gotmudonyou

[gotmudonyou]

OCR World Championships 2019 15k Report

Lining up for the 15k it was clear that this would be a very different race compared to last year. The weather had taken a turn and the rain was coming down. I had been wearing a water resistant wind stopper to warm up in and at the last minute decided to keep it on for the race. This time it was a mass start, everyone going off together.

Shortly into the race came the wreck bag carry. But not your standard wreck bag carry, oh no, this was a drag/carry of a wreck bag through some ditches and then under 5 cargo nets. Now anyone who has run Nuclear Races before knows that these cargo nets are a nightmare to get through. Add in a wreck bag and loads of mud....and oh my goodness it was tough! The key was to go through as a group as this meant you shared the load of the mud-soaked cargo net weighing down on you.

The first 10km of the race was basically the Nuclear course with Nuclear obstacles. Most of this was fine until around 8kms in where I hit the Spinning Monkeys. These are a set of roughly circular spinning holds that you need to traverse to get to the other end. I had done this countless times at Nuclear races and at the World Championships last year. Gripping the first hold I realised they were wet and covered in mud. I saw people falling off all around me. Not wanting to knacker out my grip and fall in the water I decided to elbow hook my way round. I’d never even considered having to do this but needs must and it got me through quick and safely.

Shortly after I came upon the rope traverse. Years ago I would have hated this obstacle as it would tire me out quickly. These days I have no issues with it and got across quickly without minimal effort.

Roughly 1km later was Stairway to Heaven, an obstacle I first encountered 2 years before high on the Blue Mountains in Canada in my first OCR World Championships. I’d completed this obstacle first time in every race I’d encountered it. However this was the coldest and wettest I’d ever attempted it. This year they had added a bar at the top to make the transition easier, a decision that many had questioned, however in these conditions I wasn’t complaining. I used the bar to transition but was suddenly unsure of my grip on the way down. Another new rule to account for the conditions was that you were allowed to grab the outside of each board. I decided to be safe and grab the outside of one of the boards. It wasn’t pretty but it did the job.

Coming back into the event village around 12kms in and I was already feeling a bit tired and I knew that I basically had the technical 3km course I had run yesterday to come!

After hitting Valkyrie and the Nuclear Rig it was time for Sabretooth again. This was the up and down monkey bars that I’d sailed through the day before. Once the rain had come down on the 3k many had struggled to complete this obstacle so they’d made some adjustments for the 15k. The bell was now half way along the obstacle which should make this much easier....right? The rain had been coming down all morning and the bars were wet. I’d trained for wet obstacles though so this should be no problem. I began with the side on clamping technique I’d successfully used on the 3k. Reaching the apex I switched to front facing and matching hands on each bar. I got to the bottom of the decline section of the bars and had a moment of indecision. The bars were very slippery and I wondered whether I should switch to a side on clamp again for the last few bars. This moment of indecision was my downfall, quite literally. I reached out and missed the bar and fell. I clearly wasn’t thinking straight due to fatigue. Having a short rest to recover my grip I went again, only for my grip to fail at the same point. Remembering Coach Scotty’s words I made sure not to stand around getting cold whilst I waited for my pump to fade. I ran back into the woods, shaking my arms out and keeping moving. After 5-10 mins I tried again, this time I failed even earlier. I couldn’t even pull myself up. This was pretty concerning and a horrible feeling to have no strength in my arms. I’d felt so strong the day before but now after 12kms of cold wet obstacles my grip was suffering. Back out into the woods to try to regain some strength in my arms. I was starting to get the feeling that this obstacle would take my band. A set of monkey bars taking my band? That didn’t feel right. How else could I get through? I’d seen some competitors hooking their arms over the bars to complete it. What did I have to lose. One last attempt....give it my all. I got to the apex of the bars and hooked my arm over the top. I then proceeded to arm hook the last few bars before dropping to hit the bell. YES! Again it wasn’t pretty but it got me through. There are no points for style anyway! (If there was then this would have been a -5). This was no longer a race, it was a battle. A battle against the elements and a battle against my own mind.

There was no time to celebrate though, it was straight into the Force 5 Rig. My forearms were pumped now and I failed once or twice. I tried to roll the blood out of my arms and ran up and down to keep warm. Then I met my wife Jo as she had caught up with me. I can’t even recall whether we hugged or what was said I was that tired. I remember Stuart Neail pointing towards a specific lane and saying it was the least muddy. This is the one I said to myself. I swung out, suddenly finding a renewed focus. I got to the penultimate hold and for a moment doubted myself, fiddling to find a strong grip. I found it and swung for the bell. COME ON!!!

