Tag: racelocal

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Featured Review: Dynamic Dirt Challenge

The Dynamic Dirt Challenge is a local race put on in New Gloucester, ME just outside of Portland. It is a family entertainment event with activities for every age. It has been put on for at least 7 years, but it was my first time driving up for it. With a location near Portland and Freeport, it couldn’t be better situated for a weekend away. This is exactly what we did, driving up on Friday and staying through Sunday afternoon. They offer advance packet pick up on Friday at the Lamey Wellehan Running store, one of the sponsors. Lamey Wellehan was also on site Saturday with sample shoes and advice as well as a drop off spot if you wanted to donate your muddy/wet shoes at the end. Other sponsors included sheJAMs All Women’s Triathlon Club, Pineland Farm, WMTW TV, Maine Medical Partners, Dynamics Fitness and Performance, FM 93.1, Shipyard Brewing Company, Ni2 Health, Martin’s Point Healthcare, Poland Spring, Capt’n Eli’s Soda, Oakhurst, and Maine Magazine. Pineland Farm provided the location, Shipyard provided the free beer (with 5 choices!), Capt’n Eli’s provided soda samples (with 7 choices), and Poland Spring provided the end of race bottle of water. Participants were not left wanting in any way.

The event itself was divided up into three categories for everyone to choose from. There was a  4+/- mile course at both a Competitive and a Casual level for ages 14+ as well as a 2+/- mile course for Families for ages 6+. It was an event that encouraged teams, but there were a few teams of only one or two. People were encouraged to dress up for the race and a costume contest was held for both the Casual and Family Fest events. Looking at the very creative costumes was a great way to pass the time between registering and starting, so if you want to vie for the crown in 2019, you’ll need to bring your A-game! Additionally, they announced winners for the fastest Individual Male, Individual Female, and Team (minimum of 4 members), the biggest team (23 for Casual, 13 for Family), and largest team age spread (14 – 70 for Casual, 6 – 74 for Family). This allowed everyone to be included rather than just the fastest few. Since the Family heats allowed for ages 6+, this is a great event to bring your kids who want to participate with you.

Because there was packet pick up available the night before, the morning of process was super quick and easy. They provided you with your bib, safety pins, beer bracelet (after checking for age 21+), and t-shirt. The volunteers were friendly and attentive. Wandering around the festival area prior to starting, there were plenty of Royal Flushes (porta potties) available, a rinse off station, booths for the various sponsors, and sodas to try, Additionally, there was a large shaded tent area if you wanted it. The event benefits a charity each year, with 2018 going to VAST: Veterans Adaptive Sports and Training. They run programs year round for adaptive athletes to participate in and offer everything from snowshoeing and skiing in the winter to archery and biking in the summer. 14 different sports are listed currently and they provide training and equipment for the veterans.

To start the race, you first took off your shoes and staged them at the end of the first obstacle. It was a large inflatable with a number of different elements such as climbing, crawling, dodging, and sliding. Once you exited, you put your shoes on quickly and proceeded to the water slide. To keep these first two obstacles from backing up, they started two people side by side every 15 seconds. This made for a constant level of entertainment and excitement as the start line announcer was very funny and interactive. Spectators were kept amused and the wait for your go time was entertaining. The course itself is great for beginners. There were a variety of obstacles that included the aforementioned inflatable and water slide. runs through both mud and water, teeter-totters, balance beams, sack races, ladders and cargo nets to scale, tubes to crawl through, tires and barrels to go over, hay bales to jump between, a dizzy dash (forehead on a bat and spin!), and a cool teamwork activity that involved milk crates to create moving stepping stones to cover a set distance and back. That obstacle could be done on your own, with your own team, or by jumping into another team. None of the obstacles was exceptionally difficult, but some did take a bit of mental grit to complete. Scared of heights? The vertical cargo net might throw you for a loop. Worried about how far you can jump? The leap between hay bales looked WAY too long when you were on top looking down. However, I witnessed a number of people jumping and surprising themselves when they made it easily. A good lesson in how your imagination can keep you from trying if you let it. There were a couple of obstacles on the map that I didn’t see on the course, but they weren’t missed. The course had a good variety of terrains with running on both service roads and trails. There was a decent amount of mud without being too much. The very last obstacle was a dumpster full of water that served as a nice clean off right before the finish line. This was well played and appreciated! The finish medals were nice and they had separate medals for the long and short courses. Unfortunately, since I was one of the very last to go on the long course, they had run out of those medals before I finished. I don’t mind and wouldn’t have even known there were different options if someone hadn’t commented on it after I finished. This is the line they have to calculate since the race is for a charity and I think they did the very best to estimate correctly and fell just a few short. Personally, I don’t think they should be faulted for this.

