Obstacle Race Magazine Issue 10 by Obstacle Race Magazine

FREE! THE ULTIMATE OCR SHOE GUIDE - 22 MODELS REVIEWED! ISSUE 10 AUG/SEPT ‘15 £4.95

SUPPORTING YOU THROUGH ALL YOUR MUDDY ADVENTURES

NUTRITIONAL ADVICE

RACE REVIEWS

LETTERS TRAINING

PROFILES

GEAR TESTING

AND MUCH MORE

BEAR GRYLLS

THE INTERVIEW BEGINNERS DO’S AND DON’TS GUIDE DO YOU BURN MORE FAT ON AN EMPTY STOMACH?

BASELAYERS AND ICEBUGS INSIDE

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IMPROVE YOUR GRIP STRENGTH

mud monsters run Probably the muddiest obstacle race you will do in !

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MANAGING DIRECTOR Kevin Newey kevin@obstacleracemagazine.com 07932 411592 EDITOR Carl Wibberley carl@obstacleracemagazine.com 01246 241780 ADVERTISING Tom De Planta tom@mud7.com 07747 692080 SUBSCRIPTIONS Caroline Newey caroline@obstacleracemagazine.com 07827 962542 DESIGNED BY RAWWW www.rawww.com 0845 371 0993 PUBLISHED BY Spuddy Media Ltd, 370 Wheelwright Lane, Ash Green Coventry, CV7 9HL PRINTED BY

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CONTRIBUTORS

WELCOME It’s so good to be back racing again. With a couple of multi-event weekends back under my belt, and with guidance from Lee Pickering at Lets Run, I’m back on the right track running again. I’m starting to feel like the uphill struggle to fitness is flattening out a little, even if my stomach is still fighting the fact. With everything we’ve had going on its been hard to focus on much else apart from the magazine and Mudnificent 7, but with an awesome partner like Kevin, he’s made the experience enjoyable and he’ll be putting on a cracking show as his maiden voyage as the Race Director of a major event. I really do want everyone to give him a big muddy pat on the back at MUD7 because everything you enjoy that day will have been thanks to his hard work and determination. To be just 100 tickets away from a total sell out with our first event is an amazing place to be. We’re at the stage now where things are falling into place nicely. Anyway back to the issue at hand, shoes. Probably our second biggest investment in OCR after our race tickets, so you want to make sure you get the right fit. In this issue we give you all the information you could wish for to help you choose the right shoe for your challenge.

JOEL HICKS Always With A Smile STUART AMORY Georges journey part 2 RUPERT BONINGTON Keeping the fun in fun running SCOTT SEEFELDT Beginners guide to the Do’s and don’ts of OCR COACH MICHAEL WILDFORESTGYM Training COACH EMMA Bootcamp Revolution Training VINCE JAMES In Sickness and In Filth LUCY CLAY Improve your grip strength ACHILLEA KYRIAKOU Is Caffeine bad for us Do you burn more fat on an empty stomach TONY MARDON Nuclear family LAURA TRY Airfield Anarchy

SEE YOU IN THE MUD

Carl

(Editor)

RACHAEL BREWITT Mud Monsters

COVER COURTESY OF Bear Grylls Ventures

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Every effort is made to ensure that the advertising and editorial content in Obstacle Race Magazine is supplied from reliable and reputable sources and is contributed with integrity and accuracy. However no warranties or claims can be made against Obstacle Race Magazine in respect of the contents OR the views of individuals who do not necessarily represent the views of the Magazine, Spuddy Media Ltd or the Publisher ISSN 2053-9495

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CONTENTS KIT TESTING

PROFILES

FEATURES

Issue 10 Aug/Sept 2015 We have everything from personal profiles to kit testing to deliver your fix of OCR between races.

REGULARS

RACE REVIEWS

FEATURES 8 BEGINNERS GUIDE TO TRAIL RUNNING Your guide to getting out on the trails

16 CHOOSING THE RIGHT SHOES FOR YOU

Our guide to buying the shoes that meet your OCR needs

19 MOUNTAIN FUELLED Mountain Fuel help guide you

36 DO YOU BURN MORE FAT ON AN EMPTY STOMACH?

Is it fact or fiction? Does exercising on an empty stomach help burn more fat?

52 TRANSITIONING INTO MINIMALIST SHOES

Coach Michael of Wildforestgym helps you transition safely into minimalist shoes, minimising your chances of injury

56 MUDNIFICENT 7 REVEALED A little more information on what to expect for Mudnificent 7 now that D-Day is getting close

72 IMPROVING YOUR GRIP STRENGTH Lucy guides you through the best steps to upping your grip strength ready for race day

74 IN SICKNESS AND IN FILTH Vince takes a peak into the world of our ever suffering OCR weekend widows

84 FROM THE UK TO THAILAND

Nick James tells you what it’s like running an event in Asia

92 SHOE CARE GUIDE

They can be one of the most expensive items in our race kit arsenal, learn how to take care of them

102 IS CAFFEINE BAD FOR US Time for all the coffee drinkers to take note

104 END TO END FEST

Learn more about what Reaper events have planned for their world record breaking challenge

106 BEGINNERS DO’S AND DON’TS GUIDE

Scott shares with you all the mistakes he made when starting out in OCR 6

Obstacle Race | Issue 10

BEAR GRYLLS SURVIVAL RACE THE INTERVIEW.

Kevin gets the lowdown on this hotly anticipated event

KIT TESTING 96 SHOE GUIDE

Our guide to some of the top picks of OCR shoes to meet your every need

RACE REVIEWS 26 AIRFIELD ANARCHY

Laura guides us through a weekend of OCR, MUSIC and MUD

62 AN EARLY TASTE OF SUFFERING Imagine taking on The Pain and Suffering at just 14

PROFILES 30 GEORGE’S JOURNEY PART TWO

Stuart fills us in on how George has been getting on in his adventures

80 FIGHTING THE MUD MONSTERS

Rachael lets us know how she got on at one of the muddiest OCR courses.

88 A NUCLEAR FAMILY

Tony tells us all about what its like to take on an OCR as a family unit

108 RAT RACE DIRTY WEEKEND

Let me tell you how editor Carl became a filthy Mucker

REGULARS 12 ALWAYS WITH A SMILE

Follow Joel and the teams amazing journeys to make the world smile

20 MUDDY RACE

The Muddy Race guys and girls ask - ‘Are you making OCRs biggest mistakes?’

24 HEALTH HACKS

Helping you with life little hacks to better health and fitness

38 DEGENERATE DISCS SCIATICA AND SCOLIOSIS LIFE

Coach Michael of Wildforestgym tells us more about himself

42 BRITISH MILITARY FITNESS

British Military Fitness tell us how their support has helped Team inov-8 OCR in their challenges

48 MUDTREST PAGES Show off your latest achievement

66 RECIPE PAGES

Offering up recipe ideas to fuel your training and recovery

68 REINVENTING THE WHEEL PART TWO

Bootcamp Revolution show you how a simple piece of kit like a tyre can step up your training

94 LETTERS PAGE

We share your thoughts on OCR with the community

111 CAPTION COMPETITION

A picture paints a thousand words and wins prizes, but we just need you just need to add the words

112 OCR PLACES TO TRAIN

All the places which will help make you into an OCR machine

114 EVENT LISTINGS

All the events taking place over the coming months

RECIPE PAGES

Offering up recipe ideas to fuel your training and recovery

Issue 10 | Obstacle Race

FEATURE: BEGINNERS GUIDE TO TRAIL RUNNING

BEGINNERS GUIDE

TO TRAIL

RUNNING WRITTEN BY: CARL WIBBERLEY PHOTOGRAPHY BY: WWW.MOUNTAINFUEL.CO.UK

To be a good obstacle racer you’ll have to not only be able to conquer the obstacles put in your way, but also be a confident runner on the trails that the courses are set on. So it’s time you left the roads behind and headed to the trails. Fresh air and tranquility are only a few of the reasons you should be running away from the busy streets and into the wild woods and hills.

THE BENEFITS Compared to hitting the pavement, trail running burns 10% more calories, while improving balance and agility. During the race you’ll get a tough workout due to the uneven terrain demanding more lateral movements (think dodging branches and avoiding rocky patches), that keep the core engaged. Trail running also helps to prepare the same muscles with every step. Whilst on the trails you’ll be helping strengthen your ankles and hips, and they also help reduce the impact on joints compared to the pavement. Trail running, with all its bouncing around, also strengthens your ankles, dramatically cutting the chances of a dreaded sprained ankle on race day, which currently makes up 99% of the listed race day injuries. Another benefit of getting outside on the trails is that as the seasons change you will acclimatise to the temperature changes. This will help you loads come race day.

Obstacle Race | Issue 10

HOW TO GET STARTED If you’re ready to take to the trails, follow these beginners tips of what you should know before hitting them for the first time. You don’t have to trek into the deepest darkest forests to begin with. Trail running includes anything that is off-road and away from paved surfaces. It could be as simple as a bike path or just running on grass, dirt or sand. Your first trail run can be a real eye opener. With uneven ground underfoot and wayward branches overhead, it’s best to run conservatively and keep your eyes on your feet to avoid nasty falls. Rough ground and increased twists and turns can seem tough at first, but regularly heading off-road will help you cultivate stronger ankles, knees and quads, solid core stability, and a sharper running technique which are a real winning combination for race day. A great

place for beginners to get started would be on flat terrain, perhaps with a cross-country run in the grass of a local park. Since you’ll still be around other people, you don’t have to worry about getting lost. From there, if you want to up your game, consider joining a local trail running group as the members will have loads of tried and tested routes to share.

THE RIGHT GEAR FOR THE JOB While you’re probably not going to reach OCR levels of filthiness, you’re likely to get pretty dirty in a more rugged environment, so wear clothing you don’t mind getting messy or maybe even ripped. The trails are an ideal environment to test your race day clothes and shoes. Clothing - wise, make sure you carry aprotective layer with you in case the weather takes a turn for the worse. This layer can be as

FEATURE: BEGINNERS GUIDE TO TRAIL RUNNING

# TRAIL RUNNING BURNS 10% MORE CALORIES THAN ROAD RUNNING

More than 5.8 million runners around the country have already discovered an allnatural running high in the great outdoors

Issue 10 | Obstacle Race

FEATURE: BEGINNERS GUIDE TO TRAIL RUNNING

# STRONG ANKLES WILL KEEP YOU TROTTING ON THROUGH WHATEVER TERRAIN THE COURSE THROWS UNDER FOOT

simple as a wind stopper jacket in a bum bag. Shoes - whatever running shoes you normally race in are generally fine but you may want to invest in a less aggressive pair for the more groomed trails. Just like any adventure, it’s best to prepare so try to carry water.

SAFETY FIRST If you do progress out of the local park and start to explore more remote locations, you’ll need to think of trail running with the same precautions you would use for a hike in the Lakes. Always tell someone where you’re going and pack a mobile phone if possible. This is when it becomes a good idea to run with friends if possible. You’ll be amazed how fast the miles go by while listening to the

FINALLY 10

Obstacle Race | Issue 10

sound track of nature. With trail running, you’ll need to be more conscious about where you’re stepping. As you run, look a few yards ahead of you on the trail to watch for trail markers — and so you don’t trip on tree roots or land head first in a muddy puddle, unless its intentional of course.

START OFF SLOWLY On smaller trails, it’s proper etiquette to be courteous to walkers and hikers. So don’t blow right by them just because you’re faster; maintain a safe distance between other runners and let faster runners go ahead of you. If you’re obsessive about your Strava numbers, recognise that trail running is more about effort level than splits and pace per mile.

Runners will usually be much slower on trails than they are on roads, due to the challenges of the natural terrain and its unforeseen obstacles that force you to slow down. So be ready to reset your PR’s and go in search of new ones. Unlike road running, walking is not frowned upon or considered “giving up” in an OCR due to the terrain we run on. Walking up steep hills will be one of the most important ways of you getting to the finish line. Walking is a very valid part of racing and very few people literally ‘run’ every step.” To get you hooked when you’re out on the trails, try to capture those special moments that get you most excited, this will keep you going back for more. It could be as simple as taking in a mighty view or unique vantage point to unearth the beauty of the trails.

Enjoy yourself! Don’t get hung up on how fast or how far you’re running - instead, take the time to fully appreciate the best the British countryside has to offer! All that’s left to do is get out there now and enjoy the trails.

REGULARS: ALWAYS WITH A SMILE

ALWAYS WITH A SMILE The ‘Always With A Smile’ foundation has three main aims. Firstly, to raise money and awareness for charities and good causes. Secondly, to inspire people to do something that they had never before considered. And ﬁnally, to make the world a happier place by putting a smile on the face of as many people as possible. Zip World, White Water Rafting, The Ram Run, The Maldon Mud Race, World Water Bombing Championships, An Evening With Manu Tuilagi, Gill Bond Birthday, Spartan Race Sprint Allianz Park, Nuclear Races, Tetbury Woolsack Races, Color Run London, Adapt Ladies Night, Airﬁeld Anarchy, Spartan Sprint South Wales & Sexy Bingo ‘Beast Cancer Campaign’

Obstacle Race | Issue 10

REGULARS: ALWAYS WITH A SMILE

How much can you fit in to one issue? Since my last article the ‘Always With A Smile’ foundation has been involved in no less than 14 different events, and that means that in the first 6 months of 2015 we have racked up an incredible 33 different events across the board! With the limited space that Editor-in-Chief Carl Wibberley gives me (maybe an AWAS booklet to accompany the magazine would be a good idea… hint!) I could never hope to cover everything in depth, but what I can tell you is that since the last issue the foundation has barely had time to catch its breath. In April we held our first North Wales Adventure, which involved both a trip to Zip World to ride the longest zip line in the northern hemisphere (reaching speeds exceeding 100mph) as well as white water rafting! Everyone that came on the trip had a fabulous time (and made it back in one piece!) and

the foundation is planning to return later this summer to the adrenaline capital of the UK. After such thrills and spills we were back in OCR territory, with the Ram Run… where I led a large team of ‘Smilers’ who, it has to be said, took to the course in true AWAS spirit. Now any OCR enthusiast who has challenged themselves to tackle the Ram Run will know what a brilliant event it is. It is organised by the legendary Iain Exeter, and his enthusiasm and passion has created one of the best OCR events in the country and it is a must for both the novice and elite runner alike. Having face-dived into a (not too deep) pool of mud on the Ram Run course, I arrived at the Maldon Mud Race the following day slightly disﬁgured to say the least. As an ambassador to undoubtedly the world’s muddiest race (and this isn’t an OCR, it is literally just a run through mud!), I had, back

in 2014, ran the 550 yard dash over the bed of the River Blackwater naked… This year, with the weather being somewhat chillier, there was no chance of a repeat of such antics! And so, I went dressed as the long haired ‘Cousin It’ from the Addams Family. It’s fair to say that the costume lasted all of ten yards before being sucked off and lost for eternity in the muddy vastness that greets you as you descend from the river banks, but a firebreathing show at the finish line helped to get the event some much needed national media attention, which is what the foundation can do for an event. Whilst still finding mud in various orifices and cracks, ‘Always With A Smile’ then made a return to the World Water Bombing Championships at Ponds Forge in Sheffield, in support of MacMillan Nurses. With me was Brian Gumbley, one of the

Issue 10 | Obstacle Race

REGULARS: ALWAYS WITH A SMILE

team at AWAS, and we took to the 3m platform to astound the judges with a selection of ‘bombs’ dressed as various Sylvester Stallone characters. Following a forward headstand on the edge of the board, and a spectacular flip and then face-plant, Brian gloriously secured the Individual World Water Bombing Championship crown, adding this world title to other AWAS achievements, such as the World Gravy Wrestling Championship, the World Clog Cobbing Championship and the King Fisher crown at the International Worthing Birdman. From such heroics, my services as the founder of AWAS were then being used to host an evening with a hero of another kind when, at the Windsor Tiffin in Burbage, I compered an evening with Leicester Tigers and England Rugby Legend Manu Tuilagu. Manu was a student of mine when he attended John Cleveland College, and it was wonderful to catch up with the big man himself. Following this tremendous night, from which a donation was made to the family of Rugby League player Danny Jones, who died most recently in tragic circumstances, ‘Always With A Smile’ undertook is first task on the ‘Raise A Smile’ project. This project aims to help make that 'someone special' smile again, no matter what they're going through, through a tailored 'surprise' organised by the team at the foundation. For our first ever task, we were asked by daughter Amanda to make her mother, Gill Bond’s, 73rd birthday something special. Amanda explained that Gill’s husband (her dad) suffers with dementia and that his condition has deteriorated significantly over the last 12 months. She told me,

Obstacle Race | Issue 10

“My mum looks after dad brilliantly, and I just want to make her smile on her birthday...” And so, on the afternoon of Gill’s 73rd birthday I showed up at her door with gifts of ﬂowers and chocolates to the delight and total surprise of Gill herself! To see the look on Gill’s face was just wonderful, and the foundation is very excited about its plans for this particular project over the coming months. With this reminder that it is the little things in life that really matter, I was back in OCR mode with two events on the same day. First up was the Spartan Race Sprint at Allianz Park to kick off the Spartan Race season... This was a ﬁrst for ‘Spartan’ and made an exciting change to the usual mud and glory of obstacle course racing... However, dressed as Napoleon, I’d not anticipated an issue with my costumes trouser elastic, which added to the hilarity of the race! With my heart still pounding, I jumped in the car to make it around to the other side of the London for the Nuclear Races event. Now, as many of you will know, the Nuclear Races obstacle course is one of the best and most popular OCR’s in the UK, and deservedly so… For Nuclear, AWAS had teamed up with Blesma, a charity which supports limbless service veterans in what was called a ‘Mud Is My Make Up’ challenge. Directly linked to the brilliant OCR blog of Francesca Chiorando Meredith. The challenge involved taking a group of

ladies, unaccustomed to the rigours of mud runs, and leading them around one of the toughest and dirtiest around... and boy they did brilliantly! I take my hat off to all of the ladies involved as, in addition to helping to raise £1,500 for a wonderful cause, they never gave up and kept their smiles (even when the tears started to flow) over 8km of extremely challenging terrain! It really was such a wonderful effort by everyone… With my legs still in pieces from the terrain at Nuclear, on Bank Holiday Monday we were back at the Tetbury Woolsack Races... one event which AWAS never misses. The races have no greater aim than for individuals and teams to demonstrate their strength and fitness by racing up and down a hill that reaches a gradient of 1 in 4 - whilst carrying a sack of wool. This year, I went dressed in oversized boxing gloves which meant carrying the sack was almost impossible... but my efforts were certainly enjoyed by the hundreds of spectators who line the street to watch each year. From Gloucester, the foundation was then back in the capital for the start of the Color Run season, yet another event which AWAS enjoys ambassador status. The actual run is great... it's fun (less than 5k), and you can walk, jog or even dance your way around... but the two things that most people talk about after they've experienced the Color Run is firstly the palpable buzz that lifts your mood like no other event; and secondly the 'Color Party' that takes place after you've crossed the finish line. The powder explosions that fill the air, along with the dance music and roars from the crowd, are just mind- blowing - and if you don't believe me, get yourself to

REGULARS: ALWAYS WITH A SMILE

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON WHAT JOEL AND HIS TEAM OF SMILERS GET YOU TO GO TO

ALWAYSWITHASMILE.COM

one of the remaining Color Runs taking place this summer. Having hosted an evening for Adapt (a small charity which provides support to families with premature and poorly babies on the neonatal units at Leicester Royal Infirmary), which saw Drag-Queen 'Miss Thunderpussy' take centre stage in what was a crude, yet hilariously funny, evening’s entertainment, I was then on my way to the Airfield Anarchy Obstacle Course Race in Nottingham, to meet up with a host of AWAS supporters who were also running in either 5k or 10k events on the Saturday or a 10 mile event on the Sunday... or all three! Dressed as Biggles in the 5k race, I had with me a cardboard plane which I intended to 'fly' around the course… and, in pretty awful

conditions, my plane held up pretty well... until I was required to submerge underwater that is at which point my plane fell apart. The highlight for me on this well thought out course was however, without doubt, the inflatable waterslide... and with a vertical descent at the top, I descended four times down the ramp... twice feet first, and then twice head first. Superb! My last OCR to cover in this issue was the Spartan Race Sprint in South Wales… Before the event, warnings were being disseminated online about the run being, how should I say… erm… ‘Hilly’… and true enough, that was certainly the case. What I hadn’t anticipated was the Spartan team introducing a new obstacle, that of the ‘fly

swarm’ which would attack you pretty much all the way around the course. I have to say, it’s pretty unusual to come off a course with ‘ﬂy poisoning’ having swallowed an inﬁnite number of the damn midges, whilst looking like I’d contracted German Measles along the way. Finally, last night, I hosted yet another ‘Sexy Bingo’ night, this time at the Castle Hotel in Tamworth, in aid of Breast Cancer Research. The ladies were, as always, up for a laugh… and I, once again, was reduced to wearing next to nothing… Boy, its strange how that seems to happen!