Maybe I can do this....but I wasn’t anywhere near home free yet. There wasn’t even time to break into a jog before the next obstacle, the Force 5 low rig. Again this had been a breeze the day before. I took a moment to let my forearm pump lessen and went in. As soon as I grabbed the middle pole I knew I was in trouble, I reached for the hanging hold and I my grip felt so feeble it was soul destroying. I fell on my arse. I then fell on my arse a good 2 or 3 times more. With each attempt I felt my chances of completing this obstacle slipping away. Now my teeth were chattering. OK so now I’m getting cold. Great. Not surprising really, god knows how long I d been stuck at these last 3 obstacles. One last go I decided. Once last try, give it everything I have and if not, I’ll give in my band. I decided to try a different approach as clearly what I was doing wasn’t working. Rather than reach for the last set of monkey bars I would try to swing my legs round first. This worked! I had gotten onto the last section and I wasn’t giving up now! The last part I have no idea what happened, it was a mess of legs, elbow hooks and pure grit and determination. I don’t even think I celebrated that one. I was so wiped by this point.

Force 5 Low Rig - My face says it all

A short run through the woods, over the Isotope Dragon’s back and I was faced with the Ninja Rings. I grabbed two rings, swung out and fell off. What the hell? I tried again, same result. I couldn’t even hold on to my own body weight. I had fought through the last 3 obstacles whilst my mind played games and tried to convince me to give up. I was proud of myself for fighting so long but this was the point I couldn’t fight any more. I was exhausted, shivering and broken. I was in survival mode now and I just wanted to get to the finish line. I asked the marshall to cut my band. I should have been distrought but i just wanted to be done with it.

The remaining obstacles were a mixture of genuine attempts and some I didn’t even bother. I could have tried to chicken wing the Gibbons but what was the point? I’d already lost my band. Strangely I still flew through Skull Valley and had no problems with Triumph or Weaver. Crossing the line I took the medal but didn’t pay much attention to it. I just wanted to get showered and get warm and dry.

This was a real battle of a race but it has taught me a few things about myself. Firstly the positives - I can fight and overcome my inner voice telling me to give up when things get tough. The learning I have taken from this however is to never be complacent. I’d prioritised the 3K as this plays to my strengths. I hadn’t run long enough distances to be competitive in the 15k so had been complacent to just plod round and keep my band. Being honest with myself I hadnt gone that extra 10% in grip endurance training as I knew I could cope with the demands of the 3K. In that complacency I had surrendered my band in the 15k before I had even started. That’s the truth and it hurts. But there is no failure, only learning and this has taught me a fantastic lesson in my own psyche. I will learn from this and come back stronger. This is the wonderful thing about sport and OCR in particular for me. It continually teaches me things about myself that I never knew or was too scared to admit. In those moments of pain, of doubt, of struggle we discover who we really are.

[gotmudonyou]

OCR World Championships 2019 3K Report

Last year’s OCR World Championships saw some of the most glorious weather you could hope to see in October. Could we be that lucky 2 years in a row??!! In a word...No. It was colder, wetter and muddier than last year and those elements combined to make this a very different race.

With the injury plagued season I had last year I had worked hard on my pre-hab and very slowly increased my mileage across the year. Following the 2018 World Championships I’d been experiencing shoulder pain which limited the amount of hanging work I could do. In fact it hampered many elements of my training and was finding it hard to bench press or bicep curl without pain. This turned out to be a mixture of biceps tendinitis and rotator cuff instability. It took roughly 4 months of physio and rehab to sort this. Everything was going great until knee pain reared its ugly head again around July. With no chance to take time out to properly sort the issue I agreed with my physio that damage limitation was the key, I needed to go into the event with as little knee pain as possible. This meant very reduced running mileage which I made up for in functional obstacle training over longer periods and walk/run/bike sessions to get ‘time on feet’.

The 3K was a short but obstacle heavy course. It was certainly more technical than last year’s 3k. Before my race I managed to watch some of my wife Jo’s race. Seeing many competitors struggling with some of the obstacles in the rain was worrying me but I needed to focus. I’d been out on a walk of the course with Team UK the day before so I knew my race plan and how I was going to attack each obstacle.

With the 3k each age group are set off in waves of  around 10 competitors to ensure the course doesn't get any queues. Having agreed to film the pro waves for the official live stream a short time after my finish I wanted to be near the front. I stood in the start pen next to my good friend Stuart ‘El Capitan’ Neail who had cleared the final obstacle at the same time as me the year before. 

This year there was little pre-amble from Spartan Phil and we were off. The first few obstacles were designed to drain you and spread the field. A set of ditches into a tyre pit and then Monty’s Hurdles. These are a set of wooden hurdles around chest height that you have to go over and ensure your feet touch the ground in between each hurdle. There are around 10 of them and they take it out of you! 

Next up was the first technical obstacle, the first Force 5 Rig .

                                                         Force 5 Rig 1

This was a fairly simple obstacle with some pivoting holds and rings to swing across but a nice obstacle to warm up on. After another Nuclear Races obstacle ‘La Gaffe’ it was a little run up through the woods to meet the first proper rig -The Nuclear Nitro Rig. This was a a rig of various holds and ropes. It wasn't particularly difficult or grip sapping but it was fiddly and I’m not sure there was a graceful way of completing it. I got it done going for safety rather than speed.