After the race, each 21+ participant was given a free Shipyard beer. Even though I don’t ever drink them, I know my husband appreciated the good beer selection and I mean that in both ways – whose beer it was and how many they brought to choose from. Additionally, they had an option during sign up to order and pre-pay for a lunch after the race. You could pick between ham, turkey, and PB&J. Those also came with a pickle and a bag of chips. This was a great option as they knew exactly how many of each to prepare and since they were prepaid, you didn’t need to worry about cash. I think this is something that more races could run with in order to improve their level of service. I just ordered one for my husband and myself at sign up time and didn’t have to worry about it. The line was short and pick up was easy as they had a master list to simply check off. Pineland Farm also runs their own market, so it would have been easy to walk over and get food there too.

The Dynamic Dirt Challenge was included in #RaceLocal for the first time this year, and I hope they will be back again next year. It’s an excellent low key race that felt like a family and community strong event much like the Wason Pond Pounder. I look forward to doing it again and hope that I won’t be the lone Spahten there next year. The only thing I’ll be sure to do differently is to bring bug spray!  Emoji

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Featured Review: Bonefrog – Charlemont

Bonefrog Challenge is a smaller race series hosting events in the Eastern United States. This past weekend they held their New England event in their home venue of Berkshire East Mountain Resort in Charlemont, MA. With four race length events going on at the same time, there is something available for athletes of all levels. The Sprint course was about 4 miles, with about 22 obstacles; the Challenge was approximately 7 miles with 36 obstacles; Tier-1 is the Challenge course followed by the Sprint course; and finally for those gluttons for punishment the Endurance was Tier-1 followed by as many Sprint laps as possible in the time allotted. Being owned and operated by Navy SEALS, and run at a ski resort, the combination of military inspired obstacles and rugged terrain with significant elevation pushed many course runners to their limits.  As a smaller race series, and part of the #RaceLocal Grand Prix, it is clear that the race organizers had listened to criticism from past events and implemented changes in an attempt to improve the overall experience, which for the most part worked, although there are some things still to be ironed out.

Communications:

Upon race registration, the confirmation email included the selected wave time. The morning before the race, another email went out with a reminder of the overall preparation for race day. There was a scheduled early packet pick up as well as spaghetti dinner on Friday night, but due to the remote location, I’m not sure how well attended it was.  In the reminder email, it was recommended that we should arrive at least one hour and fifteen minutes before the starting wave time, and as it turns out it was definitely needed.

Arrival Logistics:

Parking for the event was on site for $10, and was within ¼ mile of the registration tents. Traffic flow entering the venue was smooth and guided well by volunteers. Upon arrival, there were tents outside for packet pick up. Due to the limited area and volunteers available, and the popularity of the race, the line quickly extended for packet pick up. For most people, filling out the waiver online beforehand helped the process a bit, but the check-in process could still be streamlined more. Next to packet pickup was the bag check area which was available for $5 per bag, but due to the close onsite parking, many people chose to forgo it.

Festival Area:

With inclement weather coming in, the two-floor lodge was open for racers and their families to use to stay warm and dry, as well as to mingle before and after the race. Music was pumping out via PA system to get the racers and spectators alike pumped up. With the festival area and lodge at the base of the mountain, several obstacles were visible, including their signature obstacle, Black Ops: a rope wall climb up to a platform to inclined monkey bars in front of a giant American flag. Food was available for sale from the outdoor grill, including hamburgers, sausages and hotdogs.

