* From: Jennifer Drury
* Event Details
Getting to the race is easy. Since we knew where we were going from having attended last year, I wasn’t worried about signage for parking or directions. You have to park across the street from the venue (Keney Park) and make a quick hike through some brush to get to the registration tent. There was a significant wait this year. We arrived at 0845 ish, since the team heat wasn’t until 0915, figured we would have plenty of time to register and get settled-wrong! Boy did the event grow, so good for them! Because of this we waited in line for a good 20 minutes or so. So for the next running I would suggest more registration help, or having us pre-fill the waiver form and bring it to the race day of, to cut down on some waiting. There was a food truck this year as well, I thought there were more last year but I could be wrong. The kids thought that was pretty cool, and a couple of vendor tents set up, as well as a beer garden. There was also a bag check area- we did not use it this time,
so not sure how much it was this year. All in all I was happy with the festival area. Pushed back the start a bit I think due to the registration backup, which was fine, so we ended up starting at around 0930 or so. Good music from the local radio station, and everyone is always so friendly. Got my Grit N Wit sunglasses upon finishing, as well as an unexpected schwag bag from OOHRAH hydration with a tee-shirt, bottle of the water and some fliers/coupons and a pen. That was nice and like I said unexpected. Eventually I do hope that they are able to offer medals, since I have now become a bling whore. A nice sticker for the car, or magnet would all be welcome down the road as well. They did upgrade the GNW shirt to the performance fabric, which is an added bonus. All in all happy with the experience and will continue to attend this great local event!
* Race Details
Now on to the course itself. This was my first race back from injury so I was a little apprehensive and did go slow and steady through the course. We started off with a short sprint to the sand bag carry. Women had an option of either 25# or 35#, and you had the standard up and down a hill march with said bag. Deposit it back where you got it and off to the first mental challenge of the day! Each group had to pick an image to memorize before running to the top of the hill and recreating said image. It took our group a few tries but we finally got the OK from the volunteer and headed to the next challenge. Down the hill to meet our first wall- climb up the ladder and down the other side that was a ramp with rope. Pretty easy but fun! A run up the hill and across the park road to a set of 6, I think they were 5 foot walls, maybe six. I always enjoy the small walls where I don’t need to jump too high to grip and get over, so these were very fun! Another short run to another mental exe
rcise, we had to make three four letter words out of the letter given to us, by only moving letter up or down in the column that they were in. After a few minutes, our combined brain power was able to figure it out and get the go ahead to move on. Then to the 12 foot climbing ladder, up-over-down. The next obstacle that we faced were the 4 foot walls, there was 4 or 5 of them. A nice run takes us into the wooded area of the park and down by the pond where we were treated to a water station (thank goodness) and another mental puzzle. This one was Sudoku style: every row and column had to have one through four dots in them to pass. After a few tries we got the okay from the volunteer and readied ourselves for another jaunt in the woods. In the woods we were met with another mental obstacle- the tire mover. There were three tires numbered 1, 2,3 and you had to move them to the last pole (of which there were 3) to end up in the same order from top to bottom- 3,2,1. This one stalled us.
You couldn’t place a smaller number on top of a bigger one. Finally figured it out, and went to the next mental challenge. This one you had to roll the dice, and you got two numbers (ours were 17 and 25). There are two overlapping hula hoops on the ground, and numbers painted on rocks. The goal was to have each circle have the integers that add up to the numbers you rolled. The center where the hulas overlaid (think venn diagram) those numbers could be shared by both hoops. I liked this one, it made us think and was challenging. On you go for a nice trail run and over a few bridges to get back up to the main field. First obstacle out was a set of 4 slanted walls, with knotted ropes and a mid-point shelf (the 2×4) that you get up and climb down the ladder on the other side. There was a bit of a backup when we got here, but it was steadily moving and we were all having a good time. After the slants came the dreaded up-down monkey bars! This is always my least favorite obstacle everywh
ere, since I haven’t been able to do more than one or two, evah! This time though, I did the entire thing first time out, it rocked, and the volunteer was great for motivation, cheering and hollering! Awesome! After the monkey bars, there was a very difficult mental challenge. It is one that come right from the wit Wednesday challenge, where I also failed it! So for this one you had to figure out your answer to which man would yell out his color hat to the other four, but they only know the color of the hat of the man in front of them and the fourth guy is behind a brick wall and can’t see anybody. This was all guessing, went up to get our log, came back, nope, went to get another log, and came back, nope. Third time was a charm and we got to move on! Next came what I call the drunk test. You have to balance with your partner on a slanted 3-foot high beam, holding a 3 foot long wooden puzzle that you them have to maneuver to get the two golf balls from one end to the other. Phew!
Very challenging! There was some confusion as to the path you had to take next, some bigger signs, or the volunteer staged closer to the deviation would be great. When we were at the drunk test though, one of the racers got injured. The volunteers were at a loss as to what to do, they didn’t have radios, but should at least have their phones to call base when these kinds of things happen, and they will. Through the trail down the hill takes you to the tire crawl, always enjoyable, then a tire mental challenge. Essentially the match game with different colored tires. Once you get all your matches, you can move on. The next road block was a ‘how many triangles are there?’ challenge. You get your guess, and run up the hill to another volunteer to give your answer. If you are wrong, you have to flip the number of tires you were off by. If you were correct in your answer, you could bypass the tires altogether. The next puzzle was creating a shape (you roll a die to find out which eit
her an arrow or a ‘H’) with different shaped rocks. Finally, the last obstacle was the 12 foot wall, no rope, but two foot hold on either side. With the leg/shoulder boost up from your group, we got everyone over and down safely, so that all we had to do was run through the finish line! I was very happy with the race this year, lots of improvements from last year by far, and family friendly. I ran with both my daughters who are 15 and 13. They had fun as well. A great local family-friendly event for all skill levels. A good 18-19 obstacles (more if you count each wall individually) and a nice festival area. Can’t wait for next year!
* Rating
Above Average
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* From: Stephen
* Event Details
Parking is across the street, steps away from the venue, oohrah drinks, a local gym, and several local beer companies for the vendors. the swag was a nice tech tee for a finishers shirt, sunglasses instead of medals. they also gave out a swag bag again, with a shirt and drink from oohrah, a pen, some samples and promo materials.
* Race Details
so since last year they stepped up their game, added more physical obstacles, like walls, and it was about 50/50 physical and mental obstacles. they still need to tweak the obstacles for backups, but they had plenty of options at the mental ones so the back u did not look that bad, maybe smaller waves, and just a few more choices at some of the more time consuming challenges. but it is not timed so what little back up i saw was not that bad, they had some challenging questions for you, and i love the sobriety check, it is a giant handheld maze that you navigate golf balls through from one end to the next, with a friend (or volunteer), wile balancing on a beam about 2 feet in the air. Seriously, the mental challenges that you can not find elsewhere are great, I really look forward to this company growing, and love the completely different approach to ocr that they offer
* Rating
Average
