Obstacle Course Racing on TV...well, it's a start!

At the Spartan Championship Race in Vermont last September, one of the highlights was the filming of the event for television.  And NBC Sports was there...filming away.  This was a major development in the sport.  For anyone that has been following Obstacle Course Racing (OCR) for a while, one of the key elements to stepping up the game is attracting a fan base.  And a key element of attracting a fan base is that you have to have a means of covering the event.  I was very interested in seeing how this played out.  Obviously it wasn't going to be live coverage of this race...but it was a start!

Last April I was talking about the future of OCR [see The present and future of Obstacle Course Racing (Part1) and The present and future of Obstacle Course Racing - Part Deux)] and a major shortcoming of the race is that virtually no one could see it.  At that time, there were few obstacles visible to spectators.  However, the vast majority of the race was out of sight.  Makes it tough to root for your racer when you have no idea where they are...or where anyone else is for that matter.

With TV filming then, would that help promote the sport and provide some race coverage ideas for the future?  I know I was excited to see the final product.  I saw this as an opportunity for people to see what these races were really all about.  Up to now, anytime they showed a race it seemed to be the same few obstacles popping up.  Spartan Race seemed to be excited initially too.  But for some reason the showing was postponed until a later date.  Five or six weeks later in fact.  Well, that happens I'm sure.  What surprised me though, as the new release date approached, was that Spartan Race did not seem to be promoting the show quite as emphatically as it had immediately after the race.  And for anyone who follows Spartan Race...that was odd.  Very odd!!

One reason for this may have been a change in their marketing staff.  But as important as this must have been to them, someone at Spartan Race would have noticed it wasn't being blasted around the Internet!  Another reason is more likely though.  It seems reasonable that Spartan Race had a chance to see the final product before release.  And I can't imagine they were particularly thrilled with it.  Not that it was a poor job by any means.  Just disappointing.  At the very least it wasn't able to bring across the grueling, mind-numbing nature of this course in particular or any excitement about the race itself!  Of course I wouldn't know how to go about doing this either...but I'm not a TV producer.  I saw the same exact format used on one of those "survivor" type races and, I'm sorry to say, it was dull.  Dull....dull....dull!  And these races are not dull!  Brutal...torturous...painful...inspiring...fulfilling...but not dull!!  No race should come across like that...ever.

So, there's still some work to do on this.  A lot of work apparently!  OCR is a new and exciting sport and only needs the right person to bring it across on screen.  The Super Bowl has nothing to fear....yet.  On a positive note though, there appears to be change happening in OCR.  Another step in the maturing of OCR perhaps.  More on that thought in the next post!

 

The NJ Super Spartan....the VT Spartan Beast....and then....

 

The Super...the Beast...and then???!!!...   Well, before I start worrying about "and then...", I better keep focused on that Beast this Saturday.  Back in January of this year, I declared this the "Year of the Beast".  My intentions then were to run a series of races and train enough to start...and finish...the Spartan Beast in Vermont.  At that point this race was so far in the future and I supposed an unrealistic goal.  It's hard to believe though,  that I'm just a few days from not only achieving this goal, but fulfilling my Spartan Trifecta and (through some undiscovered fault in their ranking methodology no doubt) placing very near the top of my age group in the 2013 points race.  Man...it's a long way from some tough talk last winter.

One of the big tests...in fact, the biggest one in my mind, was always going to be the NJ Super Spartan.  It was going to be my first and only Super on hilly terrain...and this coming only two weeks before the Beast.  To have any chance at completing the Beast, I knew I would have to have a decent performance at the Super.  Decent for me, of course [read: finish!].  The morning of the Super arrived and I was up around 4am.  Little sleep the night before and hobbling around on two bad feet...courtesy of what exactly, I haven't quite figured out.  I had never bailed on a race yet, but I decided that there was no way I could drive 2+ hours and then run that race.  So I made one of the toughest decisions I've ever had to make.  I was going to skip the race.

The more I thought though, the more I realized that it wasn't just the Super I was giving up on.  Not running the Super meant I would be going into the Beast with absolutely no idea of where my performance level was.  Not counting the Miami Super (heat does NOT make up for flat), I hadn't run more than 4-5 miles on this sort of terrain.  I knew I wouldn't be comfortable tripling the distance...and in all likelihood, that would mean passing on the Beast as well.  Seriously, giving things a shot is one thing, but skipping work and spending time and money on a crazy idea made no sense at all.  Somewhere though, in the next 30 minutes, I realized I had to try (see Yoda on "trying").  In a way, the whole season was riding on this.  All the effort for the entire year...all the hours of training...not to mention all my big talk...was geared toward the Beast...and the Super was the key.