Race:

Each portion of the course provided a sufficient challenge for athletes of all types. Being on a ski resort, there was plenty of elevation gain, with technical trails through the woods, smooth grassy slopes, and some flat areas to really open it up. Strength based obstacles included heavy carries such as the Ammo Can (Challenge only) and the Brute Force sandbag carry, as well as a hoist obstacle called Dead Weight. Plenty of agility and grip strength obstacles were on the course as well, including some classics like “Get a Grip”, “Swinger’s Club”, and their signature final obstacle, “Black Ops”.

As a smaller race series, they seem to have more flexibility in innovating obstacles, and several newer ones were on the course. These included: Guillotine, an inclined log that one needed to balance on climbing up to a wall with a relatively narrow opening at the top, then back down an inclined balance log; Strong Hold (which was named Sway Bars at its debut in the 2017 event), a two sets of U-shaped monkey bars, with a ring transition in between and a mock grenade instead of a bell to complete the obstacle; and Ship Boarding, a set very narrow cable ladders that had to be climbed in order to reach a bell. With the addition of new obstacles, it often means that older favorites end up getting removed, sometimes for the benefit. The “Slide for Life” was removed, and while it is a difficult and fun one, it was notorious for causing bottlenecks so probably for the best that it was shelved. The “Drunken Monkey” was another that was not used on this course, but may be considered redundant because of the similar obstacles with “Strong Hold” and “Black Ops” filling the niche of monkey-bar type obstacles. Also along the lines of innovation, sometimes a new obstacle or feature does not work, and they were quick to adjust for it; for example, the Grenade Toss that was new last year became a logistics nightmare and lead to many backups, so it did not return for this event.

Another unique aspect of Bonefrog is that being a Navy SEAL owned and operated race, most of obstacles are military training inspired, and several pay homage to service members lost in the line of duty. “Mike” and “Murph” were simulated ship boarding obstacles named after Navy SEAL Medal of Honor recipients Michael A. Monsoor and Michael P. Murphy, respectively, who will have commissioned Navy guided missile destroyers carrying their namesakes. A set of three obstacles were set up to pay respects to lives lost in military operations, with one rep of an exercise done for each life lost in their respective operation: 20 reps of parallel bar dips for Red Wings (this operation was portrayed in the recent movie “Lone Survivor” starring Mark Wahlberg); 31 burpees for Extortion 17, for those lives lost when their helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan, the worst loss of US military lives in a single incident in the whole campaign (formerly the “31 Heroes obstacle from previous events); and 8 pull ups for Medal of Honor recipients. The unfortunate thing about this obstacle is that it was on the Challenge course only, so Sprint racers did not experience this; from a logistics standpoint though this would have caused significant backups if all racers went through them.

It seems that based on much of the negative feedback they had received from last year’s event, many things had changed in an attempt to correct issues. Course markings were much better than previous events, and there was less “bush whacking” through un-groomed trails, making it easier to follow the course correctly. The course was limited to one water crossing, and this was a welcome change as being on a mountain course, and with the late arrival of spring this year, the water was extremely cold. Lifeguards were stationed on each bank, and there was a diver in the water in a dry suit to ensure safety. As cold as the water was, many people struggled to catch their breath, leading to the divers and lifeguards assisting swimmers out of the water.

Penalties for failed obstacles were removed for non-elite racers (still mandatory completion for the elites) in an effort to reduce bottlenecks at obstacles. While this helped, there were still a number of backups at some of the obstacles, particularly later in the day as the Sprint and Tier-1 racers were on the course at the same time.

There were sections of climbing that were cut out, which also meant that one of the obstacles that had really been a challenge for many people but I thought was one of the highlights, Solar Walls, was not used.  Another big complaint from last year was that the trusses used for the rig type obstacles were too high for many racers; this year, different trusses to make the rigs more in reach, and boxes were placed to make it easier for shorter athletes to reach.

Post-race:

One of the disappointing things was that after the race, the free post-race refreshment was limited to water; even a banana after finishing would have been very welcome.

A big change for the race was that the shirts are now distinct for the different event that was completed (Sprint, Challenge, Tier-1, and Endurance); they are a soft poly-cotton blend that is very comfortable, but seem to run a bit small (I went up a size from medium to large anticipating a small amount of shrinking due to the cotton). The medals were redesigned instead of being a repeat from previous years’ medals (another common complaint). The Endurance medal, unlike last year’s debut event, is now larger than the Tier-1 medal.