Issue 10 | Obstacle Race

FEATURE: THE RIGHT SHOES FOR YOU

CHOOSING THE

RIGHT SHOES

FOR YOU WRITTEN BY: CARL WIBBERLEY

Obstacle Race | Issue 10

FEATURE: THE RIGHT SHOES FOR YOU

Navigating the minefield of shoe choices available to us in the OCR market can be a nightmare for a new racer. Minimalist, cushioned, arch support and solid heel cups are just a few of the choices you’ll need to make when deciding on your first pair.

I’ve put this article together to offer you a little help in making an educated decision about which shoes will be right for you and your OCR adventures. Once you’ve narrowed your search down with the advice below then take a look at the shoe guide on pages 96-100 to find the right pair to suit your needs. The first thing you need to ask yourself is do you need your shoe to support you and your feet. By this I mean do you feel more comfortable with a certain amount of arch support or a more supportive/higher heel area to protect your ankles. These sorts of shoes usually have a larger amount of cushioning which helps to soften impacts and protect your joints. The more supportive shoes like

THE DURABILITY, WEIGHT BALANCE

Salomon for example, also have a higher heel to toe drop to go with the cushioning which makes them suitable for heel strikers and forefoot strikers. The only drawback to this shoe is that they do tend to be a little heavier and have more bulk to them. If you feel you don’t need the above support etc., then you’ll want to go down the more minimalist shoe route which describes a shoe that’s stripped back, lighter, and less supportive and has less cushioning. This sort of shoe suits a fore foot runner do to its lack of cushioning. The close to barefoot feel and low heel to toe drop keep you close to the ground, this gives you huge amounts of confidence in the worst of terrain.

The materials used in the sole and upper of this shoe are specifically chosen to give them maximum usage life span. On the opposite end of the spectrum you have the inov-8 Xtalon 190 which are super lightweight and the materials used reflect this, as you will get far fewer races from a pair, but they drain like lightening and sometimes you forget you have them on your feet until their amazing grip digs in to help you up the muddiest of hills. The inov-8 range also has many other models suited to OCR racing which are much more durable, like the Mudclaw 300 for example, which has been known to outlast even the Speedcross 3’s.

Now this part is all about helping you decide on the right balance for you when it comes to choosing whether you want maximum durability, higher weight and slower water drainage over less durability, better drainage and lower weight. This is one of the main splits in the road you’ll come to when choosing the perfect shoes for you. For example Salomon Speedcross 3 are seen as one of the most durable shoes in the OCR market with a fantastic 24 month warranty.

FOOT WIDTH About 99.9% of us unfortunately have less than perfectly shaped feet. This could be the width of the middle of the foot, toe shape/ length, foot splay, height of the heel bone, height of your arch or just general ogre like feet. You will need to find a shoe that fits the width of your foot or you’ll be in for an uncomfortable ride. Many of the more minimalist led brands are suited more to the wider footed person due to the way this style of running will make your foot splay over time. A good example of this wider toe box style of shoe is the Vivobarefoot Trail Freak shoe as this is a zero drop barefoot shoe.

Issue 10 | Obstacle Race

FEATURE: THE RIGHT SHOES FOR YOU

TYING YOUR

LACES

BLACK TOENAILS/ TOE PAIN

HEEL SLIPPING

IF SHOES FEEL TOO TIGH

Obstacle Race | Issue 10

HIGH ARCHES

WIDE FOREFOOT

WRITTEN BY: RUPERT BONINGTON

There are many reasons why those people not known for their sporting prowess take on an activity or challenge that on paper at least appears to be above their station. I’m sure there are times when that same person will have wondered ‘what exactly was I thinking?!’ Most likely at the point where they are anxiously waiting on a start line surrounded by their contemporaries and peers. Heart pounding, adrenaline coursing and a mouth as dry as bone. The simple explanation is that for the vast majority the common denominator is FUN! It may be a simplistic assessment but if you take out the elite athletes competing for a top ten place what is the driving factor for a person to subject themselves to such a test physical endurance. So the question is this, how do you get the maximum enjoyment from the time, money and effort that you’ve committed to your OCR or run? You want to get the most fun out of overcoming and smashing the obstacles throughout the race and you need to maintain your optimum strength from start to finish! The biggest immediate gain you can make (unless you’re replacing a pencil skirt and flippers with shorts and appropriate footwear) is to make sure that you have fueled your body correctly. You don't put diesel in your petrol car and vice versa unless you enjoy phut, phutting your way to a stand still at rush hour; so why do we

shove any old 'fuel' down our throats at events? Many of us in races have experienced our legs feeling like lead as the run goes on, cramps, upset stomachs... total energy loss, and all this after doing the right thing! I had my energy drink, gel, in fact I had several gels, so why do I have a dry claggy mouth and feel like I've been eating sand as an energy source? Let's be realistic OCR's can be pretty brutal and if you're not pretty exhausted by the end you've maybe taken a few too many detours around the obstacles rather than over or under them... you will ache, you will have to push yourself but you don't have to feel like that mucky stuff your running through! In this last month or so Team Muddy Kit have been raving about their newly discovered race nutrition, Mountain Fuel which has helped power them to success in OCR events from 5k to 65 miles, but what is it and can it help fun runners too? Michael Linstead, who is the partner of #MKRachael of Team Muddy Kit has seen at first hand the improvement it made to his partner’s performance and recovery so rightly figured it should do the same for him. ‘‘I know I’m a fun runner and I’m certainly not taking part to try and win but what a difference it has made to my racing experience. I now have the energy to get round the courses in far better shape

and feel so much better afterwards. Saves me a fortune too as I now don't need to spend a fortune on gels and sugary drinks too!’ So why is Mountain Fuel so different? Coowner, Rupert Bonington (son of Sir Chris Bonington , legendary Mountaineer) says, "Mountain Fuel is simply balanced nutrition, everything your muscles need for sustained energy and recovery is in the system. Our belief is nutrition is pretty simple and straightforward so we don't baffle everyone with science, we let the system and it's users do the talking. We are passionate sports people ourselves and range from fun runners to the elite so we understand exactly what everyone goes through and feels. We tag our system as #FeelGoodFuel as this is how we feel you should be when doing the activities you love." So come on, you’ve taken the time to buy all the gear, train - well some of you have :-) , organise, pay travel, registration and then compete why would you not do your utmost to fuel your body and have as much fun as possible? Obstacle Race Magazine readers can try out Mountain Fuel with an exclusive ORM discount by using the code ocrmagazine - buy a 'taster pack' from www.mountainfuel.co.uk and let us know how you get on in your next event.

#FeelGoodFuel #OCRFuel #TheFuelThatKeepsTheFunInRunning

Issue 10 | Obstacle Race

FEATURE: ARE YOU MAKING THE BIGGEST OCR MISTAKES

ARE YOU

MAKING THE

BIGGEST OCR

MISTAKES? Wearing a cotton t-shirt There’s no excuse for this! Even if you’re running as a team and need cheap team tops, make sure they’re polyester or spandex and not cotton. Cotton holds water and mud too, making it heavy and cold on the course. Also look to avoid cotton socks which do the same. Merino wool socks are also a popular choice.

Sliding hands down the rope climb You're at the top, the hands and arms are tired leaving you desperate to get back down. Avoid the easy options to slide down quickly with your hands which will lead to unbearable rope burn by using your feet and a controlled lowering approach. Replicate how you got up by lowering one hand at time down using your feet to control the speed you're going at. To go quicker (and once confident) allow the rope to slide between the arches of your shoes and using your hands to guide.

Sliding legs across the traverse Rope burn on the calves can easily happen from incorrect traversing technique across the rope traverse. The common and easy mistake made is to just slide your calves across the rope leading to severe rope burn on the back of the legs. To rectify, simply lift each leg at a time placing it nearer to your body with each movement, reducing any friction burn and moving your hands in tandem. Once you've mastered this think about moving your legs further back to allow the rope to hook on the kink between your heel and lower leg. As this bends it creates a hook to keep your legs stable on the rope.

Obstacle Race | Issue 10

Using too much of the knees A common mistake of newbies is frequently landing on the knees and shins for many obstacles. This could be anything from hay bales, raised platforms, crawling and just anything to get over. Although it can be the easy option to land on your knees this is what will lead to the bruises and cuts. Correct technique is to ALWAYS use the feet to land. This is quicker, safer and much more stable. Long term this will improve leg and core strength so is worth the effort, plus you'll look pretty fly. Whilst crawling try to stay off your knees and use more of a bear crawl.

Wearing old running shoes Many events will say to wear old shoes as they'll get muddy and wet but this doesn't mean you should wear old shoes. Muddy shoes can easily be washed in the washing machine or with the garden hose. People have been getting running shoes muddy for years so this is inexperienced advice! Road or gym shoes just won't cut it either. You may think that the biggest danger element is the obstacles on event day but more often than not it's a twisted ankle that makes the injury list. It is essential to get a pair of trail shoes with grip for you next event.

Think hygiene! Perhaps the least exciting aspect but an important one none the less. When you're going through that muddy swamp or river crossing close your mouth and breathe out. Trying to avoid drinking any water is really important.

Secondly, after you finish wash your hands before you eat. This is probably more important and will reduce any chances of any illness post event.

Wearing minimalist shoes with little ankle support The latest minimalistic shoes from Inov-8 or what the Elite athlete are wearing may look the business but in truth they could be doing you more damage than good if you're not ready for them just yet. If you've never heard of the term 'heel drop' and you own a pair or Inov-8 190's or 200's you could be heading for trouble. Wearing minimalistic shoes with little ankle and heel support without proper transition can lead to injuries. People over 40 or on the heavier side should opt for stable shoes such as the Salomon Fell Raisers or Adidas Kanadia. Only when you're ready should you move to a minimalistic shoe after that transition period. Further, running more than 20km will require supported shoes to avoid your feet taking a battering from the trail.

Carrying a sandbag on one shoulder A common mistake and not only is this harder but it puts all the weight onto one side of the body straining one side of the hip. A simple technique is to put the sandbag across the top of the back/lower neck. With longer sandbags the weight can be easily distributed to both sides equally or for the pancake variety placed in the middle. This makes running easier, quicker and the whole body will take the weight of the sandbag. Try it for your next event!

FEATURE: ARE YOU MAKING THE BIGGEST OCR MISTAKES

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Issue 10 | Obstacle Race

FEATURE: ARE YOU MAKING THE BIGGEST OCR MISTAKES

MINI EVENT REVIEWS

FROM THE MUDDY RACE COMMUNITY rocknrollnobody on Yorkshire Warrior

Si Bullows on Major Series Scotland

and the volunteers and helpers on Mini were amazing at giving them confidence to push themselves. He is ready to do his next one!!!!

An entertaining enough 10mile run around Harrogate. Don’t expect to be caked in mud from head to toe or Tough Mudder style obstacles, but there’s enough obstacles, ponds, and rivers to conquer to keep it interesting at a great price.

I tried this event for the first time on 6th June 2015 and have come to the conclusion that if you’re into natural obstacles (fallen trees, muddy bogs) you’d love it, however, if you want 8ft walls and manmade challenges to clamber over, this is not the event for you.

Muddy35 on Nuclear Rush

Keith Fairburn on Superhuman Games

Adam Thomson on Mud Monsters Run

Not obstacles per se but the challenges are top notch! Tough tests spread throughout the day – keeping enough energy to last the day is a challenge in itself. Spot on organisation, great atmosphere and awesome blend of workouts. Practice your deadlifts!!!

A great race, with fantastic natural terrain and it doesn’t break the bank either, especially if you get early bird prices! The mud at times was up to my waist. Couple all this mud with some great obstacles, wall climbs, tyre and log carries, plenty of rivers and tunnels to run through and you’ve got a recipe for one great race!

Nick Taylor-Komar on Pain and Suffering The course was superb! I love a course that uses the terrain as an obstacle as well as the man made ones and this ticks all of the boxes! A real beast, with a great stream of challenges, obstacles, mud and running. I don’t usually bruise but this one had me covered, so full respect has been given! The marshals (Reapers) add to the whole event, pushing you further and further, yet keeping it fun!

TriOCR on Reaper Run Really enjoyed this OCR. I did the day run in the March session and had a great time of it. The course is relatively flat so more obstacle course then running course. I found that there was little or no waiting to get onto the obstacles. There was a large variety of obstacles with around 40 in total well spread out across the course.

Obstacle Race | Issue 10

Dustin Bird on Adrenaline Rush London Good event in a great location. A nice urban feel to the set-up with some well built and good obstacles, a decent mix to challenge most types of OCR runner. Long queues and only two channels on most obstacles made this tricky to race around for a timed event.

Simon P on Tough Mudder Midlands The course was excellent, especially the new obstacles; Cry Baby, Birth Canal, Liberator and our favourite King of the Swingers. Volunteers were excellent at keeping you going. Best of all my 7 year old son did the Mini Mudders course and he absolutely loved it, he was a little nervous to start but soon got into his groove

Nuclear rush recharged on the Sunday was my first ever Nuclear race and I’m glad to say it won’t be my last. James and his team have put together an awesome course and with the price you pay, and the amount of obstacles there is, you get excellent value for money. I came away with my hair solid with mud and a huge smile on my face.

Robsta75 on Spartan Race Allianz Stadium Good start to the Spartan season with the ‘entry level’ sprint distance. It was nice to see the typical Spartan obstacles, the wall, tyre, water and sandbag carry, spear throw, cargo nets and rope climb. It was really good fun to run up and down the steps of the main stand with the sandbags and the music blasting out

Want to have your say? Leave an event review on muddyrace.co.uk and every reviewer will be in the chance to win a pair of ICEBUG trail shoes!

FEATURE: HEALTH HACKS

HEAL H HACKS ALO VERA DRINK This gorgeously refreshing drink uses the pulp from the Alo vera leaves to make great tasting combinations of drinks. Each bottle has a different purpose from refreshing you to reviving you after a hard days training. The great taste become extremely addictive and just 30 calories are in a ALO light bottle. Get yours from:

ALODRINK.COM

Obstacle Race | Issue 10

MULTIPOWER ‘FEED YOUR INNER CHAMPION’ Multipowers new range includes 100% Pure Whey Protein, 100% Whey Isolate Protein and Mass Gainer powders Available in five great tasting, delicious flavours French Vanilla, Strawberry Splash, Rich Chocolate, Coffee Caramel Banana Mango.

THERAPEARL SPORTS THERAPY PACK Available in various shapes and sizes to address the common problem areas for runners the Therapearl sport pack is an innovative 2-1 injury prevention product. Simply pop it in the microwave for 30 seconds and apply directly to the skin to warm the muscles and joints before exercise. Adversely, cool it in the freezer for 2 hours for a drip-free way to reduce swelling in the muscles and flush the lactic acid that builds when pushing your limits.

Easy on the stomach and delivering some of the best quality products on the market at great prices. Multipower’s new range of protein powders is available now online at

MULTIPOWER.COM RRP: 100% Pure Whey 2000g - £64.99 100% Pure Whey 900g - £36.99 100% Pure Whey 450g - £21.99 100% Whey Isolate Protein 1590g - £67.99 100% Whey Isolate Protein 725g - £36.99

SPIRULINA POWDER Spirulina is a natural “algae” (cyanbacteria) powder that is incredibly high in protein and a good source of antioxidants, B-vitamins and other nutrients. When harvested correctly from non-contaminated ponds and bodies of water, it is one of the most potent nutrient sources available.

Get yours from

BODYME.CO.UK RRP £5.49

It is largely made up of protein and essential amino acids, and is typically recommended to vegetarians for its high natural iron content. It is often touted for its high B-12 content, though there is a lot of debate about if this particular form is a complete and absorbable form of B-12 and I don’t recommend it completely in place of animal products. The high concentration of protein and iron also makes it ideal during pregnancy, after surgery, or anytime the immune system needs a boost.

Get yours from:

Boots, Wiggle, Lloyds Pharmacy RRP :£7.99 Issue 10 | Obstacle Race

RACE REVIEW: AIRFIELD ANARCHY

RACE REVIEW

AIRFIELD ANARCHY Having run over 50 OCRs, I had yet to take part in an Airfield Anarchy... Advertised as a Music Festival and offering an ‘Epic 3 Races in One Weekend’ option, it didn’t take a lot to persuade me to sign up. It was my friend’s birthday weekend and a group of us had signed up for the whole weekend with camping, so we decided to run all 3 distances together and have some fun. Tents packed, food prepped and 3 complete race outfits at the ready - Airfield Anarchy, here we come!!!! Sadly, on arriving, the weather wasn’t very cheery, meaning most people either hid in their tents or under shelter, which was a shame as the event village had lots to offer. With registration complete in a matter of seconds and timing chips attached, we all lined up on the start line excited for what Airfield Anarchy

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had for us. The first race was a 5k which would be a good warm up for the 10k later on. A few hay bales broke up most runners, and it instantly felt great not to be charging ahead of everyone else attempting to stay with the front pack. Turning out of the event village and on the outskirts of the car park, it seemed an obvious choice to collect a traffic cone and make it part of our team - from now on we were known as ‘Team Cone.’ Our newly found friend, the cone and the gang jumped fences, waded through rivers, slid down the fireman’s pole and clambered through tunnels. Considering it was June, the river was still extremely cold and when we had to do 5 full submersion dunks, we felt like we were in training for Winter Tough Guy. Epic Action Imagery photographers were on hand to capture some of our finer gasping ‘post dunk’ pictures - a real treat if you have seen them floating around on FB ;) In the depths of a muddy woodland run were several cargo net crawls and 2 of the

trickiest 6 foot walls I have encountered in an event. The top of them was constructed of a thick wooden tree trunk so it was tricky to get a good grip. Luckily ‘Team Cone’ was on hand to shove me over and we continued on our way, sliding around and laughing. And then... the moment that I had been trying to forget about... The Take Off Waterslide. A 30-foot inflatable, near vertical waterslide. I can’t work it out, as a child, I would do this time and time again, but as an adult, they scare the living day lights out of me. Running up to it, I remained calm (maybe). I climbed the steep cargo net and rope combo and sat at the top acting as cool as a cucumber. Then a few members of Team Cone admitted they were feeling apprehensive - my fear set in. I watched my fellow Team Coners throw themselves down, then it was my turn... 1... 2... 3... Woo Hoo!! I am down! Loads of water up my nose, a glorious (petrified) Epic Action photo and it was all over... well, until the 10k race later. Heading back to the event village to

RACE REVIEW: AIRFIELD ANARCHY

LAURA TRY

Airfield Anarchy

Location: Newark Number of Obstacles: 40 Terrain: Cross country, woodland trails Level of mud: 3/10 Difficulty: 6/10

Issue 10 | Obstacle Race

RACE REVIEW: AIRFIELD ANARCHY

complete the race, we tackled some water ditches and a set of under and (extremely high) overs, an 8 foot wall and crawled under an army vehicle covered in netting; a nice touch to bring in the theme of the race. The last obstacle was one large, fantastic OCR structure involving a rope wall, high cargo net scramble, hang tough, water dunks and an awesome bubble bath slide. Covered in soapy suds, we collected our first medal of the day and headed back to base camp for some recuperation. After a few hours rest and a fresh outfit, we headed back to the start line for the 10k race, along with our cone. The 10k included some good obstacles such as a long stretch of monkey bars, a tyre carry though muddy ditches (think Dirty Dozen B*tch Ditch with a tyre; challenging) and a tarpaulin water slide. We had just as much fun during the 10k as we did with the 5k, and this time Take Off wasn’t quite as scary, plus I remembered to hold my nose. Second medal of 3 collected and it was dinner time. Sadly, the weather was still damp, so after a free (!) hot shower (pure luxury) we headed off site for some food. The headline act for the Festival was Top Loader who were

Obstacle Race | Issue 10

playing at 10pm. We had a few hours to spare so played the game of ‘How Many OCRers Can You Fit in a Tent?’ It turned out we were pretty good at this and ended up getting far too comfy and falling asleep until 9.30pm. Not wanting to miss Top Loader, Team Cone (no cone this time, he was resting ready for the 10 miler) headed over to the main Hangar and got our groove on to ‘Dancing In The Moonlight.’ We made it until about midnight then headed back to our tents ready for the 10 miler. After most campers having run both races, the camp site was very civilised indeed meaning I got a great nights sleep! At 10.30am on Sunday morning, I had a feeling of déjà vu - back at the start line, the weather once again raining, and Team Cone were ready for it! This time Team Cone had grown to 11 members and now not only ran with the cone but now 3 Mudstacle Flags. All dressed in yellow we marched the longer stretches of running, through fields and trails and getting up to mischief. It was great to see some new obstacles in the 10 mile course such as a rope swing, balance beams, an A frame cargo net, a tyre wall and lots of tractor tyres to climb over.

