Summer of OCR....Part 1...?

Monday evening (July 20th) was the beginning of what should be around six weeks of OCR immersion!  Those plans include two BattleFrog races, two Tough Mudders and two Spartan Races.  This will be a chance to not only get some great comparisons of the current level of each race, but will give me a chance to see some of the new(er) faces of OCR.  And with the popularity of the sport soaring and prize monies going up over the last 12-18 months, it's no surprise that competition has increased as well.

First up Saturday (July 25th) will be the Massachusetts BattleFrog race.  I'll be marshaling the elite race in the morning and running in the afternoon.....'god willing and the river don't rise'!  After that I'll be heading to western New York for a few build days and running the August 1st Tough Mudder.  Following that up with the same schedule is the Pittsburgh BattleFrog race on August 8th.

Working on the builds will give me some real insight into the differences between the races...behind the curtain...(but for anyone expecting any 'expose' writing...sorry, that's not my style...just looking to get a feel for how it all comes together).  It will also give me a little breather on race day.  I'm not a big fan of running the same day you work...and I need all the help I can get!!  The next race will be the Long Island Tough Mudder on August 15th...a homecoming of sorts...and hopefully a chance to race that Saturday with a buddy of mine.  Something we've been unsuccessfully trying to arrange for a couple of years now.

Finally, the last up will be two Spartan races....where I cut my OCR teeth, so to speak.  First (hopefully, as I haven't had my specific days confirmed yet) is the Virginia race on August 22nd and then the Asheville race on August 29th.  I'm really looking forward to the Asheville race in particular since they announced it as a possible venue a while back.  Again, I have friends and family in the area that I'm hoping I can convince/shame into running with me.  And if Spartan lives up to it's rep...with this terrain, it will be a brutal course.

Coming to a close this first week, living on the road has been pretty much the challenge I had expected.  I'm already getting into some sort of routine and the travel time will be less of a challenge from here out (the initial trip was from Miami to Mass!!).  Surprisingly, the biggest challenge has been finding time....and internet access...to get my blog written...which reeks of irony.  So that will have to work itself out quickly too!  Looking forward to the adventure of the next few weeks....

Are you going to be at any of these race venues?

Say hello if you see me...and I would like to hear about your experience!