* Name: michael downey
* Website:
* Age: 32
* What is your day job, and do you have other hobbies?:
i work for a commercial kitchen repair company for a living just kinda doing the normal office stuff nothing to exciting but gets me the $$$$ for OCR .a few of my hobbies are computers , gaming ( though this has been cut back quiet a bit with me focusing more time on getting healtiy) , and playing box lacrosse. i play in a amateur tournament one a year with other fans of the NLL who come from all across the U.S.A. and Canada and we have a great time and this tournament is very much like the commendatory i feel from OCR just people having fun doing something new
* When did you start obstacle course racing? Tell us about your first race
My first OCR was the spartan sprint at fenway park in 2012. a few months back the spahtens published a little write up about my first race. in short it was living hell for me and i honestly did not think i was going to finish but once i broke through the wall i just got into the zone and kept moving forward till i hit the finish line https://www.newenglandspahtens.com/
* What was your biggest accomplishment at an obstacle course race? What made it your biggest accomplishment (overcame a fear, injury, disability etc?)
so far my accomplishment to date was doing the citi field sprint in 1hr 38 min . for me it was a big accomplishment because going into the race i set a goal of finishing in 2 hours flat and i smashed that goal. but i am not done by a long shot i got bigger and better goals that i will reach in OCR races
* What attracts you to obstacle course races? Why do you keep coming back?
to me i stink at running so i like the fact the obstacles help break up the running aspect of the race and i think its honestly something fun and different to do to keep me moving and exercising and its a great way to spend a Saturday outside . what keeps me coming back is the fact that i have a LOT of room for improvement and there is room for me to get better and faster and that drives me to want to come back and prove to myself that i am better
* What are your training and/or diet routines? Do you have other athletic pursuits?
i am just in the begining phase of getting my training to more of a formal routine. i joined a low end national chain gym the beginning of this year just to kinda get the ball rolling and now i am in the process of moving to a better gym, i have a amazing workout program i got from a friend of the spahtens Rich over at mountain strength cross fit. my diet is somewhere i am still very much a work in progress but i have been working on more fruits, cutting the soda WAY down and eating better meals and less late night snacking. right now i dont have much else for athletic pursuits but i might try and pick up a few new classes at the gym to make it fun
* Were you always athletic? If not, what athletic changes have you made to keep up the obstacle course race lifestyle?
not really when i was a kid i played baseball and hockey but by the time i was a teenager i kinda replaced that with working a lot and up until 2010 was not all that active. even when i was getting ready for the spartan sprint at fenway i was not super active and dident do all that much to prepare for it because i really dident know what to expect. it was only after that butt whooping i got that i open my eyes and see i need to change things. a few changes i have made are to walk a bit more, even at lunch if i can get away from my desk take a quik stroll around the complex and keep the blood flowing and just anytime i am in a situation where there is a EASY way to do or get somewhere or the harder way i pick the harder way now.
* Who, alive or dead, would you invite to run an obstacle course race with you?
George Washington, i think it would be cool to get one on one time with a founding father and get to show him how far this country has gone and what we now do for fun, also there is just so much that i would love to ask and talk to him about with what we have gotten right and what we missed on with how we interpreted there words and original ideas
* Tell us a fun fact about yourself that we may not know!
i am sure this is always the hardest part for everyone to fill out. i guess the fact its taken me like 15 mins to fill out this part should tell you i am not all that fun lol. for the most part i am a quiet laid back type of guy and OCR racing this year has been my main focal point. i am a big movie buff and have a collection that is entirely to big for the average person. last year while at mayhem fest had a revelation that i was now that guy that all the younger kids were wondering way i was there cause i look to old for that crowd. i also enjoy spending time and playing with my roomates pugs i think they are the coolest dogs in the world
* What are your goals? Next race, next season … what’s in your future?
just like most of us in the OCR racing i would love to get a TRIFECTA next year ( this year is out due to money and time constraints ) i would also like to complete a tough mudder and maybe find a few other big challenging races out there i always love to find a new race that pushes me that much more out of my comfort zone.