Having run 2 races the day before, most of us adopted the run/walk method and took it easy at the frequent water stations. One thing I noticed about the race, was there were so many course marshals, each one being extremely encouraging and attentive with High 5 gels. To finish our Epic weekend, covered in bubbles, we were presented with our final epic medal. Even the cone got its own set of medals. Each one from each distance fitted together to form one big bit of race BLING. Despite the weather being miserable, I had a fantastic weekend. Airfield Anarchy provided the full package of mud, obstacles, facilities, music, lots of hydration and energy and a great venue. I will definitely be joining Team Cone again to run ‘The Epic’ for fun and I hope next year the sun will put his hat on so the event receives the weather it deserves. I heard a great story during the after party that 2 guys who had turned up for the music festival, saw the obstacle course so decided the run the 10 mile race in the clothes they were dressed in (jeans and trainers) the next day. This shows Airfield Anarchy made a good impression (plus I reckon the guys had had a few tinnies to encourage them).

RACE REVIEW: AIRFIELD ANARCHY

Issue 10 | Obstacle Race

FEATURE: GEORGE’S JOURNEY

PART TWO OF

GEORGE’S JOURNEY

WRITTEN BY: STUART AMORY PHOTOGRAPHY BY: NUCLEAR PHOTOGRAPHY TEAM / EPIC ACTION IMAGERY

He’s changed…but I want more from him and I need him to listen. My aim for the first half of the year was to get George to make changes for the better and to shift the weight using a regular 5km run to aid him in achieving his goals.

Obstacle Race | Issue 10

FEATURE: GEORGEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S JOURNEY

Issue 10 | Obstacle Race

FEATURE: GEORGE’S JOURNEY

The problem is that he’s instantly become an inspiration to others so he now sets himself crazy goals that I personally don’t think he’s ready for. Yes, he definitely has the mental strength to carry on when others may quit but I know he’s not physically ready to undertake such epic challenges. Being a personal trainer for 10 years and having been involved in fitness and sports training since I was 10, I have witnessed this many times and it does worry me. The OCR family is a great thing to be involved with but again I see people setting crazy challenge after crazy challenge and their kudos being raised when they do. However, the disappointment people can face when they don’t achieve it or worse, become injured can be damaging in more ways than one. I’d love to have said in this article that George was ‘flying’ and everything was going well but it isn’t and I am obviously partly to blame. I need to be more involved with his diary and step in where needs be so he doesn’t injure himself…anymore. However, what George does do very well and continues to do is never give up and that is very evident when you meet and talk to him.

Obstacle Race | Issue 10

He’s very humble about his achievements and is quick to turn around any praise directed to him and compliment the people saying it. What’s not to like about the big guy? He has a renewed zest for life and the OCR community can take a huge credit for that as George is loving it right now. As you may remember for the initial article (Issue 8), George’s confidence was his weakness due to being raped as a child, countless family issues and being attacked TWICE by a samurai sword. Now though, when I asked him how he was feeling in himself, George replied “My confidence has grown twentyfold in racing and in my personal life and I’ve also become a lot more focussed and confident enough to explain when people ask about my journey to Ohio whereas before I would shy away from it”. So George is happier and more confident, he’s also been able to vastly reduce the amount of sugar he added to his daily intake of tea and coffee (he used to have 3 sugars in each cup and there used to be 15 cups a day!!!) to none with now only a maximum of 6 cups of tea. He drinks 3 litres of water a day, has stopped drinking full fat coke although he does occasionally have diet or coke zero. He has

reduced his portions and eats far less potatoes, rice and pasta than he used to. Walking is now his preferred method of transport and he utilises my ‘Stair workouts’ (forwards, sideways, two at a time, no banisters, stepping softly etc.) as often as possible. The games consoles have gone as he felt that they contributed to his time wasting and avoidance of training. He recently broke the 40 minute barrier for a 5km which is even more impressive when I tell you that he started the year with a personal best of 48 minutes 21 seconds. So far in 2015 he’s completed two Dirty Dozen Races, two Spartan Sprints, Nuclear Rush, Judgement Day, Eliminator, Reaper Night, Muscle Acre, Mud Monsters and the Dirty Weekend Half Mucker. He also has a friend, companion and girlfriend in Bex. So with all this success in the first part of the year, why am I, who’s usually very positive, being negative when things are heading in the right direction for “The Gentleman”? Don’t get me wrong, I am happy, very happy but I want more!! And the main reason is George is capable of more and he knows it. The negatives start with opting for four laps

FEATURE: GEORGE’S JOURNEY

of the tough Winter Nuts course which in just completing it automatically qualifies you for a World Championship place but George got stopped by a marshal after 2 laps as he was delirious and suffering from hyperthermia. Next is the injuries that he’s sustained and the fact that he doesn’t listen to doctors and consultants. He was told to rest for 2 months after suffering from blood poisoning but 3 weeks later was attempting an absolute beast of a challenge in getting from London to Brighton on foot. George unfortunately fell approximately 40-50ft down a steep bank at 26km but still dragged him and his injured ankle a further 30km to make the 56km checkpoint to get some bling! Could he have made the 100km to Brighton? I’m not sure but what I do know is his body isn’t ready for that type of challenge…YET! There needs to be a periodised training plan that he can build up to and follow to achieve epic challenges like four laps of the Winter Nuts or London to Brighton. The thing is…is this George’s way? Should I let him set himself epic challenges that he may fail? I mean I am a firm believer in learning from my mistakes and also in setting challenges that are challenging so perhaps I’m putting too

much pressure on success. George and I need to sit down and look back on the past 6 months and re-evaluate. We need to celebrate the successes that he has achieved and then focus on the rest of 2015. Another of my aims was for George to enjoy making these life changes as not to feel that they were a burden on him. Too many people view exercise and their diet as an evil force ruining their life. Why would you repeatedly do something you hate? You need to think of reasons why you must exercise, set yourself tough but achievable goals along the way much like steps of a ladder with the ultimate goal being getting to the top. Allowing off days or cheat meals are necessary steps for some people to stay on track so plan these in your weekly or monthly diary. I have introduced George to my ‘leg challenge’ which is a series of squats and lunge walking designed to obviously strengthen his legs and gain strength but also to burn fat because these exercises are great compound ones and will put a greater demand on his body. The great news is that George has easily qualified to go to the Obstacle Course Racing World Championships as a ‘Journeyman’

and therefore has set up a ‘Go Fund Me’ page for anyone who’d like to help him achieve his goal of racing in Ohio in October. His Grandfather has donated to this as he feels he’s like George to go to carry on inspiring and motivating others. We are looking to hold a fundraising training day on Saturday 29th August at Fortitude Fitness Centre where all of this began. Please check out their website fortitudefitnesscentre.co.uk for more details. Over the next few months I will be working closer with George as the problem we have is that his weight hasn’t shifted by much and it needs to be sorted but only if he wants it to be. However, maybe he’s happy the size he is but it’s not a healthy weight and we all know that challenges like London to Brighton are obviously much easier if you’re carrying less junk in the trunk! I believe that ‘pressure is not just for tyres’ so we’ve decided to go public by saying that George’s aim is to be under 18 stone by the time Ohio comes around…so that’s over 3 stone to go by 17th October 2015. The last time George weighed under 20 stone was over 15 years ago…Let’s Do This Buddy!

Issue 10 | Obstacle Race

FEATURE: DO YOU BURN MORE FAT ON AN EMPTY STOMACH

KNOWWHATSUPP.COM

DO YOU BURN

MORE FAT ON

AN EMPTY STOMACH? WRITTEN BY: ACHILLEA KYRIAKOU OF WWW.KNOWWHATSUPP.COM

There has been much debate as to whether cardio on an empty stomach can burn fat more effectively. Some argue it limits fat burning potential with a decrease in performance. I really wanted to understand this topic more and so the below, research will highlight some key findings that may help us better understand this.

are used as a secondary energy source. As workout intensity increases your body will then rely more on carbohydrates to fuel it.

Carbohydrate is the main nutrient that fuels our exercise, while fat can fuel low intensity exercise for long periods of time. Therefore these two components are used to generate energy for muscle contraction during exercise. For endurance based exercise performed at a moderate intensity, you obtain more than half of the energy needed from glycogen (stored energy from carbohydrates). The rest will come from the fats. Taking this into account, once your glycogen stores are depleted by fasting overnight, or going several hours without eating, fatty acids break down in the body and

The results in the low-intensity trials showed that although lipolysis (the breakdown of fats) was suppressed in the fed state compared with the fasted state, fat oxidation (utilization of the fats) remained similar between groups until 80–90 minutes of cycling. Only after this point was a greater fat oxidation rate observed in fasted participants. On the other hand, during moderate-intensity cycling, fat oxidation was not different between trials at any time. More recent studies show the effect of preexercise and during exercise carbohydrate consumption on fat oxidation.

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One study reviews the efficiency of performing cardio on an empty stomach early in the morning. The theory, as mentioned above, is that there’s a greater shift in energy utilization from carbohydrates allowing more stored fat to be used as fuel.

WHAT DID THE STUDY FIND? Essentially a study was conducted into the fat burning response of six moderately trained individuals in a fed versus fasted state to different training intensities. The participants cycled for 2 hours at varying intensities on four separate occasions. During two of the trials, they consumed a high-glycemic carbohydrate meal at 30, 60, and 90 minutes of training, once at a low intensity and once at a moderate intensity. During the other two trials, participants remained fasted for 12–14 hours before exercise and for the duration of training.

In another study seven endurance- trained participants cycled for 120 minutes at a moderate intensity, followed by a high intensity cycle where participants pedaled as fast as possible. There were four separate tests and participants were given a placebo and a carbohydrate drink at different intervals before and during exercise. The study was carried out in a double- blind fashion with trials performed in random order. As shown in the first study discussed, results showed no evidence of impaired fat oxidation associated with consumption of carbohydrate either before or during exercise.

WHAT CAN WE CONCLUDE FROM THE STUDIES? Currently the studies don’t support the theory that training early on an empty stomach burns any more fats than if carbohydrates were ingested. Although Lipolysis (breakdown of fats) was shown to increase in lowintensity exercise on an empty stomach and suppress in the fed state compared with the fasted state, fat oxidation (utilization of the fats) remained similar between groups. Taking this into account, training in the morning with depleted glycogen stores not only impairs your physical performance it has also been shown to have negative effects on those concerned with muscle strength and size. Concentration levels may be lower and you will not be able to work to your full capacity with the net result being less calories burned and lowering fat loss potential.

FEATURE: DO YOU BURN MORE FAT ON AN EMPTY STOMACH

Issue 10 | Obstacle Race

REGULAR: DEGENERATE DISCS SCIATICA AND SCOLIOSIS LIFE

DEGENERATE DISCS SCIATICA and SCOLIOSIS LIFE BY COACH MICHAEL, FOUNDER OF WILDFORESTGYM

OCR Training Expert Coach Michael has a secret that hindered his life for 30 yrs. Read about his revealing and inspirational story. You think you have limits… just as well it is only your perception as Coach Michael puts it. As a coach I make it my business to be able to practice everything that I teach. So I keep myself fit, healthy, strong, agile and race fit. This is how each of you know and see me. Apart from a few select people, most of you do not know my full history. I hope it inspires you, because for me my life at the age of 14yrs old and for the next 20 years took a very tragic downhill path and that’s what my prognosis was according to the orthopaedic specialists. However, something changed and now I can proudly say that I have defied every one of those knife-wielding surgeons. It all started with a game of badminton that went terribly wrong in 1971. All of a sudden my spine contorted into an s-shape, which

Obstacle Race | Issue 10

was subsequently diagnosed as scoliosis. For 6 months it was scans, xrays, consultants, specialists and weekly acupuncture. I remember one particular orthopaedic surgeon who planted a seed that rooted itself so deep, that it took hold for 20 years. He said, “Just look at your mother, that’s your future”. Most people would take this as a compliment. But he meant something else. My mother had lots of spinal problems including severe degeneration to her cervical spine (neck). It is these words that resonate in me to this very day. It was so rooted in me that I personally believe that it had a major psychological hold on me, on top of the physical disabilities. Twice a week I had acupuncture. Needles here, needles there, from toes to ears. They attached electrical currents, red-hot cigars made of moxa that heated up the acupuncture needle as well as cupping therapy that sucked my skin off my body. So much so that in subsequent years whenever I just walked past a Chinese Herbalist the smell of the moxa would takes me back to those testing times. From hereon I was not like every other child. I was that child that couldn’t do any physical sport let alone exercise. I was 6ft 2” skin ‘n’ bone. Either I made up excuses, or got sports exclusion notes from my doctor or parents. After a series of xrays I was diagnosed with 3 degenerative discs T12, L1 and T4. There was not a single word that these specialists that gave me any hope. It was mentally depressing. I sometimes wondered whether childhood horse riding or the fosbury flop technique that I used for high jumping were the underlying cause. It

turned out that the back bending and the jolting weren’t the cause but probably didn’t help. The underlying cause was subsequently diagnosed to being tall and young, more specifically Scheuermann’s Disease. Scheuermann’s is a growth abnormality of the vertebral body i.e. my individual vertebrae are deformed. It is a disease commonly found in tall juveniles. Boy, it wasn’t good news and things were definitely not looking up. The acupuncture seemed to help with the scoliosis but what I was now living with was not too invigorating to say the least. Over subsequent years I would experience ongoing spinal and related problems. In particular my vulnerability to spasms was very high. Particularly in my lumbar, as I recall. More acupuncture and physiotherapy. Then it was repetitive strain injuries. I felt so vulnerable, it took almost nothing to set me back or put me on my back. The roots were now embedded and the tree was growing inside me. The next bud in my series of diagnoses was joint hypermobility, meaning that some of my joints have an unusually large range of movement, whilst my ligaments had greater than normal range of flexibility. This meant that there were more possibilities for injuries to occur. So on one level it provides amazing athletic prowess for some people in my case an increased vulnerability to injury. I remember around the time of my children’s birth that it was my wife that had to carry the

REGULAR: DEGENERATE DISCS SCIATICA AND SCOLIOSIS LIFE

Issue 10 | Obstacle Race

REGULAR: DEGENERATE DISCS SCIATICA AND SCOLIOSIS LIFE

children, my wife that carried the shopping and boxes. Because if I dared do, as sometimes I did I would end up on my back for a week recovering. Or having to spend 6 months living on the lounge floor, as I had severe sciatica. I can’t say every aspect to my life was taken over by my spinal disabilities. But a big chunk of it made me cautious, made me question action and definitely exercise was not a word in my vocabulary. This was life and this was my future…pain, ache, spasm, problem, treatment, temporary relief, treatment, pain, spasm and so on. But then something happened that was to become life transforming. I met a complimentary practitioner Trond Bjornstad. Trond showed me how a form of treatment that was similar to acupuncture, but without the use of needles, just the manipulation of points on the body were able to release blockages. It was from this point onwards that my life, my physical body and my mind turned around. Day in day out, I would do self-treatment. As time went my body became so reactive to treatment that I spent the next 10 years undertaking 10,000 hours of treatment as a practitioner on my clients as well as continuing on myself. It was a revelation, from being a physical invalid to now being physically active and regularly practicing Krav Maga, a form of self-defence. Next I started to run as I realised I didn’t have the capability to run around and play footie with my son Ross. It felt right and I definitely felt more able. I started to realise that I was so more able than I had ever imagined. I seriously had no foresight that my life would start to turn around. From herein I became more active. Spent more time with Ross going mountain biking. Then joined up with a mountain bike club and started to train and race with them. I just loved being outside wild camping with my boy. So much so that I started to spend a lot of time physically training in the forest, carrying, lifting, jumping, balancing, climbing, crawling and running. Before long I had a new challenge an xt triathlon in Surrey. Don’t ask me where the inspiration came from. It just happened. There I was training 12 hours a week on the mountain bike trails, running the forest trails and swimming in the lakes at 6am on a Sunday morning. I was defying every single consultant out there and it felt good. It felt right and I knew I was up for the challenge. 1.5k lake swim, 25k mountain bike section, finishing with a 12k trail run. I planned, I trained, I prepared. Even took my bike and kit out to Ibiza for my summer holiday or if I am totally honest with myself my personal triathlon training camp. I was buzzing. I felt fit, I felt happy, I felt inspired and I had a goal. I did a few mountain bike trail runs, developed my techniques from being a combat trouser and magnum boot wearing cyclist to being a lycra clad and spd fitted mountain biker. I can’t tell you it was all easy, fitting it into my life and the odd injury including race day. But I did it. I achieved my goal. I was a proud man having my family there on the finishing line as I

Obstacle Race | Issue 10

punched the air. This was a major achievement. There had been lots of other smaller ones on the way but this was a biggy. Not everyone could understand me and why I kept on having to push my boundaries… maybe it is part of my OCD personality. When I commit, I commit and nothing gets in my way. But it was more. It felt like it was a 2nd life that I had. Now in my 40’s life was hotting up and I was watching others around me slipping back down complaining of aging, aches and pains, meanwhile I knew I hadn’t hit my peak yet. Every day I was still doing treatment on myself, getting fitter, stronger, faster and more able. Spending my time in the forests just doing natural movement but without a goal, just training and teaching. I Had come to terms that if I wanted to up my game in xt triathlon I would have to invest more hours 16+ and spend a few thousand pounds on new kit and in particular a bike. As a family man with a business I realised I couldn’t. I also remember that I also had decided that obstacle racing was not going to be for me because of the risk of injury as a runner. But something changed in my mindset; before I knew it I had a new goal Tough Guy Winter 2012/13. Not just satisfied with an obstacle race, I had set myself the target of my first obstacle race being the almighty hardest and challenging obstacle race. So there I was in the December out there training in the heavy snow, it was -8°, dropping into deep puddles and pools of ice water, cold showers and my wife Jo, ready to guide me back into the shower as I tried to reheat my body. As Jo would say, “This is just so typical of Michael always having to push himself to the max, never content”. Of course she was right. Because, what turned out to be the toughest race, also turned out to be the toughest winter. On race day it was minus 10° and the ice in the 200m of chest deep water that we had to wade was 2cm thick and hitting your skin like broken panes of glass. 3 hours later reheated, back at the car I rang Jo and the emotions just started to well up in me. I was safe, I achieved my goal and I was coming home. BOOOM! I had now entered the fraternity of obstacle racing, maybe the hard way, but boy what a great feeling it has been to work with, train with and share such comradeship that obstacle racing brings with it. My new goal was set out before me, to inspire, guide, teach, share and assist others to overcome their limitations, their boundaries and their disabilities to achieve their goals. Realising my training was so suited to obstacle racing I continued to develop my natural movement training and became a MovNat Coach. Subsequently I was appointed head coach to Spartan Race in the UK and set up their training. This is where I met aspiring OCR racer Thomas Blanc who I trained 6 days a week for the next 18 months as he moved from podium to podium. This led me to building my own race team, TEAM WildForestGym and then

TRAINING TIP Small changes to your diet can make a huge difference to your weight and the way you feel in very little time

REGULAR: DEGENERATE DISCS SCIATICA AND SCOLIOSIS LIFE

more recently to opening my own Obstacle Race Training Centre thanks to the most generous man in obstacle racing James Parrish, Mr Nuclear Races. So guys, if you think there are limits. Then you are right there are. However, if you think that there is more out there, then you can have it. Never allow yourself to believe there are limits. Sometimes you have to dig deep and sometimes you have to sit back and allow it to develop. But the one thing that I can tell you through my experiences is that there are no limits and no boundaries. You are who you are and that is based on your lifeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s experiences to

today. You do not know what is around the corner. But one thing for sure is, that there is nothing permanent about what you think, you know or how your body is currently functioning. If you want something go and make it happen because no one else is going to make it happen for you. Good luck Coach Michael

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Optimising the way you were born to move, function, run and race"

Issue 10 | Obstacle Race

FEATURE: TRAIN LIKE TOP OCR RACERS

TRAIN LIKE TOP

OCR RACERS TEAM INOV-8

WITH BMF Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been known for some time that Jon Albon, OCR World Champion, was a regular attendee of British Military Fitness (BMF) when still in the UK. His Strava feed showed him interspersing a Battersea Park BMF session into his 12 mile commute home, sandwiching an hour of exercises into his steady run or cycle home. Last year his teammates at inov-8 OCR approached

Obstacle Race | Issue 10

BMF to see how the team could incorporate the sessions into their training and since January have been regular attendees. Obstacle Race Magazine have taken the time to catch up with the team to see how they have found the sessions, how they fit it into their training schedule and how it can help you become a better obstacle racer.

