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writers OCRkids
Gavin Caballero Kid OCR Runner
Mike Murphy Elite Racer South East Region
Nabilah Fountain NASM Certified Trainer Nutrition Coach
Arnel Banawa
OCR Athlete / Certified Trainer Team Dynasty www.ocrtube.com
Muddy Mommy
OCR Athlete / Blogger www.muddymommy.com
Roger Smith, PhD.
OCR Athlete / Prolific Author www.newbluefit.com
Whats inside this issue? “Over the Wall” Roger Smith, PhD.........................pg 1 OCRkids Gavin Caballero.......................... pg 9
Athlete Spotlight Mike Murphy.............................pg 11 “Perfect Practice Makes Perfect” Nabilah Fountain.......................pg 13 Team Dynasty Arnel Banawa.............................pg 19 “Salomon Fellraiser Trail Shoe Review” Muddy Mommy.............................pg 23
Why would you ever want to climb over a six foot
hallmarks of mud running that makes it so exciting
wall? Escape route after stealing fruit from your
and attractive to people. So do not be shy to ask for a
neighbor’s tree? Running from your girlfriend’s dad?
boost if you can’t tackle a wall on your own.
A starring role on Cops (whatcha gonna do when
4 Foot:
they come from you)? Raise your hand if you have done any of these.
These small walls are meant to warm you up for the bigger ones. They challenge you to pull, push,
So how prepared are you when you come face-to-
and jump your way through. The way over is to put
face with a mud run 4’, 6’, or 8’ wall? Or the dreaded
your hands on top and pull while jumping one foot
quarter-pipe Colossus at Savage? Most people have
to the top. Then swing the other foot up and hop
no technique for conquering these; they just throw
down the other side. One of these is not so hard, but
themselves upward and hope for the best. But there
5 in a row can wear you down. As you become tired,
are some really effective techniques that can make
just slow down and be especially careful on your
the process more successful and less bloody.
landing. More people get hurt coming down than
To begin, you should know that it is ok to get help from a friend to get over a wall. Many of these obstacles are made specifically to build
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going up. 6 Foot: If you are six foot tall or more, you may be able
camaraderie between runners
to get over this wall without any special technique.
who need each other to
You can just jump up, grab the top of the wall with
complete them. This emergent
both hands and do a pull-up. From there you have
teamwork is one of the
several choices. The most common is to pull one leg
sideways to the top of the wall so you are hooking it with three appendages – you’re a monkey. Then you pull with your leg and arms until your upper body rolls over the top of the wall. There is no need to sit up on the top unless you are posing for a picture. It is less work to stay in your roll, take yourself over the wall, reverse your grip on the top of the wall and let yourself down the other side. Let at least one foot slide down the wall as you descend. It takes weight off of your arms, prevents knee scrapes, and lessens the impact the ground at the bottom. There is also “Parkour” approach to getting over these walls. You can actually run part way up a vertical wall. This is tricky to explain in words, so you will want to watch it on some of the video links provided. Run up to the wall and place your first
Running. You start by running at the wall
foot on the wall between knee and hip height with
specifically to get some momentum up a few feet of
your knee bent for a spring. Then push in on the
the wall. Most people are just shooting to get high
wall while your upper body energy is still closing
enough to grab the first knot on the rope. But some
on the wall. When combined properly, these two
elites use this run to launch themselves all the way
energies will propel you upward. When you get the
to a top grab. It is a beautiful thing to watch. You
mix wrong your foot will just slide down the wall, or
should arrive at a race early to watch the elite waves
you will push yourself backward away from the wall,
do this because it won’t happen much in later waves.
or your face will keep going toward the wall. Watch
But, back to your run. If you have practiced the
the videos and practice, practice, practice. This
Parkour method above, it can be used to get a lot
“walk up the wall” technique is essential if the wall is
more height on this wall as well. If you can combine
too high for a boost or a jump to catch the top.
