members, but we added a few friends as well as some Obstacle Course race newbies. I was really excited for this race and it did not disappoint. 

The first thing that drew my attention to Savage Race was their  take on the Quarter Pipe and Monkey Bars. When comparing their 'Colossus' and 'Sawtooth' to Tough Mudder's  'Everest' and  'Funky Monkey' the edge goes to Savage Race. Tough Mudder is what got me into Obstacle Course races, but a badass obstacle design is a badass obstacle design. When comparing 'Colossus' to 'Everest' the first thing that strikes me is the sheer size of 'Colossus'. The quarter pipe is enormous and while they give you a rope to help yourself up, there are still plenty of participants that require a lot of help up. 'Everest', on the other hand, seems to have gotten shorter from when I ran Mid Atlantic Tough Mudder in 2012 versus 2013. I can't really prove it, but my whole team felt it was easier. Additionally 'Colossus' has a giant waterslide off the back of the quarter pipe unlike anything I have seen at other races. The best part about the slide? It isn't built over gravel and rocks so it doesn't destroy you while sliding down. In my opinion, 'Colossus' is the best obstacle in the business (Savage also claims it costs $50,000 to build).

I mean, just look at it.....

'Sawtooth' is basically the king of monkey bars. It took 'Funky Monkey' and added a wicked 'Sawtooth' in the middle, making you climb up, down, back up, and then down again. Aside from looking insane it adds an extra challenge by making you reach and pull yourself up mid climb. Many folks fell in the water, and many more would have if they didn't use their feet to help get themselves across. This is my second favorite obstacle in the business next to 'Colossus', which means that the moderately sized Savage Race has 2 of the best obstacles in the industry.

Mud N' Guts left everyone FILTHY

Savage Race had mud run staples like balance beams (Nut Smasher), 8 foot walls, cargo net climbs (Big Ass Cargo Net), Hay Stacks, and garbage ice baths (Shriveled Richard). 'Tazed' was a low crawl under charged wires. This was literally the worst I have ever been shocked at any event. I hate these obstacles as they hurt like hell, but ranking it on it's merits it had absolutely the most juice I have encountered. Immediately following 'Tazed' was, 'Mud N' Guts' which was the muddiest crawl I have ever done. Since it was the last obstacle, every single participant ended the race completely covered in mud. It was amazingly disgusting, which is what they were going for.



Savage Race Pros

1. The more races they put on the better their obstacles will get. The fact that they have two of the best obstacles going right now is impressive considering they have only put on 7 races to date. I can't wait to see what they put together for Mid Atlantic 2014.



This thing belongs in a theme park

2. The vibe of the entire event was great. Parking was a breeze and there was no traffic anywhere. Registration and packet pickup went smoothly and everything was in a central location. The after party was one of the best I've attended after a race and while the food was very expensive for small portions, it was really really amazing.



Team Mudder Faulkers Posing with Davy Jones

3. This is one that rarely gets discussed, but their Merch booth, shirt quality, material, and payment options were great. They had a wide selection of shirts and tank tops printed on soft high quality fabric. I bought something for my wife, my son, and myself and was able to pay with my debit card, as I had spent all of my cash on food.

4. Prior to the race, the Savage team emailed participants informing them that the 7 mile course had been reduced to 4 miles. While this seems like a negative, the forecast was calling for extreme temperatures and to protect the participants they re-routed the course through shaded areas. This decision was not popular, but based on the heat I was experiencing at the after party, I can't imagine what the later waves were dealing with. Kudos to Savage for making the hard decision and still putting on a great event.

Savage Race Cons

1. Not much to complain about here, but the heat, re-routing of the course, and local authorities made them eliminate some of their staple obstacles like 'Colon Blow 5000' and 'Blazed'. While I commend them for making the right call, it still sucked to lose some obstacles and distance.

2. Showers were really far away and from what I heard taking forever. My team and I stumbled across a hose by a barn and were able to clean off quickly without the wait. After reading their facebook comments section, Savage already has plans to remedy this next year.

Conclusion

Savage Race is quickly on it's way to becoming my favorite race. As a smaller series they put on an incredible event. Had the course been 7 miles and all of their advertised obstacles been included, I may already be calling it my favorite race. That being said, Tough Mudder has a few new Large scale obstacles that raise the bar once again (Pirates Booty comes to mind) and Savage's design team will need to continue to go bigger and badder to keep up with the big boys of the business. But if  'Colossus' and 'Sawtooth' are any indication, that might not be too much of a problem for them. If you have a chance, sign up for a Savage Race today. You will NOT regret it.