 

For a post-race meal, the outdoor grill was open serving up hamburgers, cheeseburgers, sausages and hotdogs (veggie burgers for a meat-free option), with chips and a beverage for around $10.

Summary:

Overall, this race was a very challenging event, due to the terrain and the numerous obstacles which tested many aspects of physical and mental fitness. The tribute to the fallen service members was a very important touch to the flavor of the event. While this year’s event did improve on a number of issues from previous years, there are a few minor changes that can still be made to improve the overall experience.

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Featured Review: Wason Pond Pounder 2018

Wason Pond Pounder has been a part of Race Local since the beginning. It’s a small race located at a beautiful park in Chester, NH. It’s not the race with the biggest attendance, toughest obstacles, or steepest hills, but it’s a great 5K and features 24 obstacles. The best part, in my opinion, is that 100% of profits are donated to local charities.

Like most races, parking is not allowed on site. The parking lot is about 2 miles away, with shuttle buses running fairly regularly. The check-in process was smooth and fast, with volunteers who were polite and smiling. Bib numbers were posted at the entrance, a table was provided for signing waivers, bibs and timing chips were obtained at the next table, and t-shirts and swag bags were at the last table. Multilapping is allowed for $10 per lap, and even has its own table to make it a very easy process. Bag check is free and there are several vendor tables. The local fire station sells burgers, which smell great even at 8:30 am. There is no medal at this event. However, you’ll find water, several types of fruit, and cheese sticks at the finish line. There are plenty of porta-potties and there is a large changing tent. The swag bag was actually really impressive. Now, I usually peek into a swag bag, see that it’s mostly flyers and maybe a sticker, and throw the whole thing in the recycling bin. This bag has a few flyers and stickers, but it also has a cooling towel, 3 pens, a pad of paper, one of those sticks that has the anti-itch stuff that you can use on a bug bite, and a set of ear buds. Seriously, this is the first swag bag I was happy to open for a long time!

Although it is a very small race, the first wave is competitive and offers a cash prize to the winners. After that, waves go off every 20 minutes, including the final 3 waves which are considered family waves. Bring your kids as young as 8 years old! The waves were on time all day and the course was rarely crowded. In fact, the only time a crowd tends to form on this course is when a large group is trying to stay together. I’ve found that these groups tend to be very happy to let smaller groups pass by.

While the obstacles aren’t generally as tough as at some of the bigger races, there are some challenges on course. There is a set of monkey bars, an overhead pipe traverse, a sandbag carry, and an inverted wall.

They have an option of climbing a rope or a cargo net, with the rope climb being made a bit more difficult by being just after a water crossing. They have an obstacle called “wobbly docks”, which is four or five small docks roped together across a shallow bit of water. They look quite tricky, and people do fall in, but they are completely doable as long as you keep moving. While there is no real mud on the course, there is a water crossing where you’ll get wet above your knees, and there is a slide into the water where you’ll get completely wet. There is a crawl through the sand earlier in the race, though, so you’ll be happy to wash some of the sand off in the pond. Every obstacle was well built and sturdy, and there was at least one volunteer stationed at every obstacle. There is one water station placed strategically so that racers will pass by twice. The course does zig-zag a lot, so it’s easy to spot friends on the course even if you’re not racing together. Altogether, the gently rolling hills through the beautiful woods and the fun obstacles make this quite an enjoyable race.

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Featured Review: Tuff Scramblers – May 2018

Tuff Scramblers in Rehoboth, MA is a challenging, fun, and unique event. It is a 5k course spread over 140 aches with over twenty natural and man made obstacles that offers an experience you’re not likely to find at other events.

This race is a bit of a drive for me, but it’s a drive I’m willing to make because it’s such a great time. It is easy to find, clearly marked by signs directing athletes to the field to park. Parking was within a stone’s throw to where the Registration tent was.

There was a long back up at registration. It was very slow moving and when I got to the table, I was able to see why. There was only one person running the registration table. This meant that she was dealing with bib pick-up, wristbands, t-shirts, day of registration, and any questions. She was trying to be as efficient as possible, but it was clearly overwhelming for her. It is possible that volunteers slated for the Registration tent had not come, however it is something that maybe a volunteer from another location could have been pulled at least for the early morning rush.