your forward momentum with the right push from
Pipes Many races have a quarter pipe wall, usually including ropes hanging from the top. These can be 15 or 20 feet tall and are usually the grand finale of the course, such as The Colossus at the Savage Race.
your foot you seem to defy gravity and just keep running up the wall. You won’t be able to do it just because you watched the video. This takes real practice. Clambering. Once you have a grip on the rope
These take a different approach. They combine (1)
you are ready to clamber. This is not a rope climbing
running, (2) clambering, (3) rope scaling, and (4)
exercise. Get your feet under you and stand up on
summiting.
the wall with your body making an L-shape with the wall – legs out, body upright.
Rope Scaling. Using your hands and feet together walk up the rope and the wall at the same time. It is
8 Foot: The eight foot wall is where things become really
just a few feet to the top edge. This requires that the
fun. You can get over it with any combination of
wall provide some traction (like Savage). If the wall
height, strength, and technique. The more you have
is slick as glass (like Superhero Scramble) you will
of one, the less you need of each of the other two.
not be able to walk up it because your feet will slip
Summiting. Congratulations, you have reached
straight out from under you. In this case, you need to pull with your arms and hop outward with your feet. Each hop will take you a couple of feet up the wall. Hop-pull, hop-pull, until you are at the top. Six foot walls are rare on courses. Most designers
the top of the pipe. It should be simple to pull yourself over the edge and onto the platform. But by this time you are probably exhausted. Summiting is a real chore. There are at least four ways to get up. First, the Parkour method. Switch your hands
prefer many four footers or a single eight footer.
from the rope to the top edge and hang back so
Tall, springy people will use the same technique at
that your arms are straight and your legs are bent
six feet that they did at four feet. Grab top. Pull up.
under you. Then jump out with your legs and pull in
Jump. One foot on top. Second foot on top. Hop
with your arms at the same time. This will put your
down the other side. The only difference will be that
chest on the top of the wall. From there it is an easy
your hanging leg will want to bang against the wall
crawl to get the rest of your body up. The second
when you jump. You want to point your foot, pull
method is to switch your hands from the rope to
the toes back and take this bang on your foot instead
the top edge, pull up to your chest, and bring one
of on your knee. That will eliminate one bloody
foot up to the lip like you did on the eight foot wall.
scrape from your race.
Use all three to roll yourself up onto the platform.
For shorter people or those with little hop in their step, this is where you get help. Ask another runner for a boost. They generally offer this with a hand cradle to step in. Another good option is for them to put their back against the wall, bend their knees, and let you use their thighs as a step stool. Occasionally you will see someone get down on all fours and let a partner step on their back. This is not a great idea – too prone to injure the human footstool. If you need a boost on the six footer, you are going to need the same thing on the eight footer.
Third, all arms. Just pull yourself up, get your chest up on the platform, push up with your arms, and step onto the top. Fourth, reach out to the helping hands of the volunteers who are right there ready to make you succeed. Any of these will work and all are acceptable. Even after dozens of races I have occasionally needed those helping hands to finish a course when I was too exhausted to do all of the work myself. That’s it. Now all you need is practice … and more practice. So when you see the helicopter search light, feel the breath of a uniformed officer behind you,
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and hear “whatcha gonna do when they come for you”, no wall is going to slow you down.