FEATURE: TRAIN LIKE TOP OCR RACERS

Before being introduced to OCR, my training consisted primarily of weights at the gym a few times a week alternated with BMF sessions. The gym gave me strength for press ups and power for sprints, but I knew I needed to develop my endurance further. I think of BMF as a sprint session where I can go hard on all the runs (usually in the 100-300 metre range), while also maintaining my upper body strength through the combination of BMF exercises.

Adam Teszke

The Major Series (www.majorseries.com) organised by BMF was my first ever OCR race. My local park entered as a group, so I went along and not only loved it, but also won, I was hooked. Like the classes it caters for a real mix of abilities, so I’d thoroughly recommend it as great way to get a taste of OCR, not matter your level of fitness, especially if you are put off by all the alpha male barb wire and

difference is not only greater technique but core and leg strength.

David Hellard It took us some time to catch on to the benefits of British Military Fitness. There’s a misconception that Jon is primarily a runner and it’s his running speed that wins him races, but when he first started OCR his speed wasn’t that impressive. There was even a time when I fancied my chances against him, until I actually saw him race. What makes a huge different to your speed is your fluidity through obstacles and then speed of transition out of them. I’ve been a runner for some time, but even on a simple wall Jon would land running – I would land, then have to start running. The

The obstacles act like body blows, draining your muscles. I would be 2 miles into a race and my legs were already ruined – running speed means nothing if your legs are gone before you can use it. I had always been aware my upper body strength was not great, but it was my lack of leg strength and recovery that was losing me more positions and as a long distance specialist, it was soul destroying to experience my expected strength dissipate with each obstacle. So I hit the gym – four times a week, sometimes five, and started eating chicken, clutches of them (I was truly acting like a silver fox). I was getting stronger and heavier, but my strength wasn’t converting into performances on race day. I didn’t have dynamic strength, so while I could lift more than ever before, it did not translate into running power or protect me from the effect of the obstacles. I realised it was the intense BMF sessions Jon was using in his training that replicated the effects of an OCR race – burpees, then sit ups, then push ups into sprints. Jump squats, then plank, then piggy back into laps. Bear crawls, then crab crawls, then dips into more sprints. Not only was Jon training his upper body and core for the obstacles, but his body was constantly transitioning from drills into running and back again, merging

flaming pits of other events. It puts fun firmly at its core. BMF was also where I met Jon Albon, who suggested I might be a good fit for a new OCR team he and some friends were forming. I knew I had the strength to get myself over the obstacles but I needed to concentrate on longer distance running. Consequently I cut back on the gym sessions, slimmed down about 6 kg of bulk and switched to a training schedule of BMF sessions mixed with longer runs. There is a really good social side to BMF as well, not so different from the OCR community of like-minded people who enjoy keeping fit and pushing themselves. I've made some good friends and also met my wonderful girlfriend, Nicole, during BMF - so it appears BMF is not only good for keeping fit but has the potential to change others aspects in your life too!

the two activities into one. You don’t build unnecessary muscles - everything is done using body weight, with the occasional power bag thrown in to train for the carries. We have all used BMF to help us in different ways. At first I was unsure how to incorporate the classes into my training. I run 5-6 times a week and didn’t want to drop my mileage, so decided to attempt the classes on my slow run days (Mondays and Wednesdays) and double down with a parkrun on Saturdays if I’m not racing at the weekend. Each class has three levels of increasing difficulty – blue, red and green. On Wednesday I wear red, reducing the amount of running I do in the class and therefore my speed, whilst still doing the number of drills the greens do to get the maximum benefit of the strength exercises. I can run there and back giving me 10-12 miles and a class. Mondays is only 45 minutes, so I can just about get away with wearing green, racing through the exercises and jogging the run. Saturdays, post parkrun – I go all out green on tired legs, it’s perfect for replicating the end of an OCR race. The instructors are very responsive, so can tell if I need pushing a bit extra or whether I’m over trained and struggling. They concentrate on form, not just numbers of reps and now that they know we’re part of inov-8 OCR they’ve upped our burpees to including press ups.

Issue 10 | Obstacle Race

FEATURE: TRAIN LIKE TOP OCR RACERS

Ross Macdonald There are a fair few of us in the OCR community who have what is now commonly referred to as ‘FOMO’, or Fear Of Missing Out. This results in us racing every weekend, leaving little time for recovery and taper. When I first attended BMF sessions, trying to bridge that gap to Jon, I decided I had to be in the top group - the greens, no matter what. These sessions are always intense and leave you exhausted. They are not the sessions to do on tired legs, or in the few days before a race and a few times this season I learnt the hard way that a Thursday night green session does not give you time to fully recover for a race on the Saturday. As David has touched on, I would therefore recommend dropping down to either blue or red whenever you are feeling tired or when tapering. These sessions are still hard and remain extremely beneficial to OCR training.

Clare Miller For work I often work shifts, which has made it hard for me to find a running club or gym where I can attend a regular class. BMF has been great because I know no matter where I am working in London, there is always going to be a class somewhere nearby. I try to attend Wormwood Scrubs on Mondays and the instructor already knows how hard to push me. They really take the time to understand the needs of their class members and if I’m having too easy a time he’ll throw me a rucksack or similar to up my work rate. I don’t always thank him for it at the time, but I haven’t sworn at him yet and I know it’s what I need and it’s really helped me push myself harder than I could by myself.

Beth Albon Being based outside of London away from the rest of the team, I’m unable meet up for group training sessions and am often left to train individually. BMF is the perfect way to supplement this group element to my training regime. Monday evening is BMF run club. These sessions comprise of hill work, short sprints and mid-distance runs and frequently make use of the local 400m athletics track. They offer plenty of opportunities to push myself against other BMF members and beat personal targets over 1.5 miles and in cooper runs and bleep tests. Tuesday and Saturday sessions take place on the common in the classic BMF format and always ensure a full body workout. I usually run to these sessions straight from university allowing me to get the most out of the training opportunity and de-stress in between! BMF is the ultimate way to train for OCRs. In Southampton alone, the majority of members have taken part in an OCR and use BMF to improve their performance. It’s great to train with like-minded, driven individuals on such a regular basis.

Thomas Blanc I am now a regular at BMF in Hyde Park and find the sessions an extremely good addition to my training as I work to get myself back to the top of the sport after injury. Having suffered bad tears in my Achilles tendons I had to be careful not to push myself too soon all the while trying to get back to full fitness as quickly as possible. When I could only run small amounts the sessions were great for me as I could cope with the short, fast runs between exercises. I have also ‘doubledup’ on some days- doing back to back sessions over the course of around 2 and a half hours. Doing this is tough, but it increases your endurance as well as speed and power. Just make sure you have something to eat between sessions!

Obstacle Race | Issue 10

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REGULARS: SMOOTHIES

Yummy

SMOOTHIE RECIPES WRITTEN BY : CARL WIBBERLEY

5 REASONS TO LOVE

GREEN SMOOTHIES 1

Natural weight loss can be a happy side effect of gulping these in place of a typical breakfast (just make sure to include healthy fats and

Stay healthy all-year-long. Simple way to boost your immune system when you’re feeling under the weather.

Packed with disease-fighting antioxidants. The phytonutrients in

Obstacle Race | Issue 10

leafy greens boost your body’s immune system and keep it functioning properly.

protein to make it a more complete meal).

A natural energy booster to keep a little pep in your step in the morning (and during those afternoon slumps).

Hands down— The best fast food. It takes less than 5 minutes to make a green smoothie (and clean up!) and they’re super easy to take on the go– especially when you prep ahead.

REGULARS: SMOOTHIES

WHAT TO

ADD TO YOUR GREEN SMOOTHIE Fresh leafy greens + fruit + liquid-base … and maybe some fancy superfood toppings. It may seem like a crazy diet fad, but honestly once you try a green smoothie, you’ll most likely become insanely addicted! If you want to get all scientific, dark leafy greens contain: high-quality amino acids, important minerals, vitamins,

PRE-WORKOUT

antioxidants and beneficial phytonutrients. Phytonutrients are plant-based chemicals that support your immune system, improve health and longevity, and may reduce life- threatening diseases. I know that’s a mouthful, so I think we can both agree fruits and vegetables are good for you.

POST-WORKOUT

GREEN

The best kinds of pre-workout foods are filled with protein, good carbs, healthy fats. These ingredients help you stock up on energy, and keep you full for a long time. The apple, banana, rolled oats, coconut oil, and (of course) leafy greens make the perfect combination for a green smoothie you can drink before every workout!

Any post-workout green smoothie should AT LEAST have a good amount of protein, healthy carbs, and liquid for rehydration. This green smoothie hits all of those requirements as long as you include those chia seeds. We also highly recommend using coconut water, but you can get by with regular water. Go ahead and enjoy this smoothie… you’ve earned it!

SMOOTHIE

// serves 2

INGREDIENTS 2 cups fresh spinach 2 cups almond milk, unsweetened 1 large apple, cored, any variety 1 banana

⅓ cup rolled oats 1 tablespoon coconut oil 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

// serves 2

INGREDIENTS 2 cups fresh kale 1 cup coconut water, unsweetened (or regular water) 1 orange, peeled 1 cup pineapple 1 cup blueberries 2 tablespoons chia seeds

Issue 10 | Obstacle Race

REGULARS: MUDTREST

MUDTREST Want to get your picture on our Mudtrest wall? Email your photo, name and a short description to letters@obstacleracemagazine.com

Obstacle Race | Issue 10

REGULARS: MUDTREST

Issue 10 | Obstacle Race

REGULARS: MUDTREST

Obstacle Race | Issue 10

REGULARS: MUDTREST

THE ORM KIT

SELFIE

HAVE YOU GOT AN AWESOME PICTURE YOU WANT TO SHARE? To get your picture on to our ORM kit selfie wall email us with your name and a description at the address below:

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GET YOURS TODAY! Issue 10 | Obstacle Race

REGULARS: TRANSITIONING INTO MINIMALIST SHOES

TRANSITIONING INTO

MINIMALIST

SHOES

WRITTEN BY: COACH MICHAEL OF WILDFORESTGYM

Coach Michael is an OCR Training Expert who specialises in teaching runners how to transition from regular running shoes to minimalist shoes. We ask Coach Michael how straight forward is it? What are the pitfalls? And how you can transition? Personally I think that all shoe manufacturers who sell minimalist should pop up a health warning before you click on the checkout. That doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mean that I do not recommend them as myself I wear them. However transitioning into minimalist shoes is a long process that has to be done in stages, otherwise you could risk a serious injury. How do I know this? Well I foolishly decided one day that I was going to transition from wearing my Brooks running shoes to wearing fivefingers, which also meant that I needed to transition from heal striking to midfoot striking. The result was that 3 months down line I had a stress fracture to my left tibia. Picture this. For your entire childhood and adulthood you have been running, walking and exercising wearing regular trainers. This means your muscles, tendons, ligaments and bones

Obstacle Race | Issue 10

are programmed and accustomed to typically a 12mm heel to toe (H to T) drop. Similarly your bones are used to the impact from your old running style. These factors can have major implications as I experienced. So for me it was back to the drawing board whilst rehabilitating with some aqua jogging. I started to research how to transition from heal striking to mid foot striking and down to minimalist shoes. This led me to Dr Romanovâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Pose Method of running. I attended workshops studied intensely and then spent the next year or so developing my mid foot strike. That was a few years ago. Having learnt the hard way and I decided to make it my mission to try and teach others how to transition and develop good running form with technique.

UNDERSTANDING HEEL TO TOE DROPS Heel to toe (H to T) drop is the differential in the height of the foot bed/sole of the toes in comparison to the heels. Simply a 12mm H to T drop means that your heels are 12mm higher than your toes. Assuming that your body is configured for a 12mm H to T drop if you start to run with a lower H to T ratio such as a 3mm or zero this is likely to have implications on your Achilles tendon that connects your calf muscle to the back of your heal. With a lower H to T drop the Achilles will need to be able to extend a further 9-12mm than it would normally. The implications are that the Achilles can become inflamed or damaged in more serious cases.

REGULARS: TRANSITIONING INTO MINIMALIST SHOES

THE KEY TO TRANSITIONING There are 4 main elements to transitioning to minimalist shoes that you need to consider. • Benefits • Time • Heel striking to mid foot striking. • Which heel to toe ratio to choose. • Transitioning into your minimalist shoe.

TRANSITIONING TRAINING WITH ORM AT WILDFORESTGYM Come and learn how to transition to midfoot striking with Coach Michael. For full details visit

bit.ly/ wfgormtransitioning

BENEFITS Simply explained by wearing a low H to T drop shoe you gain a much more increased sense of contact with the ground and obstacles. Rather than wearing shoes that are clumpy or more rigid the more minimalist the shoe brings benefits such as: • Flexibility of the shoe • Adaptability to the terrain • Better contact with the obstacles • Natural feel • Lighter in weight • Larger toe box encouraging a splaying of the toes

are have progressed through the transitioning. Otherwise, at least at the beginning of your transitioning until you have built up some distance to your running. If you find yourself unable to do this then I would recommend that you keep your transitioning for your training and stay with your existing running technique and regular shoes when racing.

HEEL STRIKING TO MID FOOT STRIKE

TIME

Heel striking is common amongst runners. There is a lot of research that promotes the benefits of a mid-foot strike rather than heal strike in respect to running form, but we will save that for another article. In regard to minimalist shoes the implications are that the impact levels increase from heal striking as there is less cushioning under the heal.

Time is key and if want to do this properly I would say you should take yourself out of racing and put yourself into a training zone until you

On the basis that you don’t want to experience a stress fracture or Achilles Tendinopathy, which is inflammation to the Achilles tendon, it is

Just like track runners who wear racing flats a lower H to T ratio leads to increased speed and power and faster running.

important to seek the advice of a coach that specialises in transitioning. Then you will learn how to slowly incorporate techniques into your running that will enable you to slowly increase your ability to run on the mid foot. Notice the repetition of slowly. This is key. If you think for one moment that you can just start running on the mid foot then you will be in for a shock, like I was. By the way it is likely that any injury won’t be visible from day one. In my case it took 3 months of impact before the stress fracture showed and then it was too late. Reality transitioning can take 6-12 months. As much as Carl, the editor has asked me to write an article on transitioning I feel very reluctant to describe the techniques for heel to midfoot strike without going through it with each runner face-to-face in a workshop environment as there is so much involved. So we have organised a Transitioning Training Workshop with ORM at WildForestGym (see feature box). However, if you want to test the water on your own I would recommend the Pose Method Triathlon Techniques ISBN-13: 978-1934013021. This book is my choice rather than the Pose Method of Running book as comparatively it goes into much more detail.

Issue 10 | Obstacle Race

REGULARS: TRANSITIONING INTO MINIMALIST SHOES

CHOOSING A HEEL TO TOE RATIO This is where the hard decisions come in. In one regard I have regrets in not doing this right when I transitioned. Although there is a cost implication in regard to purchasing shoes I would recommend going down in stages from 12mm to 9mm to 6mm to 3mm and zero. It is important to note that not everyone needs to or will be able to transition down to zero. However if you want to wear a particular shoe model, which has a 6mm or lower drop, the risks are high if you haven’t done it in steps. The only company that I know that offers the whole range of H to T drops that are suitable for obstacle racing is Inov-8. However, it is still not straightforward. For one, not all

TRANSITIONING INTO YOUR MINIMALIST SHOE My recommendation for transitioning will be to follow one of the following steps. Integrating the transitioning into your regular runs This technique assumes that you run 3 to 4 times a week. If not you will need to adapt in accordingly. You will also need a small rucksack that can hold a pair of trainers. Place your minimalist shoes into your rucksack. Put on your regular running shoes. Go for your regular run and then for the last x mins of your run switch shoes. So initially if you are going to go for a 45 mins run you wear your regular running shoes for 35 mins, then switch into your minimalist for the last 10 mins. By the time you get to week 12 virtually your whole run i.e. 80mins will be in your minimalist shoes.

Obstacle Race | Issue 10

the models have the full range of H to T drops. So when Inov-8 released their OCR shoe the x-Talon 200 a lot of OCR runners were excited. However, it only comes with a 3mm and a lot of runners who bought them didn’t transition down. No doubt some of them are now beginning to feel the effect of not transitioning. So choosing the right H to T drop I would recommend not going to less than 6mm in the first instance and preferably a 9mm and then moving down to a 6mm drop. It should also be noted that your choice of shoe and drop needs to take into account the terrain and distance when it comes to impact and grip. In the drier weather when the ground is compacted or the terrain is very rugged a thicker foot bed may be more suitable as it will reduce impact. In winter races when the ground is boggy, wet and muddy then a shoe with larger rubber studs/ cleats are recommended. Metal studs are generally banned.

WEEK

RUNS PER WEEK

X MINS

14+ weeks Increase by 10 mins every 2 weeks.

TRANSITIONING WHEN NOT INTEGRATING If you are not used to running long distance you can instead follow the above plan, but just go out for a 10 mins run 4 times per week in your new minimalist shoe and then increase it accordingly.

TRANSITIONING FOR EACH DROP If you decide to lower your H to T drop again then I would recommend you start the whole process again after you have reached your maximum running distance/time i.e. if your regular running distance is 60 mins don’t move onto the new H to T drop until you have completed week 9. Then only transition again if you feel ready. If not be patient and get used to your new H to T drop before transitioning down again if at all.

FEEDBACK It is important to listen to feedback in regard to aches, pains and comfort. If you are feeling that this process is not right for you stop. If you feel you need to stop, take a rest, slow down the increase or step back and in duration then listen to your body. If you are still unsure seek medical or professional advice or email me info@ wildforestgym.com.

MEDICAL ADVICE If you are not sure transitioning is suitable for you or that you have an underlying injury or issue I recommend you seek medical advice before starting.

REGULARS: MUDNIFICENT 7 PROMO

The

MUDNIFICENT 7 OCR & EXPO TOUGH® GUY THE WORLD’S FIRST MULTI BRANDED OBSTACLE COURSE RACE SATURDAY 1ST AUGUST 2015 MIDLANDS, HEART PARK, WARWICKSHIRE, CV7 8DX OCR EXPO WITH OVER 40 STANDS OF ALL THE BRANDS AND RACES YOU LOVE

SO WHAT IS THE MUDNIFICENT 7, AND WHAT DO WE HAVE IN STORE FOR YOU?

This will make for the most action packed, enjoyable and exciting 7 kilometres you’ll have had the pleasure of running.

WHAT EXACTLY IS IT: An obstacle course race which will comprise of 7 fantastic obstacle course racing organisations

To top this off we’re also putting together a whole host of the brands which OCR loves, providing you with the first OCR specific  EXPO.

Obstacle Race | Issue 10

each putting together a kilometre of their most exciting obstacles on one course.