From the registration tent, athletes followed along the dirt road into the festival area. To the left was the changing tents and showers followed by an area where larger teams had been given space to set up a meeting place. To the right there was a man creating chainsaw sculptures that were for sale – he was also responsible for making the pretty epic first place trophies for the elite wave. Also to the right was the makings of a bonfire, though wind deterred the Tuff Scramblers team from igniting it. There were tables set up by the Army,Air Force, and National Guards. There was also a large tent where participants could go to exchange their food and beer ticket then hang out while spectating other runners. The festival area is a low key setup, however it has excellent access to a bunch of the fun obstacles for spectating.

Tuff Scramblers has a course unlike any other I have ever seen. It incorporates trails that at times become single track, weave through the woods, through streams, then back out to the open layout near the festival. In the woods is where participants find most of the natural occurring obstacles. There are plenty of rock formations to scramble over, streams to trudge through, and rocky terrain to hop across. For the most part the course was well marked with pink flags, tape, and paint. However, there were a few who got turned around or missed a turnoff and accidentally cut a small portion of the course. I believe that it was early in the race around the first two hills in the woods, but after that point all the course markers were easily located. There were two water stations on course and the volunteers there were cheery and engaged with the runners as they made their pit stop.

As advertised, you will not find the typical rope climbs and walls at Tuff Scramblers that you may find at other races. Participants will find large sand and clay piles as well as two boulder piles to crawl over. There are walls and an a-frame made of large PVC piping, as well as concrete pillars to jump across. Much of the obstacles that can be found at Tuff Scramblers are created using construction materials. Another thing that should be noted that on this course you will get wet and you will get muddy. Whether it be through a pool of muddy water, of climbing some of the obstacles that have water spraying down at you. The race ends, bringing the participants through a small brook, with about thigh deep to waist deep water. Once you climbed out a bit down the way, there were two options to finish the race. Participants could choose to swim across the pond or take the land route. The pond had a downward slope before it got a bit deep. For someone of average height you could not just walk across. It then had a small incline back out and brought you straight to the finish line.

The shirts from Tuff Scramblers are one of my favorite race shirts. It is a soft tech shirt sporting the Tuff Scramblers name on the front. On the back has the date and location of the event as well as a statement that they proudly support the various branches of military and the EMS team that was present at the event. The medal ribbon displays the date and location of the event, which is always a nice bonus.

After runners finished they were treated to food and drink. You could use your Beer ticket to exchange for a beer or non-alcoholic beverage. As someone who does not drink beer, I appreciated this because I could exchange my ticket for an iced tea. Those who do enjoy beer had a variety of Narragansett beers that they could pick from. Runners get quite the treat when they finish Tuff Scramblers because they also get post-race food included in their registration. We got two sliders with either pulled pork or sausage and peppers, a salad, and a choice of two different types of baked beans. The food was excellent and really hit the spot afterwards.

Over all, despite a few very minor kinks between registration and course marking, this is still one of my favorite events. It offers such a unique experience and atmosphere. The shirts being my all time favorite, is simply a bonus.

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Featured Review: Rugged Maniac, MA 2017

My first Rugged Maniac was 8 years ago, in 2010. I remember complaining really hard, because the advertised 5k distance was completed quicker than I could run a 5k road race. I went back in 2011 and 2012, both events held before the now famous Shark Tank appearance – and I just never went back. Other races, longer distances, bigger challenges.

But this year, I got to interview Kaitlyn Greenleaf, the director of race operations for Rugged Maniac for The NE Spahtens Show, and I realizes it was time I went back, and checked out for myself just how much they have grown and changed since the early days of both Rugged Maniac, and the early days of OCR.

Spoiler: I’m really *really* glad I did.

The Rugged Maniac of 2017 occupies that space in OCR frequently called “Beginner friendly” or “entry level” – but frankly, the terrain at Motorcross 338, the birthplace of Rugged Maniac back in 2010 kicked my ass. Rolling motorcross sand hills, and relentless heat this past weekend wore me down far more than I expected. The obstacles though, firmly in the “fun but challenging” realm – nothing crazy, nothing ridiculous and no penalties.