                                                  Nuclear Nitro Rig

After a little A frame it was into the huge tent for one of the new signature obstacles, Valkyrie. This was a a set of rings going up and down that you can only traverse with your hands. Watching the earlier waves I noticed many missing out rings on the way down so this was my plan as well, my thinking being the less time spent hanging the better. This is largely a strength based obstacle but good technique can make it easier. I flew up and missed a couple of rings on the way down as planned. Damn that was fun!

                                                        Valkyrie

Being a short course there was no let up now, following Valkyrie it was straight into another new signature grip obstacle, the wonderfully named Sabretooth. This was a set of monkey bars that went up and down twice and it was long! Earlier in the day it had rained and I'd seen many racers struggle with this obstacle. I decided on using a side on technique on the incline sections for safety. This meant I could clamp my hands on either side of each bar which meant there was less chance of slipping off. Thankfully the rain held off for my wave and I sailed through.                              

                                                       Sabretooth

I knew this section would be intense but wow! Straight in to another rig! The Force 5 Rig 2 had a variety of T-bar attachments which pivoted and a spinning wheel to finish. I’d been planning my approach since I’d seen some photos of this obstacle a week or so before. The key element was the flat T-bar before the wheel which swung towards you. My plan was to reach to the furthest part with my stronger hand and pull it towards me. Then once I had a firm grip I’d 2-tap (quickly grab with my other hand) before grabbing the wheel with an alternating grip. No hesitation, just go! Swing, swing, swing, grab the wheel, hit the bell, ding! 

                                                      Force 5 Rig 2

This section was always going to be demanding with so many grip obstacles in a row but I was feeling good. I’d managed my heart rate in the run up to the village to ensure I was in a position to hit each obsatcle running. With barely 10 seconds of running it was into another new obstacle, the Force 5 Low rig. Last year there were complaints that the low rig was far too easy, consisting of a bar to ring to bar. So this year they upped their game by bringing a more technical low rig. This was a lot of fun. I’d decided to go head on the whole way which worked out well but required some real core strength to keep my legs from dropping to the ground on the final transition.

Force 5 Low Rig

Next up was the new obstacle everyone was talking about in the run up to the event. The Gibbon Experience. This consisted of 5 swinging metal holds where you had to move along using 2 dowels that fitted into each hold. Essentially like keeping hold of monkey bars and placing them in each hold. This was a totally new obstacle that no one bar those at the North American Championships (where this had debuted) had attempted. Not wanting to try this for the first time in a race I’d ordered a set from obstacle builder Foz Sug. This was a tricky obstacle as it involves hanging on a single arm on a bar that can twist. This causes your hand to open up and your grip to fail quickly. So over a 2 month period I’d been practicing hanging on a single arm from one gibbon hold until my grip failed. Once I felt confident holding onto a twisting bar I worked on my technique. It became clear that swinging like you usually would on monkey bars wouldn’t work, it puts too much force through your hanging arm. So the key was a very controlled movement to place the bar into the hold with light fingers. It also involved a lot of concentration as if you miss putting the bar into the hold you are left swinging on one arm with no forward momentum.

Watching the footage from the North American Championships the majority of racers used a technique that has become known as the ‘Chicken Wing’. This involves hooking your elbows over the bars rather than hanging from it by your hands. This allows you to complete the obstacle if you don’t have the grip strength but it hurts so I had no plans to use this unless absolutely necessary.

I approached the obstacle and took a moment to collect myself. I really wanted to nail this first time. I took two wooden dowels and placed the first one into a hold. I swung out and placed the next one first time. So far so good. I then swung to the third hold but just missed it. I was left hanging on one arm, not where I wanted to be! I stayed calm as I prepared for this scenario. I tried again and got one end of the dowel in the hold. The other end was precariously placed on the edge of the hold but not properly seated. One wrong move and it would fall out and I’d be likely needing to drop and start again. Thankfully I managed to manoeuvre it into the hold. I seated the 4th first time which left one final hold. I decided to get a good swing and reach for the bell from the 4th hold, missing out the final one. Ding! Success!

                                                 Gibbon Experience

Next up was another new obstacle Force 5 over and Under. This was a very simple idea but made for an enjoyable obstacle. The premise was simple, start on top, go under and end up on top.

                                          Force 5 Over & Under

Then it was into Triumph, this was 2 dragons backs into an under and up net climb. The Nuclear dragons backs are nice and close together and you only really need to lean out to grab the bar (although if you are afraid of heights that’s easier said than done). This one had a serious gap to jump, add to that the fact that the bar was pretty low and this was more than just a mental obstacle to overcome. 2 leaps of faith and a crawl under and up the cargo net and ding, the bell was rung.

Next up was an improved version of Skitch. Skitch debuted at the Worlds last year and consisted of 2 handheld hooks that you hang from and traverse along a bar which has a chain attached to the middle where you need to unhook each hook and transition to the other side of the chain. They clearly decided that this wasn’t hard enough so this year added a second transition. Thankfully I had practiced this and managed to clear it first time.

Not more than 30 seconds of running and it was into Skull Valley. This was a new version and arguably easier than last year’s obstacle. It had a really fun flow and was really enjoyable to complete.