-Keith

To Glove or not to Glove: Should you wear Gloves to your first Tough Mudder?

When searching the web regarding "what to wear" to a Tough Mudder or Mud Run obstacle course, the debate of whether to wear gloves is usually front and center. It is actually quite funny because much like politics people are very opinionated on this matter and there is very little middle ground. At this point in time I have run two mud races. One with gloves and one without. In my 'opinion,' it really depends on a few factors.

1. If you are planning to wear a traditional gym work out glove that is leather or suede the answer is a resounding NO! These gloves do not work for a variety of reasons. They are not designed to dry quickly, they hold water, they do not drain and they have absolutely no grip once they get muddy or wet. When people say that they 'got rid of their gloves' in the middle of the race, this is usually what they are referring to, and they are right.   

 

Bare hands: 1  Gloves: 0                                                                                     

 

2. On the other hand (see what I did there!) a very popular choice for glove are Mad Grips Gloves. These are relatively inexpensive on Amazon (anywhere from $8.00 to $14.00) and with a few at home adjustments provide some great benefits on the course. To allow for proper drainage you will need to cut the finger tips off of these gloves, otherwise they will drain poorly when submerged in mud or water. The front of these gloves are coated in textured rubber which actually stick to surfaces. These gloves protect your hands from cuts and scrapes while providing grip on obstacles like Berlin Walls, Funky Monkey, and Hangin' Tough. My suggestion would be to make sure you train in these gloves before wearing them to any event as they tend to stick to things. If you are not used to this it may be more of a hindrance than help.

 

Bare hands: 1 Gloves: 1

 

Final Verdict:

There is no right or wrong answer as it is all personal preference. I can say from experience that when I did not wear gloves my hands were more cut up then when I did. The Mad Grips with the fingers cut provided me with grip for 95% of the Tough Mudder Mid Atlantic race (The other 5% was so muddy that it doesn't matter if you are bare handed or gloved there will be no grip regardless). So make your decision after doing a monkey bars at a local playground in the rain with and without gloves. Get your hands muddy and see what you prefer. I will say that if you have gloves on the course and feel you do not need them you can simply throw them away. If you have no gloves and find yourself wishing you had them, well good luck with that.

 

 

If you have trouble finding Mad Grips in the size or color you want (I'm not a big fan of the pink) Carhartt makes an identical glove in the same price range. Follow the link to Amazon HERE.

 

 

 

 

Tough Mudder- Mid Atlantic Saturday September 8th 2012 Review

It was 8am and my bag had been packed since the night before. My protein bars, powder, gatorade and water were already in the cooler and I was anxious to head up to Frederick MD for my first Tough Mudder. My team and I had been training for roughly 7 months. Each of us had our share of injuries from training, increasing our running mileage in a short period of time and just plain getting old. But we were going to complete the Tough Mudder. We had to. Little did we know that the hardest part of the event would be getting there.......

Getting to this event was absolute madness. The week prior to the event Tough Mudder Headquarters was very specific on the proper way to get to the event and park. They advised you to leave early and aim to arrive 2 hours before your heat time. They sent specific directions with what streets to turn on to get to the event. So we were certainly surprised when friends of ours running in the early heats called us letting us know that traffic was so bad that they had parked on the side of the main road and began WALKING to the event. To be clear, Tough Mudder was adamant that this was a bad idea, but hundreds of people were doing it.  Parking on the street and walking 3 miles to the 11 mile obstacle course seems insane, but people really had no choice. Part of the problem was that the very roads Tough Mudder told us to take were being blocked off by the local authorities. This led to chaos on the roads. Luckily we left ourselves plenty of time to get to the event and after a 2.5 hour drive that should have taken an hour, we finally parked.

For us, parking was easy. We were in an open field and there were still plenty of open spots. The issue was that most people couldn't figure out how to get there through no fault of their own. We walked about a half mile to check in, which was divided alphabetically by last name. It did not take very long and we were provided with our race bib, 4 pins, drink bracelet, bag drop bracelet, and tough mudder participant bracelet. The traffic parking fiasco caused some of our team members to arrive late and we ended up missing our wave time. Tough Mudder was aware of all these issues so we were able to just run in the next wave. As we lined up in the warm up section TM workers led functional stretches for participants before we funneled into the starting line. It was at this point that the weather went from nice to horrendous.