REGULARS: MUDNIFICENT 7 PROMO

WHO: Anyone can run this race, its designed to be fun and enjoyable for everyone while still giving you a great challenge and will have you walking away with a huge sense of achievement WHAT DO I GET: Awesome Medal Race Finishers T-shirt Free Access to the Expo Area Free race photography

Head over to

WWW.MUD7.COM To sign up and find out more information

TOUGH GUY THE ORIGINAL Mr Mouse the legendary man himself will be stood at the start line setting off the start canon. Tough Guy is known for being an OCR that tests people to their limits while keeping them safe. We don’t want to give anything away but they’ll be putting something very special in their zone for you to experience. The original and considered by many as the toughest race on the planet. Winter Tough Guy is famous for the harsh conditions and bitterly cold water which puts pay to many a runner. For more information go to:

WWW.TOUGHGUY.CO.UK

TOUGH® GUY Issue 10 | Obstacle Race

REGULARS: MUDNIFICENT 7 PROMO

AIRFIELD ANARCHY A RAF and aircraft themed obstacle course race with some of the biggest and best obstacles in the business. Airfield Anarchy is a mud-running /OCR. They’ll be combining rough undulating terrain with plenty of obstacles located throughout the run that you must climb, slide, crawl, wade and jump across to finish their section of Mud7. Expect big walls and also a real show stopper of an obstacle. For more information go to:

AIRFIELDANARCHY.COM

REAPER EVENTS Reaper are the Heart Park experts and they’ve shown us all of the best and most muddy parts of the venue to use. The same guys behind Reaper are also behind the recently opened ‘The Obstacle Gym’ in Lutterworth which is the best big kid’s playground we’ve ever been to. Grab your head torch and take on the Night Reaper. If you’ve not done a night race yet, you must get one under your belt in 2015, puts a whole new dimension on it. For more information go to:

REAPEREVENTS.CO.UK

Obstacle Race | Issue 10

REGULARS: MUDNIFICENT 7 PROMO

AZTEC WARRIOR Do you have what it takes to become an Aztec Warrior? A new event series for the UK in 2016 will to have you step outside your comfort zone. Our course will be built to challenge you, whilst still keeping the fun factor so all abilities can unleash their weekend warrior! Aztec Warrior will be unlike any Obstacle Course Race you have experienced before. Conquer the temple and be rewarded with the ultimate Aztec gold. For more information go to :

AZTEC-WARRIOR.COM

BIGFOOT CHALLENGE BigFoot Challenge is the world's first Obstacle Course Run based on ‘true coursing’ over natural terrain. Designed to challenge both the casual 5k runner and the hardened, long-distance obstacle course runner, their exclusive obstacle designs mean that both types of participants can realise their goals. The BigFoot Challenge course is the absolute evolution of obstacle and mud running, packed with unique obstacles that have never before

been seen or traversed. Use your agility, cunning, and strength to achieve hard-fought success! This is not another military-based assault course, with one 10-foot wall followed by another. It is what nature offers to you, anywhere in the world you happen to be. In turn, we offer you ways to overcome the obstacles that we think nature herself would approve.... ...so we design and build to suit Mother Nature’s "Greenprint". For more information go to:

BIGFOOTCHALLENGE. CO.UK

Issue 10 | Obstacle Race

REGULARS: MUDNIFICENT 7 PROMO

BEAR GRYLLS SURVIVAL RACE We would like to introduce to you the Bear Grylls Survival Race! Set to hit the OCR scene with a completely new concept in 2015. We are so proud to announce you can get your first taste of what theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re all about at Mudnificent 7. Expect to be surprised at each turn and also its safe to go for a pre race pee as you wont be asked to drink it. For more information go to :

BEARGRYLLSSURVIVALRACE.COM

RAM RUN The Ram Run have really made a name for themselves over the last couple of years. Known for their ability to hunt out the best and most challenging terrain. Expect to be taking one step forward and two steps back in the territory they find for you throughout their section. The Wild Ram has a ton of surprises in store for you. For more information go to:

RAMRUN.CO.UK

Obstacle Race | Issue 10

RACE REVIEW: AN EARLY TASTE OF SUFFERING

EARLY TASTE OF SUFFERING

The Suffering Legends is already a very exclusive club whose list dons the names of some of OCR’s toughest/ craziest racers. This is mainly due to the fact that the guys behind the race like to find the toughest terrain including huge leg sapping hills and mix this with a generous portion of obstacles, which makes for a tough run. Just one of their three distances would put its stamp on the way you walk the day after you’d raced it. But to become a legend you have to race not one but all three of the distances set over the weekend, these are a 5k, 10k and 10 miler. If you’re still not sweating about entering this club, then read on because once again it’s still not as simple as that. The Pain and Suffering boys do like to give you a lot for your money and this comes in the form of a few extra miles so you can add around 30-40% to the distances to really test your grit. Hopefully this now sets the scene of what an immense challenge this is. What if I was to tell you we’re about to share the account of how a young man called Kyle Catlin who’s just 14 years of age not only managed to complete this to be the youngest to add his name to the Legends board, but he actually looked pretty fresh face at the end of it. ... Oh to be young again!

Obstacle Race | Issue 10

RACE REVIEW: AN EARLY TASTE OF SUFFERING

KYLE CATLIN

The Suffering Race

Location: Rockingham Castle Number of Obstacles: 30-50 Terrain: Relentless Hills Level of mud: 7/10 Difficulty: 9.5/10

Issue 10 | Obstacle Race

RACE REVIEW: SUFFERING RACE

The Suffering. The Suffering was definitely the hardest OCR I have taken part in.

Did you find any of the obstacles particularly difficult?

My friends and teachers are still learning about what OCR is, as they didn’t appreciate what the races involve but it has definitely earned me some bragging rights amongst the tough running parklands club. Apart from now their expectations of me are rather high.

It’s mentally challenging as well as having the physical element. But now I am looking forward to my next challenge. It's definitely pushed me to train harder and look forward to my future in OCR. I still found all the participants were as encouraging and supportive as at the other races.

The walls at the end were definitely testing. You turn the corner thinking you had made it and there stood all these 10ft walls, your heart sinks a little but then you just plough through them one by one to the finish line.

We know how the suffering guys like to add a bit of extra distance to their runs, what distances did they end up being?

I think that's what helps as it's like a giant team working together rather than being competitive solo runners.

I ran 27 miles in total over the weekend. I definitely got my money’s worth!

Were there certain parts or obstacles on the course that stood out as your favourites?

What sort of training had you been doing to prepare for the races?

I love any kind of muddy bogs or water obstacles. The hills were definitely a challenge, I hated them as well as loving the feeling that I got when I had made it past them. I never thought I would be sat in a muddy ditch singing ‘Twinkle Twinkle little Star’ in an OCR race but actually this was all part of the fun.

Kyle you must be feeling pretty proud of your achievement right now, has it earned you some bragging rights at school?

I have learnt a lot at tough running parklands training on a Saturday and enjoy racing my dad around the forest where we live. Dad did get me up a few times at 5am to run with the sandbaggers at Sywell as well. How many OCRs had you done before The Suffering and how did they compare to these? I started off at Mud Sweat and Beers, then moved onto The Ram Run but this was before

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Will you be persuading any of your mates to join you at your future runs? I've got my two younger brothers involved now and I’ve made up a team from my young farmers group, Newport Pagnell for the Boulder Dash. Because once you try it, I think most people get the adrenaline rush from completing a race and hopefully continue the sport. It seems you have a great future ahead of you in OCR, have you sent any goals for yourself? My dream would be to qualify for the World Championships in a few years. But most all I was happy to beat my dad at The Suffering!

RECIPES

LETâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S GET COOKING FRESH SUMMER TIME RECIPES Lovely light recipes to add much needed vitamins and minerals to your diet while being perfect to eat while enjoying the sun .

PAN FRIED

COD With

POTATO SALAD

SERVES 2 INGREDIENTS, 150g new potatoes, large ones halved 2tbsp small capers 2tbsp dill, chopped 1tsp dijon mustard 1tsp caster sugar 2tbsp white wine vinegar 2tbsp sunflower oil, plus a drizzle 2 spring onions, finely chopped 2boneless cod fillet or loin, about 150g each

METHOD Cook the potatoes in a pan of boiling salted water until tender, drain, then cool under cold running water for a minute or two. Drain again. To make the dressing put the capers, dill, mustard, sugar, vinegar and oil in a jam jar and shake for 1 minute or until combined and the dressing looks a little thicker. Pour over the potatoes and stir through the spring onions. Set aside. Pat the cod dry on kitchen towel. Heat a drizzle of oil in a large non stick frying pan then cook the fish skin side down for 3 minutes, this will give you nice crispy skin, flip over and cook for a further 2 minutes. Serve the fish with the potato salad.

Obstacle Race | Issue 10

RECIPES

FENNEL AND

SPINACH

SALAD

WITH

SHRIMP AND

BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE SERVES 2 INGREDIENTS 3 slices bacon A handful of jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined 2 cups thinly sliced fennel bulb (about 1 medium bulb) 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved 1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion 2 handfuls fresh baby spinach 2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

METHOD Cook bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving drippings, and crumble. Add the shrimp to pan, and cook 2 minutes, turning once. Combine bacon, 2 cups of fennel, tomatoes, red onion, and baby spinach in a bowl. Combine the remaining ingredients in a small bowl, stirring. Add the shrimp and balsamic mixture to spinach mixture; toss well.

Issue 10 | Obstacle Race

REGULARS: TRAINING WITH BOOTCAMP REVOLUTION

PART 2

CAR TYRE

TRAINING Introducing the second episode in the new range of training articles, brought to you by the PTs of Bootcamp Revolution Obstacle Course. Over the coming months, PT Emz and PT Mitch of BC Revolution will be bringing you a wide range of exercise plans, designed for all abilities, busy lives, and all using equipment that won't break the bank! So, in keeping with the Primal theme, Emz and Mitch bring you Bootcamp Revolutions second instalment of: 'REINVENTING THE WHEEL'

CRUCIAL CORE For any Obstacle racer, having a conditioned core is crucial for a lot of reasons! If we’re all honest, most want a good core and killer Abs to look good in ‘THAT’ photo! You know the one that 6 pack rippling, Adrenaline spiking, bare fleshed moment captured on start lines across the world!

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But, beyond the sexy photos, are the masses of health and fitness related reasons to bag yourself a good core!

SO, WHAT DOES IT DO?? Primarily, the core plays an integral part in the efficient mechanics used for human movement. Running, for example, the foundation upon which all OCRs are based, is vastly improved when your core is at its peak strength! The human core is the supportive centre of the torso, comprising of: lower back, abs, pelvis and hips, all of which work in sync when running. As every step strikes the ground, kinetic energy travels from your foot, up your leg to your hamstring & the lower section of the body and back down the other leg. A well conditioned core prevents any unnecessary movement or wasted energy, all while keeping the torso solid and powerful, reducing the risk of injury. So what ever your reason for wanting to turn your core in to a Super Structure, we’ll show you how to get started!

WORKOUT INTRO (recap)

THE KIT:

A Car Tyre - Free, easy to store, range of sizes and weights with limitless exercises to target your strength, stamina, speed, endurance, balance and core. What you’ll need: one car tyre - select a size that is suitable for your strength and height. It should be sufficient in size and weight to challenge you but not hurt you. What to look for: ensure your tyre is safe - no exposed metal, no protruding nails or sharp objects.

WHERE TO GET YOURS:

Most local car tyre outlets will be more than happy to give one away, especially if you explain why you require one, but please be sure to dispose of yours responsibly if and when you decide to upgrade to a larger model

REGULARS: TRAINING WITH BOOTCAMP REVOLUTION

‘Reinventing the wheel’ PART 2:

CRUCIAL CORE

Health notice: We recommend you seek the advice of your doctor before commencing any new fitness program. Please ensure you warm up sufficiently before undertaking any exercises

TYRE SLAM: • Stand with legs shoulder width: with toes pointing at 11 & 1 on the clock) • With tyre in both hands, with tred towards the body (so you can't see through the centre of the tyre) hold tyre high over your head. • In one fluid movement, bring tyre down and 'slam' it on the floor, squating down as tyre comes down.

• When tyre hits the floor, let go, and re catch as if bouncing a ball. Bring the tyre back over head to start position. • Brace ABS and tuck tail bone under through out exercise to ensure back is supported and core is stabilised WARNING: if you like your teeth and nose in their current position on your face, keep body upright and avoid leaning forward over bouncing tyre, or you may get a little too intimate with your tyre!

WARM UP: • 5 minute jog to increase heart rate and prepare muscles. • Star Jumps • Heels to bum • Sprint forwards 10 paces / jog backwards to start point Perform each of the above exercises for the following amount of time B: 30 second I: 45 seconds A: 60 seconds REPEAT

SIDE TUCK IN:

• Jump feet back to start position (plank) then repeat to the right side.

WORKOUT:

• Starting in plank position with hands on tyre, (keeping your head, shoulders, hips, knees and feet in one straight line)

• Keep core tight throughout exercise, pulling belly button in towards spine.

THE TIMESCALE: Beginner: 20 minutes Intermediate: 25 minutes Advanced: 30 minutes

• In one explosive move, jump both feet in towards the left side of the body, aiming the knees to the left elbow.

For a lower impact alternative, step right foot in towards left elbow, then step left foot in towards left elbow. Return to start position in the same step/step manner

THE PLAN: Start by performing 1 Rep of each exercise, then 2 Reps of every exercises, increasing by 1 rep every full set, for the time scale shown, attempting to achieve as many sets of all exercises as possible. THE AIM: Attempt to increase the SET count every time you repeat the workout

THE EXERCISES:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Tyre Slam Tyre Burpee Side Tuck in Over Head Touch XBody Mountain climbers Press Up Plank Touch Can I kick it?! M-Touch Tri-Tyre Dip

LAYING OVER HEAD: • Laying on the ground, face up, with head up against tyre. Keep core tight. For beginners or those with weak core/ back issues, lift one leg up towards sky in a smooth motion, then return to ground and repeat with other leg. For more advanced, raise both legs simultaneously vertically. Using lower core abdominals,mount hips off the floor and aim feet over head towards tyre. Return slowly and smoothly, ensuring core tension throughout.

Issue 10 | Obstacle Race

REGULARS: TRAINING WITH BOOTCAMP REVOLUTION

X BODY MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS: • Starting in plank position with hands on tyre, (keeping your head, shoulders, hips, knees and feet in one straight line)

• In one movement, launch the right leg back to start position, switching legs and brining left leg in towards the body

• In a 'running' motion bring the right knee in towards the body aiming diagonally across towards the left elbow

For beginners, use a step/step movement rather than a running motion Keep core tight throughout exercise, pulling belly button in towards spine.

M TOUCH: • Place the tyre on its end, so it's balanced on the tred. • Lay down, face up and place arms, palms up in a T-position. For beginners, keep knees bent in towards the body. For more advanced, straighten legs, ensuring lower back doesn't arch and lift off floor. • Creating an 'M' pattern with your feet, touch the floor to the left of the tyre, raise the feet up to sky, then lower to top of tyre without knocking it over (forfeit is to start all over again if you knock it down!) and then move the feet to touch the floor on the right • Attempt to keep the upper body perfectly still and pull the belly button in towards the spine to keep back solid to ground

PRESS UP

(beginners option)

• In plank position with knees on floor, ensuring a straight line from back of head to knees, place hands on tyre, set as wide as possible, lower your chest towards the tyre by bending elbows outwards. Avoid lifting butt upwards and try to maintain straight plank position throughout. • Return smoothly to start position by extending arms, lifting upper body back up with arms fully extended

PLANK TOUCH: • Assume plank position with hands on floor with tyre just level with your forehead. • Ensure head is held in a neutral position (chin at a right angle) and the body holds a straight line from back of head down to ankles. Beginners can perform this exercise on their knees. • Keeping the body in alignment and core pulled tight, reach one hand out to touch the tyre return to start position and repeat with other hand. To intensify the exercise, move the tyre further away, or add a push and pull back of the tyre with each arm extension

Obstacle Race | Issue 10

PRESS UP KICK OUT

(Advanced option)

• In plank position with toes on floor, ensuring a straight line from back of head to heels.

• Simultaneously, jump feet out sideways as wide as possible, creating an 'X' shape with the body.

• Place hands on tyre, set as wide as possible. In one smooth movement, lower your chest towards the tyre by bending elbows outwards.

• Maintain straight plank position throughout. Return smoothly to start position by extending arms, lifting upper body back up, jumping feet back together to start position.

TYRE KICK

(aka the Doggie Shove)

• With tyre in front of feet, assume a reverse plank or crab position, (facing upwards, lift body up on hands and feet with arms extended, belly to sky, with hips lifted and inline with knees and

knees directly over heels.) • Using the heel of one foot, kick the tyre in one strong, powerful movement, shoving it away from you as far as possible. On all fours, and as smoothly and as fast as possible, crab crawl towards your tyre and repeat, kicking with the other leg.

STRONG BODY STRONG MIND With a strong, stabilised core also comes improved balance, coordination and range of movement. Studies have shown that by performing regular core exercises, certain areas of the brain (the Cerebellum) responsible for balance, spatial awareness, motor skills and coordination are stimulated. So, it's a workout for your brain and your body!

AB WORKOUTS: By working your deep abdominal muscles (transverse abdominis) you will not only strengthen your abs, resulting in a flatter stomach, which makes your body look and feel better but you will also be working the frontal section of your cores structure.

STABILISE YOUR BACK An astonishing 1 in 3 people suffer with moderate to severe back pain on a regular basis, that’s an incredibly high percentage, especially, when most cases can be rectified with a few simple postural alterations and a few core specific exercises. Lower back pain is often experienced by those carrying extra weight/ body fat, so combining centimetre loss with a back strengthening exercise program, you will be less prone to lower back pain, experience a vastly improved range of spinal movement and feel less stressed and tense.

FEET ON TRI: • Assuming the same position as the Tyre Kick/Doggie Shove but place feet on the widest part of the tyre. This unstable position encourages the core to activate, in an attempt to keep you balanced.

• Keeping hips held high, bend the elbows lowering your shoulder blades towards the ground as low as possible. For more advanced, extended one leg vertically before performing the tie dip to further increase the instability.

******* SIMPLE EQUATION: Good core (Stabilised Back + less tension) = Better range of motion/Enhanced Flexibility

******* BREATH BETTER Core muscles are connected to the diaphragm (Transverse Abdominis muscles) and improve and enhance the inhale/exhale process. If you can take in more oxygen, the heart can pump more blood, which has a positive impact on your endurance, stamina and recovery levels

Issue 10 | Obstacle Race

FEATURE: IMPROVE YOUR GRIP STRENGTH

Improve YOUR GRIP STRENGTH WRITTEN BY: LUCY CLAY

Ever get that feeling that you’re just destined not to do the monkey bars, you fall off at the first rung and accept your burpees or the disappointment of not finishing them? Do you feel that some people can jump and grab the tops of walls, and some of us are just destined to have the top slip from our fingers? How about carrying a bucket or sandbag and finding it falling towards your toes every few paces whilst others look like they are carrying half the weight? The difference between them and you could be simply grip strength. How well you can hold onto objects, either hanging from them, grabbing them, or holding them, is your grip strength. This is predominantly controlled by the small muscles in your hands as well as your forearm muscles. In Obstacle Course Racing it would be very odd for you to find a race that didn’t have a few obstacles to test your grip strength. Monkey bars, walls, rope climbs, cargo net climbs, bucket carry, sandbag carry, and even grabbing your team mate to pull them out of a ditch or up a wall! So, since this is so important for our race experience, let’s look at how to improve it.

Exercises Here are a few exercises that you can do to improve your grip strength. Most are aimed at those with very little strength currently, but there are progressions in there for those of you who are more advanced! Make sure to properly warm up and work within your ability, asking for some coaching from a trainer in the gym if you need help. Adding these exercises into your normal routine once or twice a week to begin with should be enough to help you improve.

Obstacle Race | Issue 10

FEATURE: IMPROVE YOUR GRIP STRENGTH

Farmers carry Grab a dumbbell or kettle bell that feels heavy but you can pick up safely. Find space to walk back and forth where you train. Holding the weight, walk to one end and back (make this total about 30 seconds, so do multiple lengths). Repeat this two or three times. Make sure you are using a weight that is only just comfortable to carry for 30 seconds. To make this more challenging, use a weight plate, grip the edge, and complete the exercise as above. Be careful of your toes with this one, as dropping it wouldn’t be pleasant!

Switch up hanging To begin with, find a pull up bar, and simply hang for as long as you can. Make sure you aren’t ‘shrugging’ your shoulders. Once you’re confident and you are building up a good 30 seconds at least, start taking one hand off at a time for a few seconds, and replacing it. Then repeat with the other hand. Keep practicing this until you can do it for around 10 times, for about 3-5 seconds per hand, to mimic monkey bars … however, we know some of the monkey bars in OCR are getting very long now, so you can never be ‘too good’ at this!

Jump and grab Once you’ve mastered number 2, find a pull up bar with plenty of space. Squat down and jump up to grab the bar. The idea of this exercise is to get use to you jumping and grabbing the bar. Try to hang for a few seconds once you have grabbed the bar. This will help you train for getting up walls that you can’t immediately reach without a jump, jumping to monkey bars, and even for situations such as losing your grip on ropes and having to grip it quickly again.

Other suggestions Bouldering/Climbing is a great activity to supplement your training with. Not only is it fantastic for strength throughout your body, it also requires immense grip strength. If you’ve never been before, prepare for aching hands after your first session.

Also, make sure you include free weights within your training. Everything from bicep curls, to deadlifts, to kettle bell swings requires grip strength. All of these will help to train your grip without you even noticing. Also if you’re used to using chalk or straps for lifting weights, make

sure you do a few sessions without so you can train your grip raw. So whatever your current level is, pick an exercise, set yourself a goal, and GRAB IT!