                                                         Skull Valley                         

After smashing the Ninja Rings there was a short run through the wood to the next obstacle, the aptly named Snaked Pit. This took a page out of Hang-on Run’s book in that it was lots of ropes. I missed out every other rope and remembered Coach Scotty’s advice to get as high as possible on the rope traverse to ensure I didn’t end up sitting on the knot of the next rope.

Snake Pit

A short carry and then it was onto a new balance obstacle which was simple enough. A weaver and some tubes to slide down and it was over the final wall to the finish line. I crossed in 56th place out of 189 which put me in top 30%. Could I have pushed harder on the running between obstacles? Possibly, but would I then have cleared each obstacle first time? That’s the balance of obstacle course racing. In any case I felt strong on all the obstacle and most of all, I enjoyed myself!

[gotmudonyou]

OCR World Championships 2018 Report

When I heard that this years OCR World Championships would be held on home soil I had conflicting emotions. On the one hand it was great that I wouldn't have to shell out a lot of money to fly abroad again but on the other hand I was worried that it wouldn't have the magic that the event village in Canada had. I guess not having jet-lag would also be a plus.

Lets rewind to last year though. In Canada I had lost my band on the 3K and kept it for the 15k and team races. Analysing my performance it was clear that my obstacle game had to improve. Why had I lost my band at the rig in the 3k? Inexperience in a major race and specifically on rigs was clearly a big factor. But my mental game was clearly at fault as well. When running at full pelt on a short and fast course I was blowing too hard to be focussed coming into a technical obstacle. I also knew that although I had kept my band on the 15k I could have pushed harder during the race (although had I pushed harder would my obstacle game have suffered and maybe not kept my band?).

In the lead up to Canada I was on about 30-35kms of running a week. I wanted to up that so I signed up for a Marathon in April. This turned out to be a really bad idea. Reaching around 30kms in a training run I suddenly had knee pain that stopped me in my tracks. Diagnosis? Patella Tendonitis. Severely reduced mileage, strengthening exercises and a complete deconstruction and re-build of my running form. The reduced mileage was bad enough but the new way of running was tiring and made me long for the days I would just run without thinking whether I was overstriding or lifting my knees high enough.

Finally at the point of getting on top of the Patella Tendonitis I was looking forward to getting back to training hard. My body had other ideas. It saw my Patella Tendonitis and raised me ITB pain. I won’t bore you with my months of recovery but suffice to say it was not fun. My physio warned me against increasing mileage too fast as ITB issues are prone to coming back. So coming into the World Championships I had run a maximum of 11kms in one go since April. Not the best prep. 

Thankfully I had also signed up to a training programme held at the PT Barn. The Road to Worlds training programme was run by 3 fantastic coaches who each brought a differing skill set to the coaching. The course focussed on every aspect of OCR training that a racer needs to be successful in OCR. This included specific obstacle technique, skills and strength analysis, race preparation and race strategy. It taught me how to asses a race down to the finest detail. It also helped me to identify mental traps that had hampered my racing in the past. So whilst my race endurance was nowhere near where I had wanted it to be, my obstacle strength and performance as well as my mental game were better than ever. On the advice of the coaches I had also added an OCR Specific workout to my weekly regime, my hope was that this specific training would partially offset my lack of mileage. I have to admit I got some funny looks from the neighbours running out of my garden every 10 mins and doing a lap of the area with a sandbag on my shoulders! So...back to this year’s race....

This year’s race was held on the permanent site of the award winning Nuclear Races. The course was billed as packing in 100 obstacles over 15kms. 

Ok so it wasn't really 100 obstacles. 6 of them were a continuous wreckbag  carry and many obstacles listed were logs, trenches or streams. In any case, this was going to be very different from last year’s race which was up and down a ski slope with not much mud and no water obstacles. This race was going to be pretty flat with lots of mud and a fair amount of water including a full submersion.

3km Short Course

Due to my lack of mileage in training all year I knew that there was no way I would be able to keep up a decent pace for the 15km course so decided the 3km was many target race. The plan was to go all out and I said to myself if I didn’t cross the line exhausted then I hadn’t gone hard enough. I’d ‘pre-rigged’ the course the day before so I knew all the obstacles and had decided on my techniques through the rigs. I’d decided which attachments to use and which to miss out. This is something that the Road to Worlds course stressed. Just because an attachment (such as a ball, nunchuck or rope) is there it doesnt mean you have to use it. I saw so many racers out there using small and tricky attachments on a rig just because they thought they should.

Stood on the start line they had replaced Coach Pain with the MC from the UK Spartan series, Spartan Phil. Ok so he’d replaced his spartan helmet with a cap so I guess he was just regular Phil. As much as I’d loved  Coach Pain’s rousing start line speeches it was probably wise to use a more UK friendly style for this race.