As a venue, I see why they keep coming back. It’s relatively easy to find, and plenty of onsite parking, thats 1/2 the price of the competition. They run their festival area down the main access road, and keep things easy to find. While the crowds were dense at times, the festival was always hopping – a solid MC on stage, running competitions all day (both fitness and fun – from pull up competitions to pie eating!). Plenty of portapotties, a hose down station, changing rooms – a super smooth checking and registration process too. Rugged HQ were kind enough to let us pitch tents for the rather large number of Spahtens registered over the weekend, and the onsite beer was excellent, with the venue also putting on several different food options. But lets not forget the star attraction for this particular venue – spectator access. You can go almost anywhere on course, or simply hang out in the stadium seating with a fantastic view of the whole motorcross park.

When I look back over my 2010, 2011 and 2012 Rugged Maniac outings – the obstacles are *generally* the same – but in the same way a family compact car is the same as a sports sedan – both are cars, both get the groceries – but one is infinitely more fun. Same here – back in the early days, I have vivid memories of Rugged struggling to keep fire jumps burning all day – this weekend, there were three, blazing high in a row – and another one fed by propane in front of a water pit. The water slide back then was barely little more than a tarp on some boards into hip deep water – this year, there were two, both massive, both fast, both smooth and cleanly depositing you into water traps that slowed you down effectively.

How’s that for a view?

Rugged’s start line MC was awesome – spending a few minutes each wave to ask people with cleats (ie: metal tips on their shoes) to step out of the coral in case they burst or rip the inflatable obstacles – and, kind enough to give the Spahtens in many of the waves over two days a shout out – having an MC who’s aware of who he’s sending out and actually explain safety and rules? Good show.

A solid 3.5 miles, and s is typical, I won’t go into a blow by blow of each obstacle – you can see Nicole’s excellent Community Review here, and she always does an excellent job describing them. But for me, a couple of highlights.

There was a simple wall climb early on. Maybe 5′. But, Rugged added a bar to the top, with a section of PVC pipe – a small addition that made an otherwise boring wall much more tricky. These little touches were through out the course.
The slides! If you listen to the podcast, you know how much I hate slide. Did both of them anyway. No epiphany moment, I still hate slides, but I did them both.
Lots of crawls, most of them with cool water that was appreciated on such an unusually sunny day.

Steve and I were #twinning hard that day …

Ultimately – we finished having completed 25 or so really fun, really well built obstacles. Some tougher than others, some more fun than others – all built well, all you could walk right by if you chose to do so – and all on those damn sandy hills that make up Motorcross 338 and burn your legs and lungs out quickly.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t also thank Rugged Maniac for getting involved with our #racelocal program – we operate this annually, encouraging people to participate in the best of the New England OCR scene – and Rugged Maniac grew up right here in MA, are still headquartered here in MA, and helped us with a unique multi-lap across both days program, were super accommodating when people needed to adjust wave times, or run with their Spahten buddies.

So – if you’re new to OCR, Rugged Maniac is for you. If you’re an OCR veteran, who’s burned out of the long distance competitive stuff – Rugged Maniac is fun, entertaining, and may remind you why you loved OCR to begin with. Huge thumbs up from me – and I plan on being back in 2018!

[P_REVIEW post_id=20759 visual=’yes’] Do you have your own views? Leave a Community Review here!

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Episode 34 – BoldrDash, WinterDash and Find Your Bold

We’re at episode 34! This show, we catch up wiht Lynn Hall, owner of BoldrDash. Little over a week out from their second annual WinterDash – we check in to find out whats in store. We also talk at length about the new charity she started, Find Your Bold – which aims to get disadvantaged or people through obstacle courses with support and encouragement by fellow athletes.

Please excuse the technical difficulties – we got disconnected twice during this interview!

Learn more:

BoldrDash: http://boldrdashrace.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BoldrDash/

Find Your Bold: http://fybold.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FYBold/

 

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The value of #racelocal

Many of my OCR friends and connections have complained this year that the annual Spartan Race elite season pass has gone up in price – now running $799 annually.

And, despite their own season passes running many months into 2017, there appears to be no pro-rating (although I have seen people claiming they have indeed got pro rated pricing).