Issue 10 | Obstacle Race

FEATURE: IN SICKNESS AND IN FILTH

IN SICKNESS AND IN FILTH

WRITTEN BY: VINCE JAMES

So there’s no escaping it, us obstacle running folk are a superb bunch of people, even if we do say so ourselves! We’re smashing personal bests left, right and centre, running distances we thought were impossible a year a go and lifting more weight than a Bolivian mountain donkey. Some of us have made the leap from the sofa to leaping around cold muddy fields and it’s opened our eyes to a whole new lifestyle. This is all pretty amazing stuff, however there’s a group of people that deserve almost as much recognition as the OCR nutter and this is the long suffering partner of an OCR nutter. Let’s face it, they put up with a lot don’t they? A large proportion of our spare time is taken up either training, being injured by training where we sulk like babies or talking about training and just hoooooow friggin awesome we are via an array of social media outlets (*cough* yes okay, some of us more than others). And don’t even mention the financial side of it, £70 to run round a muddy field, are we mad!! Or the other one “but I really need this pair of trainers”. From an outsider looking in, it must be all pretty tedious stuff! Then there’s the pre-race day itself. We’re all fidgety and regardless of what else is occurring on the planet, it simply isn’t important. The race is important, getting enough sleep is important, carbing up (whatever that is) is important, hydration is important. Anything else, well it will simply have to wait. Whereas in truth, I for one have learnt over the last year or so, yes it is important but for a lot of us in the grand scheme of things, it’s not that important. Next there’s the big day itself, Race Day. Umpteen weekends of precious family time taken up so we can go running around boggy farmland in the middle of nowhere, lumping a ghastly sandbag around. Only for us to return home limping through the front door

Obstacle Race | Issue 10

resembling Keyser Soze (you know, the guy from The Usual Suspects). Or the other end of the scale lording it around due to ‘smashing’ up another race along with the inevitable several hours of tedious facebook notifications. Actually, whilst I’m writing with that lovely smell of a roast dinner filling the house and my dog looking at me sulking away (she thinks she’s neglected, whereas in truth she’s a very lucky little girl), sorry I’m digressing, our other halves really do put up with an awful lot. So what’s the answer to re-address the balance? Well like a lot of long suffering partners, wives and husbands, you could adopt the ‘if you can’t beat them, join them approach’. They too can share the pleasure and pain that comes with this way of life. As an added bonus, if your beloved does opt for this route, then no longer will you have to hear things such as “you always seem to be standing next to that person?” or “why do you always need to tell everyone how fast you’ve ran” or “I don’t tell everyone when I’ve won a game of f****** tennis!”. Then there’s “you never look that happy when you’re with me” or my personal favourite “oh look it’s that skinny cow again” (that gem is courtesy from my now ex-girlfriend!). Come to think about it, me laughing when she said this probably didn’t help matters now did it! Maybe a support group is the answer, P.O.C.R.U.T - Partners of Obstacle Racers Unite Together, headed up Mrs Upton herself and Phil Carrington, husband and chauffer to fund raiser extraordinaire Helen Carrington. Maybe they should get their very own medal for just putting up with us, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for muddy or clean. Who knows what the answer is. What I do know is, like anything in life, you have to get the balance right. It may well be very interesting to us, but you can bet your bottom dollar it’s boring as hell to our beloveds. So the next time you book a race, remember to book a table for two at their favourite restaurant as a way to say thank you for everything they have to put up with. Jeez, I honestly can’t believe I got through that whole article without mentioning my Spartan Race discount code …..Aroo!

FEATURE: IN SICKNESS AND IN FILTH

Issue 10 | Obstacle Race

FEATURE: BEAR GRYLLS

BEAR GRYLLS SURVIVAL RACE LOW DOWN Written by: Kevin Newey

This October, the most exciting event launch of 2015 is happening at Trent Park, North London….The Bear Grylls Survival Race. A full race weekend with an event suited to everyone. Whether it’s 5km or 10km races on Saturday 3rd Oct, or the 30km Ultimate Survivor Race on the Sunday, you can choose how much you would like to be challenged. Backed up with the kids’ races and spectator festival area, will you want to miss out? I was invited to go and meet with Bear for a one on one interview and then to his media launch. Following both meet ups, we can conclude that this event promises to be something very special, and he’s starting this venture for all of the right reasons.

Obstacle Race | Issue 10

FEATURE: BEAR GRYLLS

Issue 10 | Obstacle Race

FEATURE: BEAR GRYLLS

KN: Great to meet you Bear. Tell me a bit about what you’re doing. BG: I really want this whole obstacle race and survival race we’ve put together to be a real family feel of great people, and what really drives me in my life is building community of likeminded people who love the outdoors, love adventure, love pushing themselves and that sense of achievement together. We’re all in this business together which is about encouraging and inspiring people to get outside. From young kids who we all encounter in our lives who want adventure and want to get off their PlayStation and off their iPhones but they don’t always know how to do that. To scouts that are out there actually doing it and building expeditions and people who by necessity spend too much time in an office and want to challenge themselves to then the ultra athletes of our nation who want the next best thing, bigger, better, tougher. KN: Where did the idea come from? BG: This really came about because I suppose so many people came up to me through the years saying we’ve done this race and we’ve done that race but you should do something in this space. And whether it’s people who have

Obstacle Race | Issue 10

gone through our survival academy that now runs in 30 different locations all around the world, to the Scouts. So many people who have come through that say it would be great to do a challenging obstacle race rather than just the survival stuff that we’ve now done. So it’s always been in the back of my mind, and a few big companies who are already in this space have approached me before saying what about doing a BG sort of licenced race. It’s always tempting to do these things because you think that might be a good business, but we’ve always said no. I’ve learnt in my life that the most powerful word in my kind of work world is to say no. And we’ve said no for a purpose, because I don’t just want to brand a race and put that out. I want to do something that is really authentic to what we do. KN: What are your goals for this event? BG: I’ve got two clear goals for these races, the first is to provide a series of races that are family friendly. So whether you’ve got a young kid, and I meet them a lot, aged 4 or 5, that kind of want to imagine they’re swinging across ravines and there’s jungles, chasms’, and caves and crocs and all that good stuff, and they can do something that isn’t patronising. It isn’t plastic and red, it’s something that’s geared for adults,

but we’ve just scaled it down. I want to do something that’s great for the 8 year old kids. I meet some incredible 8 to 12 year old kids, who they don’t see themselves as kids and they’re almost not kids, they’re strong and they’re determined and they can do stuff that most of my friends can’t do. The second goal is to be at the cutting edge of this. I don’t mind if nobody completes the race. I love pushing people, and people like to be pushed and they like that sense of achievement. The motto we’ve done for this is – HEROES ARE MADE NOT BORN. KN: How did you go about putting your team together? BG: It’s important to put the right team together and we’ve done that and Mark from Run For Charity has been amazing and Paul has been a big part of it and built a fun team. We’ve bought in all of my filming team, excommando’s, ex-SAS buddies who I film with putting the TV shows together. We’ve sat in enough jungle airstrips over the years waiting for airlifts, scratching our heads thinking, what would really be cool? What is nobody doing? What are none of these Spartans or Tough Mudders doing that people I know would love? Something that tickles the belly of danger and actually we could pull it off.

FEATURE: BEAR GRYLLS

KN: What do you think Obstacle Course Racing is about? BG: Traditionally, I think it’s all about fitness, but I know from the wild, it takes a lot more than just fitness to stay alive. It takes adventure, endeavour, fitness and survival all mixed together. You’ve got to be on your wits, you’ve got to be resourceful, you’ve got to be fast, have balance and poise and power and endurance. KN: Why have you mixed survival with obstacle racing? BG: The two things are so closely aligned, the skills and spirit required to survive in the wild are also so many of the qualities needed to perform as a top OCR athlete. And of course when you combine survival, adventure and fitness, into one huge obstacle race, it makes for an incredible and very dynamic course! KN: How tough do you think OCR is as a sport? BG: They obviously can be hugely tough, although I feel so proud to have raised the bar with the Ultimate Survivor Race into a whole new arena. We have reached beyond just

fitness, creating a race that challenges mind body spirit as well as your courage commitment and ability to react under pressure.

on the Tough Guy course for a long time. A great deal of respect for that man. KN: Finally, what are the plans for 2016?

KN: What is the Ultimate Survivor Race? BG: 30KM with 6 survival challenges, exclusive to only 1000 people, and spaces are almost full. We’ve also put up a first prize of £5,000 to the winner. We’re being quite secretive about what this event involves for a reason. We want it to be really fresh for people when they do it. It’s a bit like the UK Ninja Warrior, you can’t say too much or they prepare for it too much, but that’s the really fun part, thinking on your feet. KN: Which OCR event is your favourite? BG: My personal favourite is probably Tough Guy, but all the races have been competing in a similar space. What's been fun is taking the whole OCR industry into adventure as well as fitness.

BG: So, we’re doing the Mudnificent 7 event first with you as a little taster in August, and then we’ve got the launch event weekend in October. We really want to start doing a very few events well and then build on it. And then we’ll expand it in 2016, and then out of the UK. We’ve got some pretty fun plans in America and Asia where my stuff kind of works. I love doing it in the UK because I can get involved with it and involve the Scouts. So we want to do it small and really build that foundation well and then we’ll partner with good people. If you don’t risk anything, you don’t gain anything, we’ve got to go for it but I can’t do it on my own, come along, bring your friends, you’ll love it.

KN: Why Tough Guy?

So there you have it. We’ve got lots of excited people ready for the taster at The Mudnificent 7 to see what sort of obstacles are in store, and we can’t wait either.

BG: It is the original OCR race. Some people think that OCR has only been around for a few years but Billy Wilson has been testing people

For full details on the event weekend and to register, visit:

BEARGRYLLSSURVIVALRACE.COM

Issue 10 | Obstacle Race

RACE REVIEW: FIGHTING THE MUD MONSTERS

RACE REVIEW FIGHTING THE MUD

MONSTERS

Written by Rachael Brewitt

Mud monsters is set in East Grinstead in West Sussex with the option of a 5km, 10km or a 20km race. Unlike most races Mud Monsters issued the course map well in advance of the race, this was either going to be a very wise or very bad move. Helping to drum up interest was a smart move but could it live up to expectations set with a promise of over 50 obstacles in a 10km lap!!

Obstacle Race | Issue 10

RACE REVIEW: FIGHTING THE MUD MONSTERS

RACHAEL BREWITT

Mud Monster Run

Location: Grinstead Number of Obstacles: 50(approx) Terrain: Very varied Level of mud: 9/10 Difficulty: 6.5/10

Issue 10 | Obstacle Race

RACE REVIEW: FIGHTING THE MUD MONSTERS

Having never ran a Mud Monsters event before I didn't know what to expect but on my drive in I was excited to see what was there. Arriving at the event was very straight forward being well sign posted from the main road all the way to the car park, the only slightly strange part was that you arrive by driving through a housing estate. The car park was close to the event village and the volunteers were very friendly. Parking had no compulsory fee but a donation to a local charity was an option, same as with the bag drop. The event village wasn't the biggest I've ever been in but it was more than adequate for the limit of 500 racers and had lots of different food options as well as clothing from Red Bear and the new Big Body Wipes. I was in the 10am first wave running 10km. South West Military Fitness got every one warmed up and after a short jog around a tree to the start line the race began. Before we knew it we were onto the first obstacle which was a row of hay bales to split the field up nicely

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followed by what was the first of many very muddy ditches. After that was a quick field run and into the forest area, the first surprise it had in store for us was a Jacobs ladder up high between two trees. The load bearing obstacles were signed up as a maximum of 6 people and with some very good marshaling meant that there was no queuing. The first part of the race followed a similar pattern of deep muddy trenches and man made wooden obstacles to climb over or crawl under followed by a fab water slide. The next section of the race included weighted carries which included a tyre run and an up hill carry with a fence post. Recently I've found races seem to be including weighted carries as a way of just extending distance and soon become boring but Mud Monsters just felt like the right amount of distance long enough to be difficult but not so long they become boring and repetitive. The final section of the race saw a pattern of wooden man made obstacles such as A frames,

a cargo net frame, walls and an Irish table split in between muddy trenches and a few refreshing river crossings. Two standout obstacles for me had to be the deep trenches that were used as a cage crawl and a storm drain in the river to jump out off. As we approached the finish of the race we were greeted by nice load pumping music and some more friendly marshals with an excellent medal!! This being my first Mud Monsters event I was very impressed, all of the man made obstacles were of a very high build quality, none of the river crossings were long enough to become tedious and boring same as with the weighted carries. All in all an excellent event that lived up to social media hype and delivered what was promised for a fantastic price. We even found the very friendly Race Director out on course encouraging everyone! I would definitely do another Mud Monsters and encourage others to try them as well as it represents great value for money !!

FEATURE: WARRIOR TRAIL LOW DOWN

FROM THE UK

TO THAILAND

As I stood atop a muddy, windswept hill on a farm just west of Wolverhampton, along with 5000 wannabe and hardened Tough Guys, a lump entered my throat and I knew I was in for something horribly special. The year was 2002 and I was about to enter the world of OCR at Tough Guy, Year of the Braveheart.

Obstacle Race | Issue 10

FEATURE: WARRIOR TRAIL LOW DOWN

Issue 10 | Obstacle Race

FEATURE: WARRIOR TRAIL LOW DOWN

What followed was two of the most painful, funny, heart-warming, challenging, and rewarding hours of my life. Completing a challenge that was so far out of my comfort zone really gave me the belief that I could overcome anything that life could throw at me. It turns out I’d need all that self-belief and more, as only a matter of months after Tough Guy, whilst in the best shape of my life, I was diagnosed with testicular cancer. After my initial diagnosis, things moved pretty fast. You know you’re in trouble when you’re rushed to the front of the queue for surgery but I knew I was in good hands at Christie’s Hospital, Manchester. Unfortunately the cancer had already spread to my lymph nodes and I began an intensive 3-month chemotherapy treatment. The treatment ultimately proved successful and would mark the beginning of a new chapter in my life, and spell an end to the daily ‘slap head’ and ‘monk’ jokes which my good friends had been kind enough to throw at me during my hair loss days. I can honestly say that the experience of completing an OCR so close to learning of my illness steeled me throughout the ordeal. It was a new obstacle in my life and I was going to do whatever it took to get over it. And now I had, what should I do with my life? It didn’t take me long to realise that going back to the office was never on the cards. The experience had changed me, and the thought of sitting at a desk, tapping on a keyboard made me sick to the stomach. I embarked on a year’s travel, fell in love with Thailand and finally ended up putting my degree in Sports Science to good use by becoming an Athletic Director. After 7 years of sweating, and with my passion for everything OCR still burning bright, I decided to set up Warrior Trail. Setting up an OCR event in Thailand has been remarkably simple. After a couple of

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unsuccessful surveys we found a lake site controlled by the Thai Army. Considering the military is currently running the country it was a bit of a coup, if you’ll pardon the pun. There’s zero red tape; no local council or police to consult, we get permission off one guy and we’re good to go. We were also lucky enough to get a crew of guys who, armed with machetes, some bamboo and rope can pretty much build anything. Our main event is a 10km, 20-obstacle course. We’ve drawn on many of the core elements you’d expect to see in an obstacle course such as wall, crawls, carries and climbs but we’ve also got over 30 unique designs ready to go over the next couple of years. The industry is still in its infancy in SE Asia and it would be easy to copy obstacle designs from the more established companies, but we want to be known as an organisation that would bring a unique challenge to hardened veterans of overseas OCRs. We’re currently developing a parkour inspired obstacle that features rising jumps high above water. We think it will be one of the scariest and unique obstacles out there; it’s just a pity that I’ve got to test it first! Our first race in January 2015 was an 80% success. Whilst the majority of our runners said it was one of the best races they had ever taken part in we had one major issue. We’d noticed the afternoon before the event that some of our arrows had disappeared or were pointing the wrong way. Considering it was me who had set all the trails, I had no option but to ride through the jungle at 3am in the morning on a borrowed bicycle with a torch in my mouth. Lets just say it wasn’t the glamorous lifestyle I had expected when I set up the company. Despite my efforts some runners went off course. When I heard what had happened I rushed to the scene and came across a group who had got back on the correct trails. Fearing

a rollicking, their response made me realise I was in the right industry. They’d had a blast bushwhacking and suggested, without sarcasm, that I should make “getting lost in the jungle” an official obstacle next time. The spirit of OCR is already alive and kicking in Thailand and a few serious road runners were genuinely surprised by the camaraderie and friendship they received on the course. One of our elite runners wasn’t so lucky. He kept going for 5km in the wrong direction and ended up hailing a taxi from the next village. It’s impossible to call your race a complete success when one of your top runners has to get a cab to the finish line. It’s a challenge selling the concept to Thai’s, who find it strange that anyone would want to pay to roll around in the mud and purposely run around a Jungle. Our first race featured over 50% foreigners with entrants coming from 15 different countries. As we approach our second race the number of local Thai’s signing up is at 70% so we must be doing something right. The main difference between our events and ones in the UK is the heat and humidity. In our races you want to get in the water to get a break from the oppressive heat. There’s no getting away from it as the four seasons in Thailand are hot, hot and rainy, really hot and really rainy and not quite so hot. It presents a completely different challenge to the body and requires management over the course. I’d still take a crawl through some warm mud over that underwater bridge at Tough Guy. We’ve got plans to take the event around the country and further afield in SE Asia, but for now, due to the warm welcome we’ve received here; Chiang Mai is our home. If you’re ever in this part of the world and want to try a different type of OCR, we would be delighted to see more Brits taking part and showing how it’s done.

REGULARS: BOOK REVIEW

OBSTACLE RACE

TRAINING

AUTHOR: MARGARET SCHLACHTER From start to finish this book is a fantastic guide to everything you could wish to know as a beginner on the road to your first OCR. Margaret’s a very active member of the OCR community in the USA and could also be seen as the first athlete over there to take it to the next level by gaining sponsorship to race. This makes her a veteran to the OCR world and any mistake you could imagine making shes already been there and done that. This book will stop you making those same mistakes. The book will take you on a journey from day one of looking for the perfect race to suit you, right up to recovery after that big day. Handy sections like how to clean up your diet and targets for your training. It’ll be something you can keep going back to again and again. The forewords of the book have been written by Hobie Call, this is great as he’s probably one of the most well known racers in the world and was an unbeaten champion for a very long time in the Spartan Race circuit. The book is prefect to pass on to any of your friends who are thinking of joining you for an OCR in the future. It will give them an idea of what to expect from their first race. Margaret and the team have done a fantastic job of putting a little beginners guide together, which will leave you set for the challenges ahead. It gets our vote and should be on every OCR addicts bedside table.

AVALABLE FROM THE AMAZON BOOK STORE RRP £10.00

Issue 10 | Obstacle Race

RACE REVIEW: A NUCLEAR FAMILY

A NUCLEAR FAMILY WRITTEN BY: TONY MARDON PHOTOGRAPHY BY: OFFICIAL NUCLEAR PHOTGRAPHERS

Obstacle Race | Issue 10

RACE REVIEW: A NUCLEAR FAMILY

The months leading up to a marathon can be lonely… for everyone…a typical week goes something like this…

SUNDAY

MONDAY

“What are you doing today, Tony?” “Long run…”

“What are you doing today, Tony?” “Recovery run in the morning, weights in the evening…”

WEDNESDAY

TUESDAY

“Today?” “Interval training a.m. Circuits p.m.

“Today?” “Spin a.m. Tempo run p.m.”

“Mid distance run a.m. Weights p.m.”

MY FAMILY... Keeley (44). Counsellor, Fitness and OCR addict. Lead runner for Jelly Legs running group in Whitstable and London marathon finisher. Mum of Karis and Abby, step-mum to Jude. Cath Kidston and Orla Kiely addict. Karis Turner (22) Nursery School practitioner. Former dancer. Salt and vinegar crisps and Eastenders addict. Abby Turner (20). Trainee teacher and 6 foot Amazonian warrior. Party addict. Jude Lanstone (12). Year 7. OCR novice, football and Xbox addict. Which leaves me, Tony (42). Head of English and OCR and marathon addict. Constantly fighting middle-age and an expanding waistline. Step dad to Karis and Abby, dad to Jude. Star Wars and selfie-stick addict.

“Body pump a.m. Hill training p.m.

SATURDAY

FRIDAY

Training for any long distance event is time consuming and lonely, often leaving runners irritable and tired… It does us anyway. Not ideal for the rest of the family. So how could we incorporate training for an event whilst spending time together? How could we get the children active whilst having fun and trying something new? How could we get them to achieve something they wouldn’t normally think possible? You guessed it… Definition: A nuclear family is a family group consisting of a pair of adults and their children. This is in contrast to a single-parent family, to the larger extended family, and to a family with more than two parents.

THURSDAY

“Rest day” “Excellent, what shall we do?” “NOTHING! IT’S MY REST DAY!”

