October 2015 – I’m in Ohio, at OCR World Championships, and went to the pre-race dinner. I went specifically to see the trailer for the documentary / movie – Rise of the Sufferfests, and it was awesome.
Sufferfests has been in progress for a few years now – a failed kickstarter, an indiegogo, and a few articles and stories from Scott Keneally, the brain behind it – always entertaining and always fun.
Last Friday, I was able to head to Concord, NH and watch the whole movie – the long awaited, much anticipated, finished production.
It was worth waiting for.
I was sad when I saw the date – with both a Tough Mudder and a Spartan Race that weekend, and so many people living so far from Concord, NH – I knew there wouldn’t be too many people willing to make the drive the night before. I’m very glad I did though, and thanks to Sandy for helping with the driving!
The premise of the movie is simple – “Because someone had to find out why this is a thing” – and we laughed, we cried, we gasped and we sympathized. There are baby photos.
The movie is telling several stories. Scott’s own story – from his first Tough Mudder to the journey down the rabbit hole. Tough Guy’s story – from the birth place of OCR, to their saga with Tough Mudder. Spartan Race, Obstacle Course Racing in general – and how the mud, the obstacles and the physicality of what we do changes us, makes us better – and pretty much every step of the way, you can tack onto it your own story. You sympathize. You engage.
It was excellent.
If you missed out, pre-order the digital copy and watch out for a Spahtens viewing party!