This blog post isn’t to talk about that. I’ve spoken about Spartan season passes in years past and if you are at the pro or elite level, or have sponsor support, or simply have your heart set on running Spartan’s over and over, then it makes sense for you and you go nuts.

But what if there was an alternative? Of course, there is.

If you registered for:
The Endurance Society’s SnowShoe 10k
BoldrDash Race – Winter Dash
FIT Challenge’s trail race
FIT Challenge’s OCR event
Runzilla’s OCR
Wason Pond Pounder
Gauntlet Races Rock the Gauntlet
Tuff Scramblers
Bonefrog’s Challenge distance
Samurai Sprint Mud Run
BoldrDash Race’s Rocky Point event
O2X
Gauntlet Races’s Run the Gauntlet
(basically, every sub 10k #racelocal event currently open for registration)
The total with NO discount codes or pre-sales would be $793

Add in $35 for #racelocal registration, and you earn points as you go, and get prizes, and competition to push yourselves against others.

and you don’t even need to leave New England.

#racelocal – a lot of bang for your buck.

Of course, many of these events also have multiple lap options. Most race directors will be at the start line, the finish line, and will know your name and say hi.

Learn more about #racelocal, and find links to each of these race brands – and more events right here

http://www.nespahtens.com/racelocal

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Featured Review: Blizzard Blast 2017

Huge thank you to Nicole for our Blizzard Blast review!

Leave your own community review here.
[P_REVIEW post_id=18033 visual=’full’]

There is no better way to say it: Blizzard Blast really stepped it up this year. New OCRWC qualifier status. New venue. New obstacles. Same great attention to theme and focus on fun.

This year, Blizzard Blast took place for the first time at Shedd Park in Lowell with the festival at Wamesit Lanes, a brand new bowling alley and family fun center. Race day logistics had all participants parking at the Ocean State Job Lot about ¼ of a mile down the street from Wamesit Lanes. Buses then transported people to the bowling alley. Another set of buses provided transportation to and from Shedd Park. Prior to the event, I was a bit hesitant about all this busing. I am not a busing fan, plus the buses were a bit slow at last year’s Blizzard Blast . I need not have been concerned. Logistics were well ironed out and ran smoothly, as far as I could tell. I parked my car at the Ocean State Job Lot and then decide to walk the quarter mile to Wamesit Lanes since it was so close. The walk took me no more than five minutes – it was just as close as some places where I’ve parked for other OCRs and not had the benefit of busing.

Registration and check-in was at Wamesit Lanes, along with the post-race party. In sum, Wamesit Lanes was a good place for a party. Personal caveat: I’m not much of a post-race celebrator and I found Wamesit Lanes to be way too loud for my personal taste; however, it was really perfect for what, I think, Blizzard Blast was looking for, and I bet most racers loved it. There was cheap food and drink, large areas to hang out, and plenty to do. It was a bit of a drag that the festival and the course weren’t at the same place, as in year’s past, but the new location was definitely better suited to the number of people at the race, and SmithFest did a great job providing convenient transportation.

Check-in at Wamesit Lanes went very smoothly. I was given my chip and bib. I was able to go and pick-up my free long sleeve t-shirt (love the long sleeve option!) and buff and then proceed to check my bag for free. Excellent all around! I then went to the bar area to hang out with the other NE Spahtens as I waited for the bus for the 11:30 a.m. team wave. The busing was ultra-organized with the DJ telling us when it was time to depart.

The course was, for the first time this year, at Shedd Park in Lowell. The race location was excellent. One reason it was so good was that Fred, race director of Blizzard Blast, did a great job integrating existing elements in the park with the course. Examples: We got to run along a wall that bordered the park, many elements of the race had us using the tables and playgrounds within the park, and finally for traverse walls the race utilized a couple of walls already in existence at the park. This was a really creative approach and added to the number of obstacles on the course.

This year’s Blizzard Blast was, for the first time, an OCRWC qualifier. As such, they really upped their game. In past years, I’ve commented that Blizzard Blast can be light on the obstacles. Last year’s course was a 10K and sparse with the obstacles, making it feel more like a trail run than an OCR. Not so this year! I would say with 100% confidence that this was the best Blizzard Blast yet. There were more obstacles than the past and less running. The course was 3.5 miles in length, and you didn’t run more than a couple of minutes without hitting an obstacle. The length and number of obstacles was spot on!