So off I went.  Bad wheels and all.  I hobbled to the venue shuttle bus...hobbled through registration and all the way to the starting line.  And just under 4 hours later...somehow...I managed to cross that finish line.  Only people who have experienced this can truly know the feeling.  When you complete something that you really, deep down in your heart, didn't believe was possible.  And this was no easy course by any stretch.  It had all the usual obstacles, plus a couple of my personal favorites [yes, that's seething with sarcasm if you missed it!] that pop up here and there.  But I think the most unusual thing for me was something that I came to take for granted...and that is probably the biggest mistake to make.  Every Spartan race I'd done had a long, steep climb right off the start (leave out the steep for Miami).  After that, the climbs tended to be much shorter and interlaced with obstacles and downhills.  So when I hit this tortuous, never-ending climb midway through, I had to tip my hat to Spartan Race...in between the gasps and curses of course.

So, having only just now booked a hotel for it, I've resigned myself to the fact that I really am going to tackle this Spartan Beast.  It's the only race that I won't be driving back and forth the same day.  First, it's just too far away to realistically drive to on race day.  Second, I can't even imagine trying to drive 5-6 hours back after the race...whether I finish or not.  No...even driving the next day will likely be a challenge.  So Norm Koch is getting the Beast ready for me...and I am doing what I can to be ready for the Beast.  What comes after isn't even a thought any more.  The only thing that's important right now is being prepared.  It will be the longest, toughest race course I've ever been on...maybe tougher than any course there is, except the ultra-beast.  Certainly it will be more than just the climax to an incredible year of racing, it will also be the test of will I've been waiting to face.  And they'll be filming this??!!  Yes, I can honestly say...bring it on...I'm ready...ready for my closeup Mr. DeMille!!

 

The Summer of 2013...and why I haven't been blogging...or training...

Since my last blog on the Spartan Sprint at Tuxedo, the summer took a turn for the incredibly busy.  Between then and now: I've run two Spartan races; helped build the course at another; driven my daughter and my grandkids back and forth from Florida; been sick twice; and went on some great outings with my kids and grandkids...including an epic trip into Manhattan.  Oh...and in between I did just a bit of real estate work and prepared to move again.  Unfortunately, this left very little training time in there!  Other than that, it was just a typical summer.  Ironically, my first trip to a NY beach will probably be this Wednesday (although I will admit to a trip to South Beach...the price of the Florida drive...as always!)

Since there's been so much going on, I won't try to detail the entire race this time around.  The first race I ran after Tuxedo was the Spartan Sprint in Palmerton, PA.  Although this would be my 6th race, it would be my first non-stadium race other than Tuxedo.  Well, not counting Miami...although that was the longer Spartan Super and the temperature was a factor there, the lack of any serious elevation change made it a much easier race for me overall.  Anyway, the PA course was everything I had expected...and a bit more.  The initial hill climb was typical of all Spartan races...brutal.  Add to that the sandbag carry over the last part of the climb and you are bordering on genius...in terms of pure torture anyway. 

Unfortunately for me, about 20 yards into that sandbag carry, I got a back spasm.  Yes....the word "sucks" comes quickly to mind...along with several others.  I knew immediately that this was a result of my modified (read: ignored) training schedule all summer.  So there I was.  Moving about ten baby steps at a time up this slope, and all the time thinking that I've still got 90% of the course to go still...assuming of course that I can even make it up this hill.  All I could think of was what would Tom Hanks do?  NO....not in Forrest Gump, the one where's there's no crying..."There's no crying in OCR!"  So, the short of it is, I didn't drive two hours plus to crawl off that damn mountain and limp home.  Although I had a few spots where it was still difficult, I did manage to finish.  Even though I think the first climb was tougher at PA, overall I still feel that Tuxedo was more challenging over the entire course.  I admit, I'm biased about that...Tuxedo was my first OCR race and will forever be that which all else is measured.  And no, the word "easier" does NOT even enter the conversation! 

Although I did manage to get some formal training sessions in during the early summer, there were some informal ones.  Like the trip into Manhattan.  During that marathon day I would take every opportunity to run up any stairs...usually at the subway stops.  And of course always carrying the pack and stroller.  One particular climb comes to mind, when I challenged my 4 year old grandson to a race...me up the stairs and him up the escalator with my daughter.  It was only after throwing down the gauntlet that I looked up to see five...very...long...flights of stairs.  Again, words like "oh, shit" came to mind very quickly.  Yes, I did it...and yes, I needed oxygen at the top...but at least I made it a race.