Checkout YouTube for some great tips. Camp Rhino 6’ Wall Climb: http://youtu.be/jiTZ57xfr5Q Camp Rhino 8’ Wall Climb: http://youtu.be/bAkCrx1wwNM Jesse La Flair Parkour 14’ Climb-up: http://youtu.be/08x3P2E122U Simple Parkour Climb-up: http://youtu.be/wyvntz46-WM Tapp Brothers Parkour Wall Climb: http://youtu.be/ckiiCmyK9QQ
Dr. Roger Smith is a researcher at Florida Hospital, author, and avid mud runner. He competes with the old guys in every mud run around Central Florida. This column was drawn from his book The New Blueprint for Fitness: Mud Run Edition, which is available at Amazon.com. http://www.NewBlueFit.com/
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9
I am Mike “Blaze” Murphy 42 years young and I
that we “runners” would not beat him on an obstacle
am an OCR Addict! This sport has become the new
course. To make a long story short he ate his words
passion in my competitive life. I ran competitively in
three times over when a high school runner, my coach
High School and College where I was an NAIA All-
and myself (who won it) all beat him. I loved the race
American in the 3,000m Steeplechase in 1993. After
and especially loved the after party and camaraderie of
college I coached college athletes for a couple of years
the runners as it is much different than the road race
while trying to finish up my degree and working full
circuit. Still after Warrior Dash I wasn’t sold on OCR
time. Then life kept pitching me curveballs and I got
events so I did the road race circuit for a couple of
away from anything outside of working hard to feed
years and concentrated on my 5k PR and qualifying for
my family.
Boston Marathon.
In February of 2000 my life changed forever
Now fast forward to summer of 2013 and my
and with that a new fire in my belly started to rise
new addiction to OCR. I needed something to get me
again. That’s when I got hired by the Sanford Fire
going, something that was different yet challenging
Department and was introduced to the testosterone
but that would still keep me running so that I could
fueled brotherhood of professional Fire Fighters. One
re-qualify for Boston. I found it on Facebook… “The
thing you should know about me is that I am one of the
Intimidator” at Rock on Adventures. I knew Jonny,
most competitive individuals you will ever meet. In
and how intense he is from Track Shack and I was
the fire service there is never a shortfall of challenges,
keeping up with the progress of his signature race
challengers, obstacles, or competition. From pulling
The Highlander. So I knew he wasn’t blowing smoke
hose in the station, intestinal fortitude food challenges,
when he marketed how grueling and challenging The
rope rescue competitions, Guns-vs-Hoses sports
Intimidator would be. Nobody knew I was entered
events, extrication competitions, stair climbs, and the
for the race or knew who the heck I was when I got on
fire fighter Olympics we have everything. Eventually
the starting line but those 11+ miles, and the people
this all led me back to my roots of running.
I met at the race made me an addict. I busted up my
I did my first OCR in 2011 at Warrior Dash in Tampa. This race was actually just a social event my Track Shack training group and coach wanted to do for
11
fun, but that all changed when a very well-known competitive triathlete told one of our members
feet on that course and remember more than once thinking “when is this race ever going to end”. I loved the challenges it possessed and the satisfaction I got from beating back the demons in my head the last four miles. To top it all off I met Quentin, Troy, Jose, and OCR’s most humble genuine down to earth champion David “Der T Runner” Blanchard that day and it
sealed the deal. That night after talking to those guys, sharing war stories, a couple of brews, and a few laughs I signed up for the Tri-Fecta (HogWild, Monster Challenges, and Highlander) plus this little race called the Mile of Pain. Then the next day I got a message from Damion to become a member of MRF Elite and I whole heartily accepted. The next month was a blur of facebook messages, call-outs, and just good competitive fun with a bunch of guys and gals from MudRUnFun. I actually started writing down goals and keeping a training log again. My passion for competition started coming back and it grew stronger and stronger the more Troy and Dave would tell me this guy or that guy is going to be there to challenge you. I did very well in those races aside from a disappointing DNF in the Mile of Pain and along the way I forged some great relationships with some of the greatest people I have ever had the pleasure to be around. Oh and I did re-qualify for Boston 2015 in October thanks to OCR getting me back on the horse. Now I just need to get healthy so I can forge ahead and conquer new goals.
