I accidentally qualified for the Obstacle Course Racing World Championships

Confession: I accidentally qualified for the Obstacle Course Racing (OCR) World Championships.

One of my dreams is to be on Survivor. There, I said it. So it was only natural that when my good friend Robyn asked me to run an obstacle course race with her, I jumped on board.

Robyn is an OCR racer, among other things, and I ran my first race with her last year at the Spartan Sprint. I had been running all summer and going to the gym, but certainly hadn’t trained at an obstacle course gym, like she does. The race was unbelievably fun. It’s not a Tough Mudder so there’s no electrocution (whose idea was that, anyway?) but there was lots of mud, water, and trail running. I felt like I was on Survivor; it was awesome.

The 2016 XMan Race, as organized by Alpha Obstacle Training, was the first obstacle course race of the season for most. It was a dry course due to the often inclement weather in May and took place at Horseshoe Valley outside of Barrie, Ont. Even though I had just finished my half-marathon goal race on May 1, I didn’t hesitate to sign up with Robyn for XMan a mere six days later.

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My calves were still tight as can be, but I went into the race with excitement. I was stronger and fitter the last time I did an OCR so I decided to power through and try actually racing it. I had registered in the elite wave for the 7K course peppered with 35 obstacles.

Some memorable obstacles:

– The Sternum checker: There was a large, horizontal log at sternum height about 5 feet away from where I was standing. I had to jump onto it (somehow) and get over it o the other side. I pretty much “clotheslined” myself and flew off, bruised, into the piles of hay below.
– A 13-foot wall with no assists where I just had to run, jump, and hope for the best. It took me three tries but then I finally threw a leg up and ungracefully shoved my body over. As I triumphantly dropped down the other side, I saw another 13-foot wall directly in front of me. Of course.
– All of the “carries” (tub of water, cinder block, log, etc.) were the same weight for men and women. I was thrilled when during one carry, I actually passed my OCR course trainer from GoodLife as I ran uphill carrying the same sized cinder block.

As a runner, I quickly realized I had a huge advantage. Some elite OCR athletes spend a lot of time strength training, but don’t focus on running as much. While I was approaching every obstacle as a newbie, I was passing many people on the trails. It’s not just trails, either: there’s a great deal of power hiking as you traverse multiple ski hills. I certainly didn’t run the whole race, but my average pace was good and, in most cases, I would run hills while most people around me were walking.

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My upper body is weaker than I’d like, and if the course had been any longer I don’t know how much longer I could have simply relied on adrenaline. As it was, when I ran through the last water station and heard “one more kilometre to go!” I could feel all the muscles in my back twitching in protest. When I approached the warp wall at the end, I heard “and here comes one of our top 10 females!” Maybe that’s how I got up and over the wall on my first try without assists? I couldn’t believe it.

I cruised through the finish in an excited buzz. I chatted with a few other girls in my age category who I had seen on the course and we chatted about the results and congratulated each other. One girl, the toughest 15-year-old I have ever seen, mentioned that we had likely all qualified for worlds. Worlds? As in, world championships? I laughed and shrugged it off. When the results were posted, I saw that while I wasn’t in the top 10 females as the announcer had suggested, I had come fifth in the women’s 20-29 category and had qualified for the OCR World Championships.

Will I race in the OCR World Championships in October? No. Will I participate? Why not! I never thought in my life I could say “I qualified for worlds” and while I certainly won’t do well against the extraordinary women who are serious OCR athletes, I think it will be an incredible and challenging experience and I’m honoured to be able to go.

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In a previous post, I wrote about finishing my goal race of a sub-1:40 half-marathon after 4 months of intense training and being unsure of how I would stay motivated to keep running. I’m doing the Squamish 23K trail race in August, so along with the OCR World Championships, it looks like lots of hill training and strength training is in my future. It’s a relief to know that I don’t have to be obsessed with speed anymore. Sure, paces are important, but I’m excited to know that running is just a part of the two challenges I have ahead. It’s going to be a good summer.