The MC counted down..3....2...1....GO!! As it was a short course the pack went off at a fast pace. We were straight into some ditches which immediately got my heart rate through the roof. Next it was a crawl under barbed wire and then into a Wreckbag (sandbag) carry and then a crawl with the sandbag. This was a crazy way to start a race and didn’t allow you to settle into any kind of pace. I was thankful that I’d done a decent warm up so I felt able to push on. Then it was straight into 3 rigs back to back. First up was the platinum rig. Having done my prep I knew that I wanted to miss out a few attachments which made it a simple rig of rings and monkey bars. My heart rate was high which might have made me rush things in the past, but not now. I flew through but with barely 30 seconds of running I was at the next rig. This rig, named Varjagen Saga had been brought over by Strong Viking, a European race series. It consisted of 3 parts each with various things to hang and swing from. Through my prep I knew the technique to use for each section and flew through to hit the bell.

Varjagen Saga

With hardly any time to regain my breath I was hit with another grip strength sapping rig. The Force 5 Rig was something I’d never seen before in person. However having watched videos of the North American Championships I had a feel for how to approach the rig. All of the attachments swung from front to back, which made it easier to reach the next attachment. This rig was also housed by part of the huge event tent (it was massive!) which was cool and meant there were loads of spectators cheering on the racers. Surprisingly I got through it first time.

After a couple of jumping type obstacles I approach the Ninja Rings. This was a traverse where you had to get to the other side using plastic rings that you held in your hands and moved from bar to bar. I’d been practicing this on my home rig for months so I was ready and flew across.

After this followed some squats under bars whilst carrying a log, a quarter pipe and another hanging obstacle called Trapeze. I then arrived at a new obstacle called Skitch. The aim was to traverse to the end of a hanging bar using hooks that you held in each hand. The tricky part was that you had to lift both hooks across a chain attached to the middle of the bar. This was a difficult obstacle and many struggled (even some pros). As part of my training I had some hooks fabricated for me and I mocked up a version and practiced at home. This paid off as I nailed it first time.

Skitch

Now I just had 3 obstacles to go! First up was a bomb carry, which was exactly what you think is. A metal bomb that you had to carry in your arms but not on your shoulders. The bomb had a moving weight inside so if you carried it at an angle all the weight shifted to one side. This obstacle in itself was fine but it tired your arms and grip out enough to make the penultimate obstacle that much harder.

The penultimate obstacle was the wonderfully named Skull Valley. I’d conquered this obstacle in Canada so was confident I could do so again. Thankfully I had just enough grip left to get through.

Skull Valley

The final obstacle was a giant slip wall to get over. Thankfully the ropes were a little lower than in Canada so this was no problem (it got tougher on subsequent days due to the mud).

Crossing the line in 65th place out of 202 in my age group I was in the top 32%. I was happy with my obstacle performance and effort. Band kept, but this was just race 1 of 3.....

15km Standard Course

The 15km race was going to be a different beast. As I said, I hadn’t run more than 11kms since April so a tough 15kms Obstacle race was going to be a test of my fitness. The race set off at a less frantic pace and after the ditches we were treated to a nice long Wreckbag carry through the forest. The carry involved ducking under and going over beams. Being short means ducking under beams was nice and easy but going over them not so much!

Wreckbag Carry

After another carry and some other minor obstacles I hit the Nuclear monkey bars, thankfully just the short section. After this came possibly the worst part, around 5 sets of cargo nets to crawl under. I hated these, they were quite tight and you had to crawl on your hands and knees. I’m pretty sure this was responsible for the scrape on my knee.

About 5kms in and after a zip line we got into some proper mud. I mean the kind of mud you have to crawl through. Thankfully I then got completely soaked by the deathslide which cleaned the mud off. Whilst obstacles such as zip lines and deathslides are fun I’m not sure they have a place in a World Championship race. Saying that many racers I ran past told me they loved the zip line. So what do I know.

I was looking forward to the low rig having trained specifically for this type of obstacle. So I was a bit disappointed to find it was simply two bars with a ring in between. Boring! Oh well. Shortly after this came Stairway to Heaven, an A frame with horizontal planks which you had to climb and ascend on the inside with only your arms. This was only the third time I’d ever attempted this obstacle. The first time was Canada last year and the second at a Road to Worlds training session. It was at this point that I caught up with my wife Jo who had set off in the wave before me. After a quick hug and checking how she was getting on I quickly ascended and descended the stairway without much thought (I think you can overthink this one easily). I found out later that Jo managed to get to the top of Stairway but was unable to make the transition. This was the furthest she had ever got on this obstacle so she was really happy with her progress.

The race used a lot of the permanent obstacles on the Nuclear site but added a number of World Championships specific obstacles as well as obstacles from other races. After a section of Nuclear obstacles I was back in the event village and the gauntlet of rigs. The Platinum rig had been changed up from the previous day and was marginally more complex. Yet again though there were attachments that I had no intention of touching. It now started with 2 rings followed by a T-bar. There was no way of skipping the T-bar so I decided to grab it with a couple of fingers either side and effectively treat it as a ring. A rope, some monkey bars and a couple of rings and I was through. I sailed through Varjagen Saga again and was actually starting to enjoy the flow of this obstacle. It was then on to the Force 5 rig. Although I’d smashed this obstacle the day before I was getting tired. I wasn’t focussed and therefore fell off the middle wheel and had to go back to the retry lane. I knew my grip was still ok so decided to take 5 minutes and regain my focus. I took the time to clean the mud off my hands and managed to fly through. Phew!