In closing I can say that I have competed
against Olympic athletes, ran on national stages in cross-country, track, and on the roads but I never felt like my heart was in it until I started competing in OCR. Thanks to the MRF family and your OCRGrinders you will see me toeing the line at an event near you and as always MURRUNFUN will be my chant! -Blaze
Perfect Practice Makes Perfect by: Nabilah Fountain
http://liveintheskinny.wordpress.com When it comes to exercise, form is everything. I see it all too often, people picking things up just to put them back down with no real rhyme or reason as to what they
Instead, try for a challenging but manageable number to ensure a killer workout that doesn’t beat down your joints. Improper progression: Sadly this is a major factor in
are doing. What they fail to realize is the more times they
a lot of gyms today. People walking in that have never
perform at that level they are putting unnecessary wear
worked out a day in their life doing Olympic lifts before
and tear on ligaments and tendons they shouldn’t be
they learn how to perform a functional squat. It’s common
straining in the first place. Eventually over time, this will
sense to master something before you move on to the
result in muscular imbalances that will lead to dysfunction
next level. This is why babies learn to roll over before they
and ultimately injury. There are many common reasons
crawl; crawl before they walk; and walk before they run.
people perform a less than perfect rep. Let’s take a look at 2
It’s part of our progression. You cannot perform a perfect
and see what impact it has on the body.
rep with weight if you haven’t performed it without. Your
Excessive rep count: Performing too many reps of one exercise does not only lack in efficiency but it’s downright reckless. Believe it or not the body has its limits and needs time to recover before performing again. THE RECOVERY IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS THE WORK.
best chance at perfecting any exercise is to start from the origin of the movement then work your way up. Jumping right into an advanced move will increase your chance of spending more time recovering and less time working. Workouts aren’t just about
With that being said, when performing an exercise
difficulty; they are designed to
muscles are being recruited to execute the movement.
increase performance safely
Over repetition will result in fatigue of the primary
and effectively with proper
muscles forcing the body to rely on the smaller muscles
technique and form. Practice
around them to perform the exercise. These muscles are
doesn’t make perfect. Perfect
simply not built to take on the brunt of the work. Over
practice makes perfect.
use of these smaller muscles increases your risk of injury.
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Team Highlig h
t
www.fb.com/teamdynastyocr Before I even begin to tell you what Team
help people achieve their goals, and live a healthy
Dynasty OCR (Obstacle Course Racing) is all about,
and fulfilling life and that goal remains the same
I have to first tell you where it all started, and how it
till this day! As more men joined our fitness team,
all began. I remember the day when I finally decided
we decided to come up with a general name to
to start my fitness journey back in September of
fit not just the women on our team, but also the
2010, I would have never have thought that my first
men “because let’s face it, what type of guy wants
day of P90X would eventually lead to becoming a
to be called a Bombshell” =), so thinking about
Beachbody Coach and helping thousands of people
our options, we decided on a name and Team
all over the world reach their ultimate health and
Dynasty was born. As OCR started to gain massive
fitness goals, but to also test those results out on
popularity, more and more of our fitness coaches
a plethora of obstacle course races from Florida,
were getting more involved, and saw this as an
Canada to California, and everywhere in between.
