Tips on how to complete 3 Obstacle Races in 1 day .
Yesterday I completed three obstacle races in 1 day. The plan was to do 4 but between traffic and bad Florida weather, the fourth obstacle race became impossible. If you ever one to try the OCR trifecta day, follow the 5 steps below and you will have no problems completing it. Enjoy!
All obstacle Racing athletes have thought of it, some have done it, and a few have mastered it. The idea of running three different obstacle races might sound crazy to the average person but it is a common goal of OCR athletes that either want more bling or can’t decide which event to run. So why not run them all? Below are the 5 things you must keep in mind when attempting multiple obstacle races in one day.
1. Be Realistic — First off, understand your capabilities as a runner, obstacle racer, OCR ninja or whatever description you have assigned to yourself! Picture this. It’s Saturday night, you just come back from a race and your post-event depression, combined with excess adrenaline and remnants of energy shots has now clogged your neurons. At the same time, you stalk Facebook for today’s obstacle race pictures. You then realize that 2 months from now, you have an open weekend. You desperately search on MudRunFun event listing for events and you find out that there are three events that Saturday, all within 100 miles of each other. Your eyes open wide and all those OCR deprivation alarms in your head go off. Suddenly, you are convinced that you can successfully complete three obstacle races without considering all the logistics associated with such and endeavor. Do yourself a favor. Count to 500, freeze your credit card on a block of ice and take a cold shower. Then wait 24 hours, eat a solid breakfast and think about doing these three obstacle races one last time. This time, you will have replaced the excess adrenaline with OCR pain from the race you did the day before. If it does sound like a great idea. Proceed to step 2.
2. Never go at it Alone — I have done it alone and I have done it with company and let me tell you, if an obstacle race sucks when you run it on your own, guess how much it sucks to run three obstacle races on your own…. plus all the driving in between? Also, keep in mind that meeting people at the obstacle race is not the same as running it with someone. You will be rushing through this obstacle race, and you will not be hanging out afterward. Your stay at the OCR will look like this: Arrive, Run and Depart. Make sure you Arrive, Run and Depart with at least one other athlete. He or she will be your travelling buddy for the whole day. Make sure you both understand that whoever is the slower runner will dictate the pace of your joint adventure and will ultimately decide whether you can cover all three obstacle races. I recommend you get someone of approximately the same pace, and is as excited as you are about completing this trifecta of obstacle races.
3. Schedule, schedule, schedule — The most important aspect of this odyssey is to have your times right. These include your travel times between obstacle races as well as the time it takes you to complete each obstacle race. Always include 15–30 minutes before and after each event to account for parking delays, check in, wave waiting, any unprecedented delays on the obstacle course, cleaning up and off course, drinking your free beer after the event. Do not get occupied with unnecessary socializing, showering or buying overpriced BBQ turkey legs. All your necessary items to complete your journey will be in your car.
4. Supplies— If you have run a Ragnar Relay before, you know exactly how alternating running and driving will be. You will also understand that 105% of your supplies will be in your vehicle at all time. The basics are clothing and nutrition. I recommend that you have 1 set of clothing for each obstacle race, and this includes three pairs of running shoes. If it is a rainy day, you will appreciate having a new set of clothing waiting for you in the car. Also, don’t forget to bring a towel! Bring one for each obstacle race. You will most likely not shower in between obstacle races but, if you do, the towel is on standby. As far as nutrition goes, make sure you have a lot of small healthy snacks that will get you through the day. Do not stop and eat at Wawa until you are done for the day! If you do that, you will food comma and your day will be over. Good snacks to have onboard are pickles and pickle juice, honey, mustard packets, granola bars, fruits, beef jerky and P&J sandwiches. You want to treat this like you would an endurance event.
5. Have fun while you hate yourself. Not going to lie! At some point on your third event you will probably hate yourself. But all obstacle racing athlete know that hating yourself and having fun at the same time is a fairly normal thing. Laugh at the little things and enjoy every moment because it is not often that you have the opportunity to participate in this many obstacle races in one day. Also, stay safe. If your knees start hurting or you begin to see things, make sure to have a OCR partner that will slap you in the face and tell you that the next event’s finisher medal is not worth a trip to the hospital.