Blizzard Blast had all the classic obstacles from past years along with some new and innovative ones. To begin a discussion of the obstacles, it’s important to acknowledge that Blizzard Blast is great at keeping with their winter theme. As such they had pine trees aplenty. We had to climb over pine trees, run through pine trees, do a pine tree carry, and do a sled drag with a tree (new this year). There was also sledding. Kudos to Fred on getting some snow out there. Even more kudos because when he heard that the sledding was getting a bit too fast, he adjusted to have us sled from farther down the hill to avoid injury.

The other main themed aspect to Blizzard Blast is kegs. The race is sponsored by Shock Top, a beer company, and the kegs seem to proliferate each year. The signature obstacle at Blizzard Blast is keg kingdom, one of my favorite obstacles. It’s a Rig with hanging kegs that move unpredictably making this one lots of fun. Keg kingdom is one of my favorite obstacles in OCR. There was also a keg hoist, a mini keg raise, and two keg carries – the first of which required racers to roll the keg half of the way (uphill of course!). Inspired by the new festival venue, there was also an obstacle where racers had to walk along slacklines using bowling pins suspended overhead for balance. While not very challenging, this new obstacle was innovative and super fun!

Blizzard Blast featured one new obstacle that was a great new test for racers, Devil’s staircase. This obstacle was a giant metal a-frame with rungs spaced far apart to be ascended by swinging as if doing inclined monkey bars. Super hard for me, and the one obstacle I did not make. These inverted climbs are always a struggle for me and definitely an area where I need to do some training. (Note to self: Talk with my coach.)

Credit: Caley McGuane

Naturally all the traditional favorites were there: walls, under-over-thru’s, a peg board climb, and a rope climb. All of these elements were well placed on the course. I was very impressed by how little running took place between each obstacle. It made the course every enjoyable.

I crossed the line in 1:14:19 (28/116 in my age group and 256/705 overall for open, to provide context). I was given a medal which featured a bottle opener and a little OCR racer who moved back and forth across a mini keg kingdom. So cool!

Blizzard Blast really had a tremendous event for 2017. They nailed the race, integrating new obstacles and creating an engaging course that was challenging for seasoned racers while still be very approachable for beginners. The new location is stellar. Logistics were well handled. (Though the post-race chowder would totally have been enhanced by some oyster crackers – get on it, Fred! Jk!) All around, I was very impressed with what I consider the best Blizzard Blast yet. I look forward to the 2018 race. I plan to be there.

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Qualify for OCRWC at #racelocal

If you look at the list of races we offer in our #racelocal Grand Prix – you’ll find the best events New England has to offer.
If you look at the list of qualifiers for OCR World Championships – you’ll find the best events in the world.

There’s overlap there – don’t think we didn’t notice.

So we worked with OCR World Championships to figure out how we take advantage of this, and give you a chance to qualify for Age Group categories at OCR World Championships.

Here’s how it will work:

Participate in Blizzard Blast in January, Polar Bear Challenge in February, FIT Challenge in March and Bone Frog in May. All are OCR World Championship qualifiers, and stalwarts of the #racelocal calendar.

After the final race, we will collect and count your points across these events – and the top 5 Male and Female athletes will qualify for Age Group at OCR World Championships in Canada in October!

Keep in mind – each of these events has competitive waves, which pay out at +20% bonus points for #racelocal. All offer multiple milage options, from multi-laps to Tier One – and your #racelocal points pay out based on your mileage completed. The more you run, the harder you compete, the better your chances!

Small print:
OCRWC qualification is based on your points after Bone Frog Challenge in May, and points logged after that are not retroactively going to count.

Naturally, you need to be registered in the #racelocal Grand Prix to take advantage of this …

 

 

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Welcoming more races to #racelocal …

You already know that registration is open for #racelocal in 2017 right?

When we last spoke, we had maybe 8 or 9 events on the schedule – but lets catch up, shall we?

We’ve more than doubled that. We are currently at 18 races.

 

Today alone, we added three more events – BoldrDash at Rocky Point in September, and both Tuff Scrambler events, May and October.

Are you registered yet? Blizzard Blast is just over a week away, and we’re not done with the surprises yet …