opportunity to help motivate the people who wanted
Here’s something that a lot of people do not know about us, but Team Dynasty OCR wasn’t always about Obstacle Course Racing. Our team first got the name from our original Beachbody Coach Team back in 2010, which was called the BOMBSHELL DYNASTY =). The Bombshell Dynasty (based in Tampa, Fl) was founded by my very good friend, and Coach Lindsay Matway. Our main focus was to
to not just look good in front of a mirror, but to also get outside and really test their fitness abilities, and what better way to do this by participating at one of the most, if not the best overall fitness events in the world….Obstacle Course Racing! And again… we came up with an OCR specific group to do just that - Team Dynasty OCR! Our exclusive coaching team has grown from 5 coaches in 2010 to over 9,000+ coaches and growing faster every day! The
most amazing part is that this number doesn’t include the countless numbers of people who run with us because they are inspired by our mission. And again, our team is not just about Obstacle Course Racing, we do not pride ourselves with being the most hardcore competitive team out there, it’s NOT about that, it’s about helping people in all aspects of their lives whether that be fitness or financial, and that’s why I believe that we are growing so fast. Team Dynasty OCR (www.fb.comTeamDynastyOCR) believes that everyone was born to be athletes. It doesn’t
matter how slow you are, if you have a disability, or if you are in shape, out of shape, from a different country…. we welcome you as part of our family. We actually welcome first-time OCR racers to run with us because we know how nervous people can be, because we’ve been there =). And what’s always accommodating to the people who run with us is that we NEVER LEAVE ANYONE BEHIND. Team Dynasty OCR does run competitive at some races, but it is never about being the BEST, it is always about trying to help other people become better than we are, which brings us back to what we are all about, and what our mission is “Helping People Achieve their Goals and Live a Healthy and Fulfilling Life”. This is only the beginning for Team Dynasty OCR. We are all about giving back, and we are currently working on projects such as UAR Global (www.UrbanAssualtRun.com), which is focused on “charity based” Global
Strength Running events. This project was started to help build “strength� around the world, and and to help end the trend of obesity. Our team consists of people from all walks of life and backgrounds. We take pride in building a team based on integrity and positivity. If you are passionate about health and fitness, want to start a fitness journey, and love helping others, than we welcome you to run with our team. For more information, please contact Arnel Banawa: www.fb.com/arnelbanawa or any member of the Team Dynasty OCR group. You can also check out our OCR Challenge site where it is focused on Fitness Challenges to help anyone train for life, as well as OCR. See you at the next race!
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http://www.muddymommy.com Product Review: Salomon Fellraiser Trail Shoe Just a few months back, while slipping and sliding
When my shoes arrived, I fell instantly in love. I even wondered initially how I’d ever bring myself
through an awesomely muddy course with a few
to get them dirty! They are rugged and sturdy, yet
friends, I made the comment that I really needed
still girly enough to make a momma who runs in the
to invest in a good pair of trail shoes. As much as I
mud in her spare time feel fashionable. The purple
love my Mizuno Wave Rider‘s for training and road
and mint green design is visually appealing, yet you
races, they just don’t provide the grip that I’d like
can tell from holding them that these are shoes that
to have when tackling slick hills and slippery, wet
mean business out on the course.
obstacles. I needed something that was made for
The Fellraiser’s are lightweight and very
mud, that would give me the traction I needed while
comfortable. The shoe itself fits like a glove, and
out on the course; It was time to make a change in
provides cushioning that makes your foot extremely
footwear.
comfortable while not adding additional weight.
The mud running shoe genie must have heard my lament, because I arrived home later that day to an email from a representative of Salomon, a company specializing in hiking and trail running shoes, offering to send me a pair of their Fellraiser trail shoes to test out. I immediately agreed, and
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They are specifically designed to provide quality grip in both mud and snow. Since receiving them, I have had the opportunity to test them out in several different style mud and obstacle races, and also took them out for a 10 mile trail run. Each race they have impressed me, as their performance is stellar. Their grip while climbing
eagerly awaited the arrival of
muddy slopes and shimmying up ropes has been a
my new shoes.
godsend. After slogging through water, they drain
quickly and efficiently to prevent heavy, sloshy shoes that weigh down running on dry ground. During trail running, they maneuver turns and attack hills with stellar performance. And if that’s not all, they are incredibly comfortable. Long story short, I love these shoes. And now that I’ve been spoiled with such a fantastic trail shoe, I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to go back to simply running in my recycled road shoes. So if you ever find yourself shopping around for a trail shoe that’s not just dependable, but also sturdy, comfortable, and good looking, look no further than the Salomon Fellraiser, I guarantee you won’t regret your decision. A huge thank you to the folks at Salomon for providing me the opportunity to test out such a great pair of shoes! It is greatly appreciated! ~Holly
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