We also had another chance for some sprint training that evening.  After taking the train back to Long Island, we were down at street level and heading toward the van.  I issued another challenge (yeah...I know, but learning lessons is often lost on me).  I shouted, for my grand daughters, that "first one to the car gets to drive home!".  Obviously I was watching them like a hawk...this was NOT a race I would let them win...they'd have me in court on breach of a verbal contract or something!  Well, they never made a move.  The words hadn't finished coming off my lips though, when junior (aka my grandson) took off like a cruise missile toward the car...running back and forth off the curb towards his first chance to drive!!  And here we go again...trying to beat a four year old, still carrying the pack and stroller and at the same time, trying not to run him over in his unintentional serpentining.  Now THAT was fun!


So, as of this writing I've already run the Spartan Super in NJ.  That story will have to wait until my next time.  Meanwhile, nursing the continuing ailments, I'm readying myself for the final goal of this year...the Spartan Championship Beast in VT on Sept 21st.  While I still have a healthy respect for it, I no longer fear it.  After the NJ race I'm confident that I can finish!  Exactly how or in what shape?...who knows.  In preparation for this, I have adopted the following as my official song for the Beast.

With it or on it...those are the only choices for this race!

*******************************************************************************************************

Spartan Sprint at Tuxedo 2013...the battle continues...

Hard to believe it's only been a week since the race.  This has become an annual event for me now, having started my racing "career" at the first Tuxedo run in 2011.  The irresistible urge to once again challenge Spartan Race to do their best to beat me off that mountain.  True to form, they designed a brutal course to punish you right out of the gate.  And once again, the gods were with them.  Not only was it a scorching day, but they even managed to get an air quality alert...I mean really?!?...running is tough enough for me without any intervention from nature! 

I really should have suspected something from that very first race anyway.  Have you ever seen anything pleasant happen in a movie when there's a sleepy little country town in the opening scene?  No...me neither.  Maybe I should watch different movies.  But I digress....

So...there are several things I've learned to count on in any Spartan race: the opening run is intended to kill the weak; the rest of the course is intended to finish the job; expect it to be worse than you imagined.  Last Saturday was certainly the most intense opening run I've seen in my short Spartan life.  Worse even then Citi Field, which I thought was truly a work of tortuous art.  I don't know if they have the mileage on that climb, but it just seemed to go on forever.  There were a couple of rogue obstacles thrown in, but pretty much it was a long, slow uphill climb.  By the way, I heard from someone I ran into on the course that, as hard as the course was on paper, apparently it was actually laid out to be even tougher.  Whomever was really to blame for that, for the first time since I started racing, I really wondered if I could make it to the end...physically...would I have enough, regardless of the how bad I wanted it.  And somewhere along the way is when it hit me...what the hell was I thinking signing up for the Tri-State Super in NJ...or the Beast in Vermont!!!?  I must have been completely delusional to think I'd ever be able to finish either one of those.  Well, that was before I finished though.

As far as the obstacles go, I think my favorite this time around was the sandbag carry.  Picking a favorite though was pretty tough.  There were several that could have claimed that honor...   the traverse wall (which I was able to do just fine at Citi Field and the practice wall)....the rope climb (which I missed for the first time ever...just no juice left at that point I guess)...or probably the runner up, the (much too) inclined wall after the barbed wire crawl (guess it would have helped if I'd realized there were no intermediate boards where I was climbing in the middle...duh!!!).  And honestly, I just about shit myself when I saw that dreaded pole walk was back again.  I thought for sure the insurance company had banned it...I mean isn't bad karma to impale people?  But in the end, I had to pick the sandbag carry.  Just a gruelling uphill carry after so long on the course and starting off through a bog at the bottom.  I guess it's also a good time to make my apologies to my sandbag.  For slamming it down so many times and mumbling rude, nasty and unprovoked vulgarities at it throughout....I mean, it's only a sandbag after all...just doing it's job.

 

Then there were the easier-than-expected obstacles.  The reverse inclined wall was one (although, as I was joking with the volunteers, I slipped coming out of the mud pit and almost face planted into the back of it...didn't everybody??!).  The barbed wire crawl wasn't as bad as I anticipated either...but definitely more challenging with the berms they put in...I guess they want more crawling and less rolling.