Weaver & Force 5 Rig

After this it was back into the forest and a rope traverse over water. Now I hadn’t seen a rope traverse in a race since the UK Championships back in 2016. For some reason I had a feeling we’d see one so I’d been down to Mad Mike’s, my local training centre, to practice. Theres also no better impetus to hold on than the threat of dropping into cold water. So hold on I did.

With around 4kms left I could feel my lack of mileage in training starting to tell. I was slowing and could feel my legs tiring. I took in another gel and pushed on.

Bomb Carry

Nailing Skitch and battling through the bomb carry I was faced with Skull Valley for the second time in 2 days. Having had no problem with this on the 3K I was surprised to feel my grip failing before the second set of skulls. As I reached for the first skull my hand slipped. For a moment I felt doubt creeping in. I’d trained my grip endurance and to feel weakness was disheartening. But I reckoned that I just needed a quick rest to let me recover. When I slipped off I also ripped some skin off my hand. This was bad news as I now had a red raw section of skin where I would need to hold the skulls. Arse. But wait...ripped hands were always going to be potential risk at such an obstacle heavy course. If only I had put something in my pocket for such an eventuality. As my coach Scotty PT says, ‘fail to prepare and prepare to fail’. I’d prepared for every other element so of course I was ready! I’d thankfully packed some WOD & Done hand protectors. These are sticky strips that go over your fingers and protect your palms. I carefully applied the strip to my right hand and took some deep breaths. Arriving at Skull Valley I’d met Team UK honorary captain Stuart Neail and he was having to retry as well. We were both taking our time and ensuring we were recovered enough before taking a second go. This was an obstacle that most racers could probably complete when fresh but after 15kms and 100 (ish) obstacles it suddenly felt a lot harder. Seeing Stuart get through I knew it was my time. It was now or never. I flew through the first set of skulls and onto the swinging monkey bars. The tricky bit is the transition from the monkey bars back up to the second set of skulls. Thankfully I nailed that and as soon as I started swinging I could feel that the rest had the desired effect as my grip felt solid yet again. I was so happy to hit that bell!

The final obstacle was again the slip wall. This time things were made a bit harder by mud caking the wall and ropes. Scrambling over the top and running over the finish line I was thrilled to have kept my band again. I definitely had to work for it towards the end of the race.

Team Race

I ran the team race with 2 fellow Road 2 Worlds members, Leanne and Claire. Like last year the team event was divided into 3 sections, Speed, Strength and Technical. However this year the sections were much more even in the length of the sections plus there were some team obstacles that we had to complete together. I was on technical again although I was feeling pretty beat up by now as the 15k had taken it out of me. Before the race I realised I wasn’t at all focussed so a I was hoping a coffee and a caffeine gel would wake me up.

I didn’t really do much of a warm up as I was standing around for nearly an hour waiting for my team mates to complete their legs. Finally I saw Leanne coming up the hill and after completing her last carry she handed over to me and I was straight into the Platinum rig. My arms being tired from 2 days of racing I made sure to go two handed on rings when possible and make sure I landed each hand where it needed to be. I could hear coach Tony Leary shouting ‘make it safe Fabian, make it safe!’. It was then straight into Varjagen Saga and again I sailed through this obstacle.

It was then on to the Force 5 rig. I lost concentration at the last moment and doing an Appleton (sorry James) I missed the bell by millimetres. Back to the retry lane for me. Fatigue was definitely the main reason that I missed the bell but I think I let the initial failure the day before get in my head a bit. After a few minutes of recovery and some encouragement from another Road to Worlds member Jonathan I had a second attempt and nailed it.

It was then on to the Dragon’s back, Ninja Rings and Weaver. The final obstacle of my technical leg was Skitch. Noticing that my WOD & Done hand protectors weren’t that grippy against metal I tore most of them off to ensure I had the best grip. My grip was fine thankfully and I hit the bell and ran down to tag my team mates for the final section of the race. I have to say that by this point my arms were burning!

The final section included 3 team obstacles. The first was transporting 2 atlas stones on a metal gurney. Leanne and Claire carried the gurney whilst I steadied the stones and ensured they didn’t fall off.

Next was a rope climb over a metal A frame. We all had to go over the same rope but could help each other. Claire wasn’t keen on this at being afraid of heights. Leanne waited at the top in case she needed help but Claire was amazing, faced her fears and conquered the obstacle.

It was then on to the final Slip Wall. This time there were no ropes! We had a plan which was to form a human ladder. I went at the bottom, Leanne climbed on my shoulders and Claire then climbed up both of us to the top. Claire then helped pull Leanne up. Leanne then hung down whilst I ran up and grabbed her leg to reach the rope. We were over! Crossing the finish line with your team is an awesome feeling and we were all buzzing after the race.