So with three surnames between us, we are definitely not a nuclear family in the traditional sense of the word…but in May this year, we became one as, for one time only, the Mardon Turner Lanstone clan became a ‘nuclear family’ at the Nuclear Races in Brentwood, Essex. If you had told me a few months ago that all five of us were going to be running in the same event I wouldn’t have believed it. Naturally, the older the children get, the less time they want to spend with us. Pubs and clubs, video games, friends, football , school, uni, work, boyfriends all seem to get in the way of a good old fashioned game of Monopoly or a DVD and nachos. Jude jumped at the chance to run when we discovered the Nuclear Rookies race. At first he was concerned about the distance but when we pointed out 3km was less than the Parkruns he had run in the past it was all good. Abby can often be found in the gym or taking our dog, Milly, out for a run so was happy with the 6km option. Now the biggest obstacle we had faced in any OCR was upon us. We weren’t entirely sure how to get over, under or through it. How could we even tackle it? It was immense… How were we going to convince Karis to join us? This would prove to be an even bigger obstacle than trying to get our money back from cancelled OCR’s. After the hundredth time of asking, Bart Simpson style, lots of coaxing, bribery and blackmail Karis eventually gave in. Hooray. We signed her up on the spot before she could change her mind. The first time all five of us

would actually run at the same event! There was no going back now, not even for Karis. It felt great to know that we would share the experience as a family. Many times Karis, Abby and Jude have supported Keeley and I at events such as the London and Paris marathons but there is nothing like the buzz of finishing a race yourself. This is what we wanted to share with our children: A great sense of accomplishment…and a beer or two (but not with Jude). If this is our nuclear family, we have our extended OCR family too. Friends and people we have met through the sport, some of which we may only know through Facebook. Events like this provide the perfect opportunities to catch up and, even if only briefly, touch base with fellow runners. I finally caught up with Carl (ORM editor) and bumped into OCR stalwart Nathan Turner in, of all places, the showers at the end. I first met Nathan at the first Dirty Dozen photo shoot and, along with Keeley, Pip and others from the day, we affectionately became known as the Dirty Dozen A-TeamNathan, Fay Kelly, Paul Lee and Gary and Karen Ticehurst (Mr. and Mrs. Fit) as well as others are now familiar faces on the OCR circuit. Last Christmas I asked Santa for a body like Gary’s but unfortunately he left me one like Gary Coleman’s. I love hearing about the events friends are running (once the envy has subsided) and how they get on. I enjoy sharing in the success of others as well as myself, and looked forward to sharing in the success of

Issue 10 | Obstacle Race

RACE REVIEW: A NUCLEAR FAMILY

TONY MARDON

Nuclear Races

Location: Brentwood Essex Number of Obstacles: 50 Terrain: Extremely muddy and wet Level of mud: 9/10 Difficulty: 8/10

Keeley, Karis, Abby and Jude, as well as our friends. It’s amazing how many people we have met through the sport and as it continues to grow and flourish, the OCR family grows with it and I couldn’t write about my family without mentioning the community as a whole. I suppose this is our extended family. Originally Keeley was going to be running the 12km option with friends. When Karis agreed to join us, Keeley realised the opportunity to run with her two girls for the first and more than likely last time was too good a moment to pass up and so, with the understanding of her friends, Keeley, Karis and Abby ran the 6km option together. Starting in the same 10 o’clock wave, I could see nerves getting the better of Karis and I thought back to my first OCR, the Spartan Sprint. I still get nervous at the beginning of a race, but that first time, when you really don’t know what to expect or whether you can cope, is pretty damn terrifying. It doesn’t matter how many times you look at the course map or watch the video, nothing prepares you for the race itself. Abby had supported us at events

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such as Men’s Health Survival of the Fittest and had taken part in the Run or Dye event so had a rough idea of what to expect. We ran some training sessions on the beach, climbing and jumping the groynes and were as prepared as we could be. Karis’s imagination was working overtime by the time the start was signalled though but it was too late to do anything about it then, other than run, jump, climb, crawl, swim, wade and slide to the finish... At this point, Jude was waiting with my brother, Clive (total family involvement). His wave started at 12 o’clock and I hoped to get the 12km completed in 2 hours to see him start the Rookie race. I think I was about 9 or 10km in when I saw my mud covered family running ahead. The 6km and 12km trails must have rejoined by this point. The smile I had hoped to see on Karis’s face was there, of a sort. Maybe it was more of a ‘why the hell am I doing this?’ smile than a smile of pleasure but at least she wasn’t crying! I shouted words of encouragement and made sure they were all okay before I prepared to run off again. “You could give me a hand up this slope...” I heard

Keeley shout. Oops... I turned and started back but was beaten to it by another runner. I apologised profusely...then ran off feeling like a bit of an arse. I’m sure the girls didn’t want me getting in the way anyway... The last couple of kilometres I spent wondering if I should have finished the race with the girls. Was it selfish to leave them to it? This raised the questions: When do you run with people and when do you go it alone? If you start together, are you expected to finish together? I decided there was no sure fire answer but the debate in my head took my mind off the latter stages of the race and I soon found myself approaching the finish line. At this point I was pleased I hadn’t seen the Oblivion option. 26.2 miles of Nuclear! Maybe next year! I finished in 2hrs 4 minutes so just missed the start of Jude’s Rookie wave. Soaking wet I decided to get changed and watch him finish. Jude loved it, as did his friends Jack and Joe. Thanks to Joe’s Mum, Alice, they each had team Tee-Shirts which they wore with pride, topped off nicely with their first OCR medals. Clive and I waited at the finish for the girls

RACE REVIEW: A NUCLEAR FAMILY

and our friends whilst the boys took what seemed like forever to get changed. Not long after, a very cold and wet looking Keeley, Karis and Abby emerged victorious. It was wonderful seeing the three women in my life accomplishing this together and I know it meant a lot to Keeley. It did for me too, to see Karis, Abby and Jude even attempt a challenge like this, removed as far as possible from their comfort zone, was inspirational. To be able to complete it was an added bonus. I thought the boys had taken a long time to get changed...It was a good half an hour until the ladies emerged from the tent. It was like waiting outside the changing rooms in River Island all over again....I promised myself I would wait before heading for a beer as I thought it would make amends for leaving them earlier. It brought a smile to my face to see them, still covered in mud, as they are usually very conscious of their appearance. Karis, who is very slight, was still shivering and Abby, who was going straight to the O2 to see One Direction, had dried mud covering her hair. Hee Hee.

Eventually we all celebrated our achievements with a couple of beers and glasses of wine at the bar, listening to the live music in the background. We soaked up the atmosphere and talked and laughed about the race with our friends Pip, Jo and Sacha before making our way back to Whitstable. Incidentally, we all agreed it was great with both challenging and fun obstacles and importantly for me, very little queuing. Talking to Keeley afterwards, she told me how much fun she had with Karis and Abby. Yes, there were a couple of ‘moments’, but they were overcome and success followed. Jude wanted more obstacles and less running. Isn’t that what OCRs are about? Working together, managing fears (heights for me, tunnels for Keeley), and attempting what you thought you couldn’t whilst pushing yourself beyond your usual limits. A great race for Keeley and I, but this time our enjoyment came from seeing our children step out of their comfort zone and take on a different type of challenge. What mattered to us was enjoying the experience together as a family. Our sense of achievement usually

comes from completing a race, on this day it came from our children and isn’t that what being a parent is all about?

UPDATE... Keeley and I have a calendar full of races, the next one being the World War Run on June 28th. Keeley is still getting over the expletives used by Karis during the race. Abby will be running the Muddy Race for Life with Keeley in Maidstone in July and has promised to return to the Nuclear Race next year if she hasn’t got a party on. Jude has already added another medal to this one, having completed the Ultim8 Warrior in Meopham (which he preferred...more obstacles) and intends to run the Nuclear 6km next year. Karis will also be running the Muddy Race for Life in memory of their Nan, Tina, she has vowed never to do anything as stupid as an obstacle course race ever again. No pleasing some people…

Issue 10 | Obstacle Race

FEATURE: SHOE CARE GUIDE

SHOE CARE

GUIDE Written by Carl Wibberley

One question that gets asked all the time is exactly what is the best way to clean your shoes. Apart from your race tickets these are your second biggest investment when it comes to OCR. With prices usually hovering around the hundred pounds mark you certainly want to get as much use as possible from them. So here we have the top tips to keep your shoes in tip top condition and maximise their life span. Its been put together as a bit of a flow chart from unboxing your new shoes to getting them gleaming again after a battle in the mud.

THE UNBOXING

Now this part is exciting we all know but don’t jump the gun and go straight out on their first adventure in them. Put them on, make sure the lacing is done up right and have a walk around the house in them. Stores won’t accept shoes back to swap sizing if the sole has been marked so having a good walk around the house will ensure they fit comfortably.

FIRST ADVENTURE

The best way to get out and have your first adventure would be to explore the trails around you with a planned short run. Although most shoes are fine to race in straight out of the box its always best to check there aren’t any points in the shoes that cause rubbing or discomfort. This is the idea behind the shorter first run to check the shoes suit your feet. Different brands and styles have completely different fits so it’s always best to check.

FIRST WASH

So by this stage you’ve taken on your first race in your shiny shoes, which aren’t so shiny anymore. They probably look like large muddy

Obstacle Race | Issue 10

boulders. First things first get them out in the garden and under a cold hose as soon as you can before the mud drys. If there are any particular areas which are a little trickier to clean then a soft brush like a washing up brush will really help to agitate it a little to free it. Don’t use any washing up liquid or similar as this will potentially break down the bonding used to hold on the sole to the upper. Don’t forget to remove your inner sole if they can be, as stones do like to hide under there.

DRYING OUT

This part is particularly important because if you miss one of these steps you could end up with shoes a size smaller than when you started. Once you’ve washed out your shoes give them a good shake to remove most of the water. Grab an old newspaper and stuff the shoes from the end of the toes right through to the back. If you use elastic laces then make sure that they’re loosened off, doing this and the added newspaper will help to maintain the shoes shape and sizing. Don’t dry near direct heat, radiators are a big no because the fabrics and materials will dry fast and at different rates. This is a sure fire way of shrinking or damaging them. Around 36 hours and they’ll be ready for action again. Sometimes they will dry a little stiff but this soon passes once you get out in them.

FEATURE: SHOE CARE GUIDE

Issue 10 | Obstacle Race

YOUR LETTERS

Letters

PAGE Hi guys, I would love my letter to be published as I’m aiming it more at our supporters more than the actual racers. I realise it is only meant to be around 100 words ( I have cut it down!), so I’ll understand if it’s not used! I’m going to shout it and shout it proud ‘I HAVE AN OCR ADDICTION’ and luckily with this, an incredibly supportive husband! My husband is a non OCRer, but I am in that lucky group of people where he is supportive and fits our life around my events. Selfish of me? Yes, Selfless of him? Yes and No. You see, my husband is a social butterfly - he loves meeting new people and can talk a brick wall into going for a pint with him. He has no interest in running these ‘acts of insanity’ as he refers to them, but loves talking to OCRers as we go round (for reference, this apparently has nothing to do with Lycra clad wet muddy females who are happy to hug the marshal that informs them that there is 1k of this torment left! *joke*). The thing we all love about our OCR family is the thing that brings us all together. My husband started marshalling these events so we could be involved together, and I swear he is more hyped up on adrenaline by the time he finishes marshalling than when I finish my run*! OCRs are fast becoming family events and this letter is aimed at all those non OCR partners that put up with us. The early morning runs, muddy clothes that clog the washing machine (lesson learnt!), social life’s being arranged around races, and the infamous classic ‘this is my last race of the year... Oh look another race’. Thank you for supporting us, we really appreciate everything you do for us to get our next fix and shiny bit of bling! *please note that when I use the term ‘Run’, it usually means rolling in mud laughing or being distracted by something shiny! End! Thanks for taking the time to read my letter! Mucho muddy hugs Gemma ‘Ginger’ Lacey :) x

Send us your letters! Thanks for your letters and photos, we always look forward to hearing what you OCR fans are up to. We’re just sorry there isn’t room to include them all, but here’s a selection of our favourites. If you would like to get a letter on to this page then please send 100 words and a picture of you in action to

letters@obstacleracemagazine.com

YOUR LETTERS

Hi ORM,

Hi ORM

OCR has been a great addition to my life, both through helping to build up my fitness and by allowing me to meet great new people. However my favourite OCR moment will always be taking part in the Adrenaline Rush in London this year. I was able to convince my fiancĂŠ (Sarah), mum (Jane) and sister (Georgina) to take part in their first races! My friend Matt assisted with lifting duties! They were all amazing, smashed the obstacles with ease and I was really proud to be able to run with them. They all surprised themselves and were really happy that they tried it out :) Maybe Tough Guy winter race next?!

This is a pic of me and my friend Lydia Caswell during the Pain & Suffering Race - never has a race broken me and nearly reduced me to tears but it nearly did - its only down to the woman in the pic that I finished the whole 10 (ahem) miles ....She kept me smiling even though inside I was dying.... She deserves recognition

Ta Josh Stephens

Would be grateful if this could make the magazine to show her how much she helped me out and got me through :-) Thanks Steven Wyld

Hi ORM!

Hi team,

My FiancĂŠ(!!) completely surprised me by proposing to me as we crossed the finish line at World War Run! He rather impressively carried the ring round the entire course without losing it!

This is my wife Bev after her and I had just completed our first ever OCR, Mucky Races Fenland Dash. As you can see, despite being filthy and having hair thick with mud, her first priority was to redo her lipstick.

Regards Jessika Trayhurn (Dunseth!)

Cheers, Paul and Beverley Williams

KIT TESTING

OCR SHOE GUIDE This shoe guide will hopefully help you decide just which shoes you should go for when choosing your first partners in muddy crime. Getting the right shoes can really make or break your first experience at a race, the wrong fit for your feet and you’ll not just have aching muscles to contend with after the race is over.

Whether you have wide feet with big old monkey toes or skinny feet that need luxurious cushioning you’ll find a shoe in this list for you.

picks in the list. The shoes have been tested for everything from long term durability to weight when muddy and wet.

The hardest part of putting this list together was knowing when to stop but 22 became the magic number. This is by no means a complete list but we feel we’ve got all the hot

If you can’t find the perfect shoe here, then it’s probably best you go barefoot.

ADIDAS Shoe guide

KANADIA TR7 BEST SUITED TO A RUNNER WHO :

STANDOUT FEATURES :

• FOREFOOT • MID FOOT • MEDIUM CUSHIONING • ARCH SUPPORT • 11MM DROP

• SLIM FIT • HIGH HEEL PROTECTION • TOE BOX PROTECTION • COLOUR RANGE

ASICS

GEL-FUJIRUNNEGADE

BEST SUITED TO A RUNNER WHO :

STANDOUT FEATURES :

• FOREFOOT • MID FOOT • MEDIUM CUSHIONING • ARCH SUPPORT • 6MM DROP

• TRACTION / DRAINAGE • TOE BOX PROTECTION • COLOUR RANGE • ANKLE GAITER

Obstacle Race | Issue 10

WATER SHEDDING: 6/10 DURABILITY: 8 /10 GRIP IN MUD: 6/10 WEIGHT: 7/10 (270 GRAMS)

WATER SHEDDING: 7/10 DURABILITY: 9/10 GRIP IN MUD: 8/10 WEIGHT: 8/10 (280 GRAMS)

KIT TESTING

DYNAFIT

FELINE SUPER LIGHT BEST SUITED TO A RUNNER WHO :

STANDOUT FEATURES :

• FOREFOOT • MID FOOT • HEEL STRIKE • HIGH CUSHIONING • 12MM DROP

• CLAW TRACTION • LACE PROTECTION • TOE BOX PROTECTION • CUSHIONING

ICE BUG

ACCELERITAS4 RB9X BEST SUITED TO A RUNNER WHO :

STANDOUT FEATURES :

• FOREFOOT • MID FOOT • MINIMALIST • 4MM DROP

• SLIM FIT • HIGH HEEL PROTECTION • TOE BOX PROTECTION • COLOUR RANGE

HAGLOFS GRAM COMP BEST SUITED TO A RUNNER WHO :

STANDOUT FEATURES :

• FOREFOOT • MID FOOT • MEDIUM CUSHIONING • ARCH SUPPORT • 8MM DROP

• HIGH HEEL PROTECTION • TOE BOX PROTECTION • COLOUR RANGE

KARRIMOR TEMPO DTR BEST SUITED TO A RUNNER WHO :

STANDOUT FEATURES :

• HEEL STRIKE • HIGH CUSHIONING • ARCH SUPPORT • 11MM DROP

• HIGH HEEL PROTECTION • TOE BOX PROTECTION • PRICE

INOV-8

MUDCLAW 300 BEST SUITED TO A RUNNER WHO :

STANDOUT FEATURES :

• FOREFOOT • MID FOOT • MEDIUM CUSHIONING • 6MM DROP

• FANTASTIC TRACTION • TOE BOX PROTECTION • COLOUR RANGE

WATER SHEDDING: 6/10 DURABILITY: 7/10 GRIP IN MUD: 8/10 WEIGHT: 6/10 (290GRAM)

WATER SHEDDING: 6/10 DURABILITY: 10/10 GRIP IN MUD: 8/10 WEIGHT: 7/10 (200 GRAMS)

WATER SHEDDING: 6/10 DURABILITY: 6/10 GRIP IN MUD: 5/10 WEIGHT: 6/10 (260GRAMS)

WATER SHEDDING: 4/10 DURABILITY: 8/10 GRIP IN MUD: 5/10 WEIGHT: 4/10 (290 GRAMS)

WATER SHEDDING: 7/10 DURABILITY: 8/10 GRIP IN MUD: 9/10 WEIGHT: 7/10 (300GRAM)

Issue 10 | Obstacle Race

KIT TESTING

INOV-8

WATER SHEDDING: 10/10 DURABILITY: 3/10 GRIP IN MUD: 9/10 WEIGHT: 10/10 (190GRAM)

X-TALON 190 BEST SUITED TO A RUNNER WHO : • MINIMALIST • DOESN’T NEED ARCH OR HEEL SUPPORT • 0MM DROP

STANDOUT FEATURES : • WEIGHT • TRACTION • DRAINAGE • SLIM FIT • COLOUR RANGE

INOV-8

WATER SHEDDING: 8/10 DURABILITY: 4/10 GRIP IN MUD: 10/10 WEIGHT: 8/10 (200 GRAMS)

X-TALON 200 BEST SUITED TO A RUNNER WHO : • FOREFOOT • MINIMALIST • WIDE FEET • 3MM DROP

STANDOUT FEATURES : • WEIGHT • TRACTION • DRAINAGE • WIDE TOE BOX • SLIM FIT • TOE BOX PROTECTION

INOV-8

WATER SHEDDING: 8/10 DURABILITY: 9 /10 GRIP IN MUD: 9/10 WEIGHT: 9/10 (212 GRAMS)

X-TALON 212 BEST SUITED TO A RUNNER WHO : • MINIMALIST • FORE FOOT • 6MM DROP

STANDOUT FEATURES : • WEIGHT • TRACTION • DRAINAGE • TOE BOX PROTECTION

• COLOUR RANGE • GREAT BALANCE OF DURABILITY AND WEIGHT

LA SPORTIVA

WATER SHEDDING: 7/10 DURABILITY: 8/10 GRIP IN MUD: 7/10 WEIGHT: 6/10 (274GRAM)

ANAKONDA BEST SUITED TO A RUNNER WHO : • FOREFOOT • MID FOOT • HEEL STRIKE • MEDIUM CUSHIONING

STANDOUT FEATURES : • ARCH SUPPORT • SOLID HEEL CUP • 4MM DROP

LA SPORTIVA BUSHIDO BEST SUITED TO A RUNNER WHO :

STANDOUT FEATURES :

• MID FOOT • HEEL STRIKE • HIGH CUSHIONING • ARCH SUPPORT • 6MM DROP

• TRACTION • OVERALL FIT • HIGH HEEL PROTECTION • TOE BOX PROTECTION • COLOUR RANGE

Obstacle Race | Issue 10

• TRACTION • DRAINAGE • WIDE TOE BOX • TOE BOX PROTECTION • SOLID HEEL CUP

WATER SHEDDING: 6/10 DURABILITY: 10/10 GRIP IN MUD: 8/10 WEIGHT: 7/10 (200 GRAMS)

KIT TESTING

MORE MILE CHEVIOT 2 BEST SUITED TO A RUNNER WHO :

STANDOUT FEATURES :

• MID FOOT • MEDIUM CUSHIONING • WIDE FEET

• TOE BOX PROTECTION • EXCELLENT VALUE FOR MONEY

MOUNTAIN BEAR GROUND CONTROL BEST SUITED TO A RUNNER WHO :