 

Like every race though, there's always at least one obstacle that you just know you can't do.  Then somehow, in the midst of sheer exhaustion, you manage to succeed.  In this race, it was the high walls for me.  Although I've learned some fairly unorthodox ways of getting over these, the last few races I used the side blocks to get over the 7' and 8' walls...all except the first one of course...you have to beat at least one of them.  But Saturday, they told us those steps were off limits for the men.   Interesting!  Even with all the training I'd been doing specifically for this obstacle, the course had taken it's toll and I just couldn't get enough lift to muscle up on those.  But somehow, I did manage to get just high enough to find my way over both...and I've got the bruises to prove it too!  I still remember the people behind urging me on and the groan from the crowd when it looked like I wouldn't get over at first...then the shouts when I managed to pull myself up finally.  Most people just wouldn't understand the feeling of accomplishment from such a simple feat...but I guarantee Spartan racers will know exactly what I mean.

 

The organization was much better this year too.  Another given about Spartan race is that they improve every time.  At least they try to....though setting off a smoke bomb every 15 minutes in front of the med tent might be one thing they might want to change next time.  So...next year's race will be different...it will be harder...and like they said before the race Saturday, there will be something you haven't seen before.  And next year they will see me...again.  Because as long as I can run, I will never let them beat me off that mountain! 

****************

A link to the report on the 2012 Spartan Sprint at Tuxedo:
 

2012 Spartan Sprint at Tuxedo, NY - what the brochure won't tell you!

 

Spartan Sprint at Citi Field - April 2013

When the Citi Field Race was announced I knew immediately that I was going to run it.  Whether I ever ran another stadium event, I just had to do this first one.  Besides the opportunity itself, I wanted to know what a stadium race was like...and not just from reading what someone else thought about it.  In the end, I'm very glad I did!

 

I have to admit, when I got there and sat down in the stands to watch some of the race, I really wasn't feeling it....maybe it was the cold!!  There have been mixed reviews about the race, like this one in Obstacle Race Magazine...(Obstacle Racing Magazine/Heather Gannoe - Spartan Citi Field 4.13.13: A Mixed Review).  I think that those who were disappointed were more likely the hard-core mud racers (like myself, I admit) who really weren't prepared for this "clean" course.  As a matter of fact though, I did take some of the warning track clay and rub it into my shirt...but that's just me I guess...one way or another, I was getting my "mud".

 

One thing I knew going in was that there would be stairs...a lot of stairs!  They also made great use of the ramps...which I also feared.  True to Spartan Race, they come at you hard right from the start.  The first obstacle was a series of ramps from the first level up to the top of the stadium.  Of course, just running up a ramp is too easy...so they strung rubber cords across virtually the entire length.  Some you had to high-step over, some you had to go under and a few series where you had to alternate between them.  Not surprisingly, that was brutal for me.  Seems no matter what I try to anticipate, they make it worse.  And I suppose these stadium races also lend themselves particularly well to some unique obstacles too.  Like the "Hobie Hop", where you have to climb up a number of flights of stairs with a giant rubber band wrapped around your ankles.  Yes...it feels (and looks) as stupid as it sounds...but that is one tough climb!...which is all that counts in these races.

 

This course was also packed with obstacles.  I guess what they couldn't do in mud and barbed wire, they would make up in sheer quantity.  The typical obstacles were there like the rope climb, wall traverse, sandbag carry, cargo net and spear throw.  The Hercules lift was there too, but they seem to have found a frictionless rope to use...which you can't seem to actually hold on to...clever!  Naturally, there were also a number of walls to climb over, under and through.  They had a water jug carry too (of course it was up and down stairs...you have to ask??!)  This probably replaced the tire carry...watching tires careening down the rows of seats and ramps might have been a sight to see, but I doubt the Citi Field management would have seen the fun in that. 

 

There were new obstacles too...which seemed to be right out of gym, or maybe Crossfit, training (I'm not really sure since I've never been in either one).  One of the first ones I ran across was the Ball Slam.  No...really!!...you lift a 20lb semi-deflated ball over your head and slam it down in front of you...twenty times.  Then they had the giant jump rope...about 3 inches thick and weighing who-knows-how-much...try fifty of those suckers.  I'm only too glad that there were no videos of that little fiasco.  Just one more time I would have been thoroughly out-performed by an eight year old.  And I suppose the 5 gallon concrete block carry with burpees, that I first saw in Miami, was just too much fun to leave off the list.  Another interesting change were the monkey bars...although they weren't quite traditional.  I did manage to do them...however, since there was no one there in front of me that I could watch, and no one offered any explanation, there is every reason to believe that I may have invented a whole new way of traversing them!  One challenge, which I'm going to fail to mention, is the "box jump" on the home stretch by the visitor's dugout.  I will leave it as an independent assignment for the reader to determine how wonderfully this one must have gone, to be left out completely!