So 3 races and 3 bands kept. That’s one more than last year so I guess that’s progress. I had hoped to be a bit more competitive this year but that wasn’t to be. I was really happy with my performance on the 3k and I reckon if I can get back to the kind of mileage I was at last year coupled with the functional OCR workouts I’ve been doing this year I can get a lot quicker. My obstacle game is streets ahead of where it was last year as is my grip endurance. So speed and running endurance is my focus now.

So as I said I was concerned that having the Championships in the UK it wouldn’t match the heights of Canada. I really shouldn’t have worried. The race village was great and from a spectator point of view there were a lot of obstalces to view. I thought the course was well designed and challenging. Yes there was more mud than some competitors were comfortable with but this was a good representation of what UK OCR is about. We were also ridiculously lucky with the weather. It was around 16ºC for the first 2 days and by the Sunday I was lying around in a t-shirt with a high of 20ºC! Madness for October. A week later it dropped to 5ºC so we were very lucky. Also had it rained instead of hanging around spectators would have had to huddle under the tent or go back to their hotels. But it didn’t rain, so it was glorious.

Special mention needs to go to Tom Nash, Stuart Neail and the many others who have worked to make Team UK a unified team. Having the team kitted out in Team UK racing tops, jackets and shorts was a wonderful sight and made it easy to support our fellow countrymen on the course. I have to say that the support for Team UK out on the course was amazing. Not only that but the support I received from fellow Road to Worlds members was incredible. Hardly 10 mins would go by without hearing a ‘Go Team UK’ or ‘Go on Fabian!’ It was wonderful and nearly made me a bit emotional at one point. No crying for me this year though. Just lots of smiles. What a weekend! 🇬🇧

Oh I also took loads of photos over the weekend, feel free to check them out here!

[gotmudonyou]

OCR World Championships 2017 Report

Where do I start!? Competing in the Obstacle Course Racing World Championships was one of the most amazing experiences of my life to date. Held on a ski resort in The Blue Mountains, Ontario, Canada the course utilised the ski slopes to maximum effect. But let me take a step back... This whole adventure started last year when I watched my Facebook feed light up with stories of amazing times at the OCR World Championships. I knew I had to be there. I then ran the UK Championships at the end of 2016, losing one of my bands on the final rig. At the time I was gutted but I then sat down to work out what I needed to improve on. Grip strength and rigs were clearly areas for improvement but endurance and and general fitness were others. A lot to work on! Having managed to qualify at Spartan in April I had 6 months to get into the best shape of my life. I took on a programme which demanded 5-6 days and 45km of running a week. It was tough going fitting it all in but I was focussed on my goal. I wanted to go to Canada and have no regrets.

I took part in 3 races on consecutive days. The 3k short race (with 14 obstacles), the 15k (with 43 obstacles and over 1000m of ascent) and the Team Relay. The format of these races is that all obstacles are mandatory completion. Every competitor starts with a wrist band. You can attempt any obstacle as many times as you like but if you are unable to complete one then you have to surrender your band. This means that you can’t place in the main rankings. Keeping your band is a massive deal for most of the non-pro competitors.

3K Course

The 3k race was a fast and intense race with 14 obstacles. Having arrived late the night before and only having had 4 hours sleep I wasn’t feeling in top form. However a rousing speech by Coach Pain to start the race I was fired up and tore off up the hill. I was passing people on sections of running and flying through the obstacle such a monkey bars and inverted walls. I even felt good on the sandbag carries up and down hills. Then came the final ‘gauntlet of obstacles’ which included 6 upper body obstacles in a row. I flew through the first rig and approached the green Battlefrog rig, this looked tough. I’d trained for such obstacles and I’d even scouted it out earlier that morning, so I had a strategy. I got to the 3rd from last attachment and stalled, my grip was failing and I had to let go. Back to the retry lane for me! I then attempted another 4 times to complete the rig, each time getting now further. I was getting tired now and my grip was getting weaker with each attempt. With a heavy heart I surrendered my band. Finishing the race I was disappointed and didn’t feel the elation I had hoped for. Later that day I watched 2 of the top contenders in the Pro wave fail the exact same obstacle. They both tried multiple times but lost their bands as I did. This offered some consolation, this must have been a tough rig as I never see the Pros fail an obstacle.

                                                    The Platinum Rig

                                                  The Battlefrog Rig

After failing the Battlefrog rig I went back after the race and watched other competitors tackle it for an hour or so. I analysed what worked and what didn’t. I would change my strategy for the next race. The next morning I lined up for the main event, the 15k race which included 43 obstacles. After the disappointment of the previous day I decided to try not to focus on whether I kept my band or not but to try and race smart and above all enjoy the occasion. I’d trained hard for this but I was determined not to come away with a negative experience.

15k Course

Let me start by saying this - The 15k was the toughest single race I’ve ever done. I heard many other people say the same thing over the weekend. The steep and endless hills and multiple technical obstacles were nothing like anything I’ve experienced. 