As the TM hype man hyped us up the skies opened and the rain began to fall. Before we started they announced that the water obstacles were being shut down due to thunder and lightning for our safety. Obviously this was not their fault, but it is definately a buzz kill when the first obstacle at an obstacle course is shut down. We waited a few more minutes, the hype man yelled through the megaphone and the event began. At that moment we forgot about the rain and the traffic, and the  7 months of pent up anxiety, excitement and energy began to flow. We were off and nothing was going to stop us...

The camraderie at this event is unmatched. I have been a member of sports teams from the middle school level to the college level and nothing I have experienced compares to the sheer number of complete strangers helping one another through obstacles. The first obstacle we encountered was a series of ditches dug into the ground filled wth mud. At some points it was up to your thighs and at its worst your mid torso. It wasn't impossible to climb out of the mud ditch, but without the right grip it was absolutely a challenge. The worst part was the rocks in the mud scraping your legs as you pulled yourself out. Even the most physically fit jacked beasts needed help, which actually made me feel pretty good about myself when I lent a helping hand. We crawled through mud under barbed wire, walked a mile holding a log of our choice and scaled a hay bale structure all by mile 3. We trekked through the mud bordering the side of the highway as motorists honked and waved and we arrived at one of my favorite obstacles of the day: The Berlin Walls. The walls were approximately 7-8 feet tall and were wet and covered in mud. Without the weather creating extremely muddy terrain it would be possible to scale this wall on your own, but at this point in time it was not. Our team members scaled the wall and stayed straddled on top of the wall to lend a helping hand. Once we all were over we turned around and there was another wall... This time it was 9-10 feet but we all made it.

In all honesty the biggest obstacle at this race was the weather. The storm turned any dry spots on the course to mud, which made the mileage extremely challenging. As we were driving to the course earlier in the morning before the storm we saw many participants running on dry ground. Our team had no such luxury and the result was tired legs. Every foot placement and push off had to be cautious as well as planned out or you risked pulling or twisting something. In fact, a number of participants were pulling up lame with hurt knees, ankles and legs. The course got harder as the day went on as the path itself became one long mud pit.

We labored on and on and on.... We reached mile 10 and we made it to the the final 3 three obstacles: Funky Monkey, Everest, and Electroshock Therapy. We had all been training very hard for the monkey bars with pull up after pull up. These monkey bars are set roughly 12 inches apart but start on an incline. At the peak there is about an 18 inch gap to the next bar which begins a descent to the end of the obstacle. Most people fell to the water and unfortunately with 3 bars to go my fate was the same. Technique is important on this obstacle as well as momentum. Locking your arms out and creating momentum with your legs makes this obstacle easier to complete, but you wouldn't really know this until you try it. Next time I will not fail.

Everest. Everest.......Everest. Right, Everest. What can I say, the mud absolutely made this almost impossible. It was so muddy before the half pipe started that people could barely run without slipping BEFORE they even reached the obstacle!!! It was so bad we ended up doing a human ladder in which people layed down at the base and the next person layed down above them with their legs on the others shoulders. This allowed us to scale the wall somewhat so we could reach the outstretched hands of those at the top of the half pipe. Once we made it up we stayed to try and get every member of our team as well as the other teams in our human ladder up. This was completely taxing on the upper body as some folks were 100% dead weight. It certainly wasn't pretty, but we made it.

The event culminated in electroshock therapy. An obstacle where you sprint through a field of live wires (some wires carry up to 10,000 volts of electric shock) to the finish line. To describe the feeling of these wires, it is like having a giant hammer drill slamming into your quads as you run, sometimes more than once. Depending on your path through the wires you may get shocked multiple times or possibly not at all. Our entire team made it through and we approached the finish line. This was a great feeling. We were finally done. We were cut, bruised, tired and aching but we were officially Tough Mudders. We got our headbands and shirts and claimed our delicious free Dos Equis beer. We did our best to rinse off in the hose showers but they were quickly running out of water. The storm scared away the band and the after party that was supposed to be waiting for us, but it didn't  matter. We had done what we set out to do.

This was my first mud run and I must say it was an incredible experience. There were certainly some technical difficulties in getting to the event, but at the end all was forgotten and forgiven. My memories of this day begin well before September 8th when I met some new friends through our weekly group training sessions. I never really enjoyed running, and I still don't, but running on off road terrain changed things for me. It is fun and functionally challenging and I would do it again and again. In fact, we are signed up for Mid Atlantic 2013!!! Mudder Faulkers! Fall in!