 

The thing about this event, was that the race was only a part of it.  Even with some long delays at the traverse wall and spear throw....not to mention (and I didn't) the rowing obstacle...the course was challenging, surprising and enjoyable.  Besides that though, it was also a spectacle and a festival, in a way that none of the other races can be.  There will be those that never grow to love these...or even like them...but if you can let go of the need for the mud and barbed wire for a day, you'll find a great way to share the racing experience with family and friends.

 

 

[For more on the state of obstacle racing and the evolution of stadium races see (The tale of two races or is it three?)]

 

Miami Super Spartan - 2013

Until the Miami Super Spartan, the only Spartan races I had ever run, in fact the only obstacle races I had ever run, were the Spartan Sprints at Tuxedo NY.  I had read from one of the top Spartan racers that the Tuxedo course (3.5-4 miles) was just as hard as a Tough Mudder (appx 10 miles) and harder than the Miami Super (appx 8 miles).  Nevertheless, I had never run that kind of distance and I found the thought of doing it very intimidating.  But if you're going to avoid challenges because you might fail, you can never expect to experience the thrill of achieving something you thought was impossible!  My first time was Tuxedo and I just want to keep finding ways to have that feeling again.

 

So, once more, I prepared to face down the doubts and fears you have when going up against an unknown challenge.  In general I knew the biggest hurdle (no pun intended) was going to be the distance and heat.  I'd lived in Miami for 14 years so I knew very well that the heat, even in February, would be grueling for us northeners.  Even on the shorter Tuxedo course, muscle cramps were a factor.  So I took some steps to try to limit the damage.  Besides a training program that included a lot more running, I also took along a Camelbak and some "packs of GU"...(which I'll leave as a homework assignment for you to find out what that is).  I also knew that I needed to work on my upper body strength.  The rope climb, the Hercules lift and a few other dainties are unforgiving if you don't have the strength.

 

Of course the one consistent factor about the Spartan races is that you never really know what to expect.  The spear throw was AWOL...and I think I had that one down!  The rope climb was off dry land for once...I liked that!  Someone somewhere decided that lifting and carrying a concrete cylinder the size of a 5 gallon bucket 20 feet, then doing some burpees was fun...oh, and bring it back over here when you're done...please.  And how many walls were there on that course??!!  I can remember 12 but I'd swear there were more than that.  Who knows...maybe I climbed a few twice...it was a long, hot day out there.  Maybe the biggest surprise...hills!  Well, they wouldn't be called hills in most parts of the country.  But knowing that the highest point in the everglades is 3 feet above sea level, I was absolutely shocked to find climbs throughout the course of 15-20 feet.

 

Another experiment no doubt, was the placement of 4 of the obstacles in a row at the end of the run.  I'm sure this was to give the spectators a chance to see more of the actual race.  Not a bad intention, but for the racers, having to do the rope climb, wall traverse, mud crawl and "slippery incline" one after another was a bit much.

 

The funny thing is though, when I finished, I wasn't dead!  I had fully expected to be.  Before I left NY, I had carefully bequeathed all my office paraphernalia to my teammates...knowing full well what awaited in Miami (and I think they were surprised and disappointed too, when I returned to reclaim my stuff!).  I told my daughter, who lives in Miami, that whatever we were going to do, needed to be done before the race, because I planned to be horizontal from the finish until my plane trip back.  I honestly don't know how much to credit my training (and GU...thanks Janice!) or the fact that the elevation changes were minimal compared to NY, but I actually felt a bit disappointed.  I know, it sounds strange...but somehow, not being brutalized and beaten to a pulp by the course left me feeling like I missed out on something!  So I guess maybe I reached another level.  I've got Citifield coming up in around 2 weeks, so we'll see how that goes.  Overall though, I have to say I'm still enjoying this sport and feel like there's greater potential yet untapped.  Time will tell.  One last thing...I finished Tuxedo in around 2:39.  I finished Miami in around 2:52.  That means I finished the extra four miles at an average pace of 3 minutes, 15 seconds!  Hey, do the math!!...I'm just saying....

 

I would be remiss if I didn't thank my daughter Dawn and her husband Brian for the airport rides, the rides to the race and for putting me up (or is it putting up with me...maybe both) for the days I was there...and to the grandkids for...well...just for being themselves.  Until next time....