The race commenced and we were immediately running up the side of a mountain. After 15 minutes we were on our hands and knees scrambling up a muddy hill trying not to slip back down. The route took us up and down the side of the Mountain for the first 4kms with a few climbing obstacles along the way. This is where the real testing obstacles started to come in to play. This event had some of the most technical and innovative obstacles I had ever encountered, some of which I’d never attempted before. Some of my favourites included Stairway to Heaven, La Gaffe du Draveur, Urban Sky, Floating Walls and Skull Valley.

                                                         Skull Valley

                                                        Urban Sky

                                                  La Gaffe du Draveur

                                                 Stairway to Heaven

                                                    Floating Walls

The course winded up and down the mountain with the steep climbs sapping your energy. The obstacles were well placed and I was getting through each one first time. Then came the carries…I hate carries. I should probably train more for them but I usually slow right down on a sandbag carry. There were 2 carries in this race, a 22kg sandbag carry and a farmer’s carry of 2 large bags of sand. Both of these were up a steep hill. In fact there wasn’t much of the race that was flat! I’m not saying these carries were fun, they were not! However I plodded through them without stopping, my main thought being if I put the sandbag down I’d have to pick it back up again!

                                         Did I mention I hate carries?

Running down to the foot of the mountain for the last time I still had my band intact however I knew that I still had to encounter the final gauntlet of rigs, I wanted revenge for the day before but did I have anything more to give? I’d found the rigs tough after 3km but now I’d been running for nearly 3 hours and I was feeling pretty beaten up. The configurations on the rigs had been changed from the day before, just to make things harder for the main race. I’d managed to scout the changes before the race and I had a game plan. It was all about flowing through the rigs as quickly as possible and maintaining a good swing. Approaching the first Platinum rig I took a deep breath to centre myself and swung off the first ring. The main change from the first race was that a low ring had been removed. This meant the transition from the low monkey bar section now was up to a high ring. This was tougher for sure! The rig finished with a climb under and over a cargo net to ring the bell on the other side. Ding! Phew, on to the next one. As I approached the Battlefrog rig I stopped and took a few minutes to let my heart rate calm down. This was my nemesis. I hated this rig for taking my band the day before. I remembered my game plan –‘forget foot locks on the ropes. Flow through the rig’. I knew which holds I was planning on using and those I planned to miss out. I jumped up and started to swing. Ring to ring to rope to ring to rope to rope to ring and hit the bell. YESSS!! I’d done it! 4 more obstacles to go and I still had my band! I didn’t want to be complacent though, I was exhausted and my grip was shot so I maintained focus. I flew through the final few obstacles and was left facing the final wall, titled The Knot. This was one tall and seriously steep wall with some knotted ropes to grip onto.

                                                          The Knot

I took a run up and with a few grunts I was over. Before descending I took a second to soak in the moment. I ran over the finish line to collect my medal, high fiving the official on the way whilst screaming ‘COME ON!!!!’ 

I immediately went to phone my wife Jo. On unlocking my phone I saw the stream of messages from her asking how it went. At that point I broke down in tears, the emotion of the moment overwhelming me. I’d trained hard for this for 6 months, visualising that very moment of crossing the line with my band intact. After losing my band the previous day I’d been resigned to likely not being able to keep it on the 15k. But I had. I cannot tell you the elation that comes with achieving your goals after so much hard work. It is indescribable. There’s a Facebook post of me crying straight after the race and I’m not ashamed at all. This was my raw emotion, no pretences, no guards.

Team Relay

Day 3 was the team race which was a relay with 3 legs. I ran in a co-ed team with 2 women, 1 from Scotland the other from Australia. One did a running leg, the other a strength leg (the heavy carries up hills) and I was doing the final obstacle leg. I was feeling pretty confident on the obstacles by now however after 2 consecutive days my arms were pretty sore and I wasn’t sure how I would fare. Natalie ran the first leg in a good time and handed over to Leanne for the strength leg. Leanne was a machine climbing those hills with ease and handed over to me for the final leg. I smashed through all my obstacles and headed for the final obstacle. This was where the team had to work together to climb the final wall. The difference here was that the lower ropes had been removed so you had to work as a team to get over. A light drizzle had already made this wall pretty slippery but as we approached the heavens opened and the wall became a torrent of water. We decided to form a ladder with both girls on my shoulders. With the 2 of them on the top of the wall I used what little upper body strength I had left to grab one of their arms and they both helped me over the wall. We crossed the finish line hand in hand with huge grins on our faces. We all had our bands and we finished a respectable 48th out of 139 co-ed teams (unofficial results).

To compete for Team UK and be out there with athletes from all over the world (67 Nations competed) was simply incredible. The camaraderie out on course was second to none. No matter which country you were from there was support from other competitors and spectators alike. I met some awesome people out on those hills. After my races I was out on course supporting other members of Team UK feeling their pain and cheering their success. OCR is like nothing else on the planet. This is our sport’s Olympics and I feel humbled to have been part of it.  But now I want more. Next year I will be better prepared, faster and stronger. Bring it!