tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-385291847463887068.post4159448724940152151..comments2023-08-08T07:20:12.470-04:00Comments on The Truth is...There Is No Box!: The VT Spartan Beast......and just who ARE they building these race courses for?The Nighthawk....John Wallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916299019597747500noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-385291847463887068.post-74976128742001134772013-10-20T13:02:15.375-04:002013-10-20T13:02:15.375-04:00Thanks for checking out the post Jeff. Yes, I thin...Thanks for checking out the post Jeff. Yes, I think next year is going to be very interesting to watch as Spartan Race, Tough Mudder and Extreme Nation (assuming they an get the races off the ground) push the OCR sport forward.The Nighthawk....John Wallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11916299019597747500noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-385291847463887068.post-61217663006926984932013-10-20T12:58:05.634-04:002013-10-20T12:58:05.634-04:00Thanks Chet for your comments. I haven't run ...Thanks Chet for your comments. I haven't run any races other than Spartan as of yet, although I try to keep abreast of the industry and use the blogs, etc, as you mentioned, for that. You may be right about Tough Mudder getting easier, although I've personally found that the Spartan races were "feeling" easier as my training and preparation increased. The biggest problem with Mudder is that it's not timed...without winners, there's no sport...at least to me.<br />Extreme Nation has an interesting concept, with it's shorter course, more obstacles and increased spectator viewing. I know Spartan did a better good of viewing in VT...and has been improving steadily over the last 2 years (minus the relatively high cost of spectator viewing). 2014 should be very enlightening with regard to these competing strategies.The Nighthawk....John Wallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11916299019597747500noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-385291847463887068.post-31102006455644418472013-10-19T11:22:54.411-04:002013-10-19T11:22:54.411-04:00Thoughtful post, John. There are lots of differen...Thoughtful post, John. There are lots of different takes on this year's VT Beast. Some appreciated that type of race and many didn't. It will be interesting to see how things go from here.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-385291847463887068.post-59837067464551731982013-10-18T10:36:36.573-04:002013-10-18T10:36:36.573-04:00I did not run the VT beast, but based on what i...I did not run the VT beast, but based on what i've read on blogs and talking to my friends that ran the crazy elevations at the Wintergreen VA course, it is hard to argue with what you are saying. On the flip side, I feel that Tough Mudder has been taking the opposite approach with it's own set of pitfalls. I ran the raceway park mudder on saturday and I felt it was easier than in the past. I'd like to think that I'm just getting better, but I am fairly certain everest was shorter than in 2012. This has 2 effects.1. it allows more people to finish and conquer the course feeling exhilarated which helps with the word of mouth marketing and 2. potentially alienates people that want it to get 'tougher' and not easier. There is a middle ground for both these events and I think they are going to the opposite extremes. I could be wrong as I don't have obstacle specs from 2012 v 2013 everest but it's just my gut feeling since I haven't seen a human chain since 2012 on everest. <br />At the end of the day you can't please everyone, but if the majority of OCR racers wanted to run ultras they would just run ultras and there would be no market for OCR. It's a slippery slope, but if you want to be in the olympics you will need the fans or history to backyour case up (just ask wrestling)Chet Saberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03552187601944467386noreply@blogger.com