STANDOUT FEATURES :

• FOREFOOT • MID FOOT • MEDIUM CUSHIONING • WIDE FEET • 4MM DROP

• DURABILITY • WIDE TOE BOX • VALUE FOR MONEY

NEW BALANCE MINIMUS MT00V2 BEST SUITED TO A RUNNER WHO : • FOREFOOT • MID FOOT • MEDIUM CUSHIONING • 0MM DROP

• WEIGHT • TRACTION • DRAINAGE • COLOUR RANGE

FELLRAISER • MID FOOT • HEEL STRIKE • HIGH CUSHIONING • ARCH SUPPORT • 6MM DROP

WATER SHEDDING: 9/10 DURABILITY: 4/10 GRIP IN MUD: 7/10 WEIGHT: 8/10 (248GRAM)

STANDOUT FEATURES :

SALOMON BEST SUITED TO A RUNNER WHO :

WATER SHEDDING: 5/10 DURABILITY: 9/10 GRIP IN MUD: 7/10 WEIGHT: 8/10 (239GRAM)

• WIDE TOE BOX • SLIM FIT • HEEL PROTECTION • TOE BOX PROTECTION

SUPER ALL TERRAINS • FOREFOOT • MINIMALIST • 5MM DROP

WATER SHEDDING: 6/10 DURABILITY: 8/10 GRIP IN MUD: 8/10 WEIGHT: 5/10 (300GRAM)

STANDOUT FEATURES :

REEBOK BEST SUITED TO A RUNNER WHO :

WATER SHEDDING: 6/10 DURABILITY: 8/10 GRIP IN MUD: 8/10 WEIGHT: 7/10 (280GRAMS)

WATER SHEDDING: 6/10 DURABILITY: 9/10 GRIP IN MUD: 8/10 WEIGHT: 6/10 (290GRAM)

STANDOUT FEATURES : • TRACTION • DRAINAGE • QUICK LACE SYSTEM • SLIM FIT • HIGH HEEL PROTECTION • TOE BOX PROTECTION

Issue 10 | Obstacle Race

KIT TESTING

SALOMON

WATER SHEDDING: 6/10 DURABILITY: 8/10 GRIP IN MUD: 8/10 WEIGHT: 6/10 (310GRAMS)

SPEEDCROSS 3 BEST SUITED TO A RUNNER WHO : • MID FOOT • HEEL STRIKE • HIGH CUSHIONING • ARCH SUPPORT • 11MM DROP

STANDOUT FEATURES : • TRACTION • QUICK LACE SYSTEM • WIDE TOE BOX • SLIM FIT • HIGH HEAL PROTECTION

• HEAL SUPPORT • TOE BOX PROTECTION • COLOUR RANGE

SAUCONY XODUS 5.0 BEST SUITED TO A RUNNER WHO :

STANDOUT FEATURES :

• MID FOOT • HEEL STRIKE • HIGH CUSHIONING • ARCH SUPPORT • SLIM FEET • 4MM DROP

• SLIM FIT • EXCELLENT DURABILITY • HEAL PROTECTION • TOE BOX PROTECTION

VIBRAM

FIVE FINGERS KSO TREK SPORT BEST SUITED TO A RUNNER WHO :

STANDOUT FEATURES :

• FOREFOOT • BAREFOOT • MINIMALIST • 0MM DROP

• WEIGHT • BAREFOOT FEEL

VIVO

BAREFOOT TRAIL FREAK BEST SUITED TO A RUNNER WHO : • FOREFOOT • BAREFOOT • MINIMALIST • 0MM DROP

100

WATER SHEDDING: 7/10 DURABILITY: 7/10 GRIP IN MUD: 7/10 WEIGHT: 9/10 (180GRAM)

• WEIGHT • QUICK LACE SYSTEM • WIDE TOE BOX • SLIM FIT • COLOUR RANGE • LIGHT WEIGHT

IROCK

• FOREFOOT • MID FOOT • MINIMALIST • MEDIUM CUSHIONING • ARCH SUPPORT • 8MM DROP

WATER SHEDDING: 9/10 DURABILITY: 8/10 GRIP IN MUD: 4/10 WEIGHT: 9/10 (180GRAM)

STANDOUT FEATURES :

VJ SPORT BEST SUITED TO A RUNNER WHO :

WATER SHEDDING: 6/10 DURABILITY: 9/10 GRIP IN MUD: 6/10 WEIGHT: 6/10 (303GRAM)

STANDOUT FEATURES : • WEIGHT • TRACTION • SECURE FIT • TOE BOX PROTECTION • KEVLAR WEAVE DURABILITY • FITLOCK SYSTEM • STICKY RUBBER

Obstacle Race | Issue 10

WATER SHEDDING: 7/10 DURABILITY: 10/10 GRIP IN MUD: 10/10 WEIGHT: 9/10 (270GRAM)

BASELAYER @BASELAYER

£14.99

£32.99

£34.00

£36.00

Baselayer - the place for your OCR/Mud Race Gear Free pair of Linebreak Calf Sleves* with all orders places cia this advert during July & August. Just quote your size and promo code ORCALFJULY15 with your order. *Subject to availability.

FEATURE: IS CAFFEINE BAD FOR US

Is Caffeine BAD for us WRITTEN BY: ACHILLEA KYRIAKOU OF WWW.KNOWWHATSUPP.COM

There has been loads HOW EXACTLY DOES recent debate over CAFFEINE WORK? whether caffeine is bad Caffeine has a wide range of actions in the human body. Essentially it functions as a for us both in sporting stimulant by interfering with the binding of and non sporting context. receptors in the body (adenosine to adenosine receptors). Here’s the facts Adenosine is a neuromodulator chemical in

WHAT IS CAFFEINE? 1,3,7-trimethylxanthine, also known as caffeine, is the world’s most-consumed natural pharmacologic agent. Caffeine is found in coffee beans, tea leaves, cocoa beans, chocolate, and cola nuts, and its use is incredibly widespread. Did you know that if you consume a large chocolate bar you could see as much as 50mg of caffeine? That is sometimes half a cup of coffee! In the United States, roughly 9 out of every 10 men and women consume caffeine, averaging 238 mg every day. Upwards of 30% of Americans consume a whopping 600 mg of caffeine daily. About 71% of the caffeine we consume comes from coffee, while 16% comes from tea, and 12% from soft drinks and energy drinks. And we are not alone. Coffee is the most-commonly consumed beverage in the world. So, let’s acknowledge the obvious. First, just about everyone is consuming caffeine. In fact, because of its ubiquitous availability, caffeine is no longer on the banned substance list of the International Olympic Committee. Second, people everywhere are using it because it does have pharmacologic properties. The fact is it functions as a mild stimulant. As such, it helps wake us up and keeps us going when we feel like throwing in the towel. No surprise, athletes are interested in those very same effects applied to their sport.

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the brain, and it works opposite of caffeine in regulating nerve cell activity. It has a calming effect because it slows the activity of nerve cells, whereas caffeine speeds up the activity of cells. Taking hold of the central nervous system, many of us will agree that caffeine intake decreases tiredness, increases alertness, improves mood, enhances concentration, and helps to speed reaction time when making choices. In terms of a sporting context, for many athletes, a key benefit of caffeine is that it lowers the perception of the intensity or difficulty of the effort. Thus, athletes are able to exercise at a higher intensity for longer, without actually feeling like they’re working harder.

TOLERANCE OF CAFFEINE Caffeine is one of those products where you can develop a real tolerance or have major diminished responses with repeated doses. If you regularly drink a few cups of strong coffee a day then the chances are the effects will start to lessen with time. One of the main issues with caffeine is that it is addictive. People have been known to suffer from withdrawal symptoms with noticeable ones such as headaches. A study conducted by Evans and Griffiths provided indirect evidence for tolerance development in caffeine. The study provided the clearest evidence to date of complete tolerance development to a central nervous system effect of caffeine in humans.

THE BAD PRESS Not so long ago, headline news read that a fit and healthy runner collapsed and died half a mile from the finish of the London Marathon after taking a ‘performance-enhancing stimulant’. The runner was determined to beat her personal best in the race and decided to take a pre-workout product called Jack3D, a high caffeinated product. As she neared the finish of the race she unfortunately suffered a cardiac arrest and never regained consciousness. The popular sports supplement, now banned, was used to help her once she hit the wall in order to break through it and maximize her performance. Its main active ingredient was an amphetamine-like substance DMAA (Dimethylamylamine) which boosts energy and metabolism, but had been banned in the US and Canada after two soldiers died during strenuous training after taking it. Recording a narrative verdict, coroner Dr. Philip Barlow said the combination of the DMAA with ‘extensive physical exertion caused cardiac failure which resulted in her death.’

SHOULD WE WORRY ABOUT HAVING TOO MUCH? As with everything, it is all about moderation! Although moderate caffeine intake isn’t likely to cause harm, too much can lead to some unpleasant effects. Heavy daily caffeine use — more than 500 to 600 mg a day (around 5-6 cups) — may cause insomnia, nervousness, restlessness, tremors, and irritability. Some positives of coffee:

FEATURE: IS CAFFEINE BAD FOR US

LOWERS RISK OF CANCER Coffee drinking has been associated with a lower risk of lung, prostate, breast, endometrial, pancreatic, stomach, and colon cancer. Like most studies, there are also some that have shown no benefit from coffee, which could be due to many reasons. But, it seems clear that coffee can be protective and does not increase cancer risk.

LOWERS RISK OF HEART DISEASE Coffee intake is highly protective for the cardiovascular system and has been repeatedly found to decrease risk of heart disease and death from a heart attack. In one 15-year study of 41,000 women, drinking up to 3 cups of coffee a day was linked to lower risk of heart failure. Similar results have been shown for men.

IMPROVES VASCULAR HEALTH The caffeine in coffee has actually been shown to improve the health of the blood vessels because it increases nitric oxide production in the endothelium (the thin layer of cells that line the interior surface of blood vessels), which improves vascular muscle tone. Coffee also supports healthy arterial pressure, lowering blood pressure over the long-term.

ELEVATES FAT BURNING The fat loss effect of coffee drinking hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t been studied extensively, but one study showed drinking 500 ml of coffee daily for 4 weeks produced 2.5 kg weight loss in overweight subjects. Perhaps more effective, green coffee extract, which comes from the bean before roasting and can be added to any beverage, has been shown to produce significant fat loss.

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FEATURE: END TO END FEST

END TO END CHALLENGE AN OBSTACLE FEST How many sporting events offer the chance to bring participants together from every corner of our island, particularly in a sport as young as our beloved OCR?

Land's End. 1000 miles, 1000 obstacles and everyone is invited to join us!"

Well, that is exactly the prospect on offer in September, when a team from Reaper Events intend to set records, not only for the longest obstacle course run, but also for the run with the most obstacles.

Well, in brief, participants will be running in relay of fairly short stints, so the average pace can be kept up. The team will be visiting as many OCR sites as possible along the way and will be taking mobile obstacles mounted on trailers. The plan is to cover approximately 50 miles per day, making this a 20 day obstacle-fest!

This is a unique opportunity to get involved in something potentially record breaking. You can join the team and get stuck in â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;en routeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; for a mile, a day, a week, whatever you can manage. At present, the longest claimed OCR is marathon distance (26.2 miles) and the highest obstacle count is 200. Chris, the course director at Reaper says, "This epic adventure is as much about bringing together the whole OCR community as it is about setting a new record. That is why we are aiming big. That is why we are running from John o' Groats to

How is this going to work?

The project is also fundraising in support of Help for Heroes, so any profits will go straight to the charity. Whilst there is no entry fee to join this epic adventure, organisers are asking for voluntary contributions via their Virgin Money Giving page. Reaper Events is currently mapping out the route and you will be able to view this online very soon. You can check out the latest details at www.reaperworldrecord.co.uk

If you fancy getting involved or have any specific questions then mail Chris at

CHRIS.N@REAPEREVENTS.CO.UK

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FEATURE: END TO END FEST

Issue 10 | Obstacle Race

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FEATURE: BEGINNERS GUIDE TO DO’S AND DON’TS

BEGINNERS GUIDE

TO THE DO’S AND DON’TS

OF OCRS

WRITTEN BY: SCOTT SEEFELDT PHOTOGRAPHY BY: NUCLEAR RACES PHOTOGRAPHY TEAM

I was asked to write a feature on a beginners guide to the Do’s and Don’ts of OCR and I thought the best way to do this was to talk you through my own experiences (the bad ones) and what lessons I learnt from these. Hopefully in doing so I shall prevent you making the same mistakes that I have and ultimately enjoying the OCR experience more! Below is a list of the mistakes I have made and the lessons I have learnt, OCR isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ sport so some of this may not be applicable to you.

LESSON 1 RESEARCH There have been a few races where I’ve turned up and I haven’t had a clue what to expect bar the distance, this has put me at a disadvantage as I haven’t been able to prepare or tailor my training. This has resulted in a lot of last minute kit decisions, this remains an issue with weather as you never know what it’s going to do until you’re there, but also results in taking a lot of gear to a race to then decide on what to wear

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at the last minute. So the lesson here is do the research, there are very few brand new races, most of the races have been raced before so seek advice on what the race is like, obstacles, conditions, facilities etc. Seek out races reviews or even better, and this is what I love to do (I watched a Winter Nuts video about 20 times before Winter Nuts this year) get on YouTube and find a video from the previous year. Things will have changed, routes changes, obstacles come and go, but you will get a feel for the race by watching these videos and if you are really geeky you can actually try to visualise running the race.

lesson here is train specifically for OCR, the foundation of this is running, no matter what anyone says these are runners races, so build a core running capability to build up from, but then you need to add in training which is going to help with the obstacles. The great thing about Obstacle Racing is that a good race works everything, legs, core, upper body, grip strength, balance and mind. So train each of these areas in order to enjoy OCR more. I would recommend things like bouldering, parkour, BMF/Bootcamps and specific OCR training facilities like Fortitude Fitness Centre or the Wild Forrest Gym.

LESSON 2 TRAINING

LESSON 3 GEAR

Lets not open the ‘runners race’ debate….but for the first 4 – 5 races my training programme was running, I was runner before I got into OCR so just kept running. I did the occasional bit of bodyweight stuff, but mostly running. So when I did races which were obstacle heavy I found myself either losing places on the obstacles or taking penalties, and losing energy. So the

I have spoken to loads of people at various different races and the one lesson that everyone talks to is gear (clothing, gloves, trainers etc) now we could do a whole feature on this subject but the overriding mistake is not wearing the right clothes for the type of event (Summer, Winter, Urban, Water etc) and not wearing trainers with grip. The mistakes range

FEATURE: BEGINNERS GUIDE TO DO’S AND DON’TS

from wearing cotton, not great for any physical activity and especially one that involves water, through to running trainers with little or no grip. So the lesson here is to wear the right gear dependant on the type of race, most races have been run already so there are a number of forums on Social Media where you can ask advice about footwear, gloves, neoprene, compression etc think about it, ask advice and gear up appropriately.

LESSON 4 NUTRITION Before last years Spartan Beast I had a few pints of cider the night before and didn’t hydrate very well, I also had a rubbish breakfast and again wasn’t really thinking about hydration. Before the race I drank some Lucozade Sport and had a gel, and that was my Nutrition plan for a 12 mile race where I had actually hoped to do pretty well! Needless to say I felt rubbish for most the race, I was dehydrated and lacked energy and focus, it really felt like I dragged myself around that course and definitely wasn’t my best performance. So the lesson here is to

take nutrition seriously, and I include hydration in this, for any race regardless if it is a 5 km or a 50 miler, have a plan and keep it simple. I definitely wouldn’t recommend drinking alcohol 48 hrs before a race, instead drink water, eat well leading up to the race, avoid gels and blocks if possible and think about post race Nutrition and Hydration (which isn’t necessarily a burger and a pint!) Companies like Mountain Fuel specialise in pre, intra and post nutrition products, so find out what works for you by testing in training and stick to it.

LESSON 5 PLANNING My first event, like many others, was a Tough Mudder last year, now for this Tough Mudder I completely underestimate not only the journey time to the race but also the queuing for other things like parking and registration. As a result I arrived late, I registered late, I missed my friends and I missed my wave time, also I missed the opportunity to have a nervous poo (disaster). Therefore the first few hours of my OCR experience were pretty stressful and pretty

horrible, luckily wave times aren’t a big deal at Tough Mudder and I eventually caught up with my friends, but it wasn’t the start I had hoped for. So the lesson here is plan your journey, allow enough time for traffic, queues, paying for parking (make sure you have cash also!) and always try to arrive at the event at least 1 hour before the race start.

LESSON 6 ENJOY AND EMBRACE IT OCR isn’t cheap, gear, nutrition, entry fees, travel, hotels etc it all adds up and therefore you really want to get your moneys worth. So try to enjoy it, taking on board the above will help but ultimately it is a state of mind, get stuck in, get muddy and wet, help each other and embrace the spirit of OCR and no matter how tired, cold or wet you are, or how pissed off you might be, just keep pushing until the finish line.

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RACE REVIEW: RAT RACE

Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;M A

FILTHY

MUCKER

CARL WIBBERLEY

Rat Races Dirty Weekend 13 miles Location: Burghley House Number of Obstacles: 180 Terrain: Multi-terrain Level of mud: 7/10 Difficulty: 9/10

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RACE REVIEW: RAT RACE

So its 7.00 am and a pretty fresh morning and the sun is shining. I’m just about to run, jump, climb, swim and crawl my way through the biggest event on the OCR scene. Billed as the worlds largest assault course with 200 obstacles over 20 miles, it was going to take a little more grit to finish than it had in the previous years. I had less that enough miles in my legs to make this an easy run, all I had in the back of my mind was the cramp which was sure to be coming. The event village which was buzzing with fellow racers, registration was a doddle and I was soon ditching layers into my bag ready for the off. Joining the Dutch Mud Men and Mudstacle wave gave the start line a nice fizz like being surrounded by a load of mates. A quick warm up and a yellow and orange haze filled the air around me as the Dutch Mud Men and Mudstacle lot went wild with their smoke bombs. Bales of hay split the pack up nicely ready for the bit of running ahead of us. I’d chosen to go for the half mucker as doing the full would have just been a whole world of pain so the count down of miles on the Garmin began. Anyone familiar with Mens Health Survival of the Fittest or any of the other Rat Race Series

Races would be very at home on this course. The obstacles spread over the miles are like doing the entire race series Rat Races offers all in one place, well apart from a few exciting surprises along the way. My favourite part of the course had to be the water obstacles, although by the time i’d gotten to them the weather had taken a real turn for the worst as the wind was really cutting through the wet runners. Choosing to swim rather than to walk in the thick mud on the lakebed I made my way to the large inflatables. The high jump from the fifteen foot platform had to be my favourite obstacle on the course. I found just keeping a few steps back and then when it was clear just going for it worked a treat. The clay in the mud zone made everything twice as hard, it really did coat every inch of the obstacles. The balance beams and tyre wall became very scary indeed. The construction industrial themed zone was full of large towers and scaffolding. These have to be my least favourite challenge of the course, this is down to them giving my knees a real battering. After a not so quick hop around a tree in a sack, it was time to hit the Mens Health Survival

of The Fittest section and having run a few of these events I was really at home winding my way through, under and over the scaffolding routes, crawl through a tunnel and negotiate some up n over scaffolding and soon I was coming up against the wall of fame where again, this reminded of how hard the last obstacle was going to be! It was time branch off from the full muckers and head down a separate race route. With only a mile or so to go I could relax into a jog to the finish line. The only thing stopping me getting to the finish line was two enormous sets of finshers walls all stacked on top of each other. Anyone whos done MHSOTF will know what beasts these are at this stage and to have two sets of these to take on is enough to break you. The spirit of the OCR community really shines through here as everyone was lending a helping hand to get up and over these walls. People using hands shoulders and even heads as platforms to get themselves over. But standing at the top of the final wall ready to collect my awesome medal I could finally say

"I AM A FILTHY MUCKER!"

Issue 10 | Obstacle Race

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RACE REVIEW: RAT RACE

Rat Race Review

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REGULARS: CAPTION COMP

Caption

COMPETITION PHOTO BY: Nuclear Races Photography Team

WIN

UNDER ARMOUR COLDGEAR COMPRESSION TOP + LEGGINGS

SEND YOUR CAPTION FOR THIS PICTURE TO COMPS@OBSTACLERACEMAGAZINE.COM LAST ISSUES WINNER:

Winner of the ZERO POINT CALF SLEEVES was Ian Banks-S with “I really enjoy muddy enemas”