OCD FOR OCR

A crisp but sunny fall morning found me on the New Jersey banks of the Hudson River, in the shadow of the Manhattan skyline for what would be my second go at a City Challenge Race. I had tried the series last year at Randall’s Island and while I had enjoyed myself, I honestly did not initially see the value in making another 4 to 5 hour trek just to run it again, unless I would be in or around New York City for another reason the weekend a race was scheduled. However, circumstances nevertheless conspired to bring me back to give City Challenge another chance, this time in Hoboken’s Pier A-Park. I am pleased to report that I am glad my circumstances brought me back to this race!

• Registration and Festival

Check in really seemed no different than most races of its size. I was registered for the elite wave and the girl didn’t give me a band so I questioned her and she said I was registered for an open heat. I had registered for elite, but for some reason I had received an email confirmation for a heat in each division. I showed it to her and she then gave me the band and instructed me to run in that heat. Post-race, my result wasn’t showing at the timing tent. Apparently, it was still under open and the timing guys from New England Timing (also the same timing company BoneFrog uses) had no problem switching me over. Another elite athlete had the same issue when I was at the timing tent and got his result fixed simultaneously with mine. The moral of the story is always bringing your email confirmation to registration and, always check your results when you finish. Glitches can and do happen.

The festival area was small, but given the overall size of the race it seemed appropriate. A few vendors and sponsors were on hand, including Katie Purcell and her Fierce Gear OCR. Being in an up and coming neighborhood of a city, there were plenty of food establishments on the walk from my on-street parking to the start line (which was only a couple blocks) so there was no real need for a food tent on site. No finisher beer was provided either, which I assume is at least in part due to the nature of setting up a race in a municipal park and the obvious legal issues that would stem from such an attempt.

• Pre-Race MC:

As in prior races, I have enjoyed this season, ranging from the events of the North American OCR Championships (NorAm) to a number of Spartan Races, we were treated to the send-off styling’s of Justin T. Manning. His own personal style and showmanship shined through here just as well. He doesn’t have to be long winded to make you feel happy to be in the corral and to all but forget your pre-race jitters. He also introduced City Challenger founder and course director Elvi Guzman, who did a great job making sure we understood the rules for the elite wave. 

• The Course

The race started and finished in the park right by the riverfront the meandered out toward the street onto some of the running/jobbing/walking paths associated with the park where we encountered what those of us in the front of the pack, believed were our first obstacles, the gauntlet of hanging CKO Heavy Bags and the Urban Teeter Totter.  Some volunteers tried to motion us away from them as it turns out we were supposed to hit them on our way back to the park (I made sure I did) but they were not obstacles that really slowed us down much so it turned out to be bonus fun.

Next, we went through a series of what would probably be the easiest obstacles on the course, providing for a fast, lung burning first mile before slowing things down a notch with the cinder block carry. This was one of three carry obstacles we had and was deceptively challenging as you figure out the most efficient way to carry two cinder blocks relatively fast while not overly fatiguing certain muscle groups you know you’ll need to rely on for success later in the race. Once we got past the cinder blocks, the obstacles seemed to pick it up a level, but not too much, with what I would call medium skill level obstacles such as the 8-foot wall and the rope climb (situated on the edge of a pavilion). We also had a tire flip and a water jug carry, mid-race where we came very close to the waterfront and it was breathtaking.

Still feeling a fast pace. Since we were in an open park, another unintended “obstacle” was dodging walkers and joggers who were simply visiting the park with no involvement in the race. The course got especially “peopely” around the 1.5-mile to 2-mile marks as non-racing runners came toward me and I weaved past power walkers. I don’t know how you could avoid this without shutting the public out of the park, but I was fortunately able to cut and turn quickly enough that I didn’t take out a baby buggy in my quest for the gold.

The throngs of random people seemed to be less of a factor in the final mile or so of the race, as we came onto the final carry obstacle, a double sandbag carry (at least for elite it was double). Again, it was willpower and mental strategy coupled with brute strength to get through what seemed like a never-ending loop. After coming off this final carry, we were treated to Urban Skyscrapers, City Challenges version of a traverse wall. One of the things I did not care for at my first City Challenge was the amount of bottle-necking at this obstacle, but here at Hoboken, we had at least two separate walls, making at least four lanes to accommodate the traffic for first attempts as well as any necessary retries. I sprung onto my first and only attempt on here this time (no real queue at all) and had I not made it on the first try, I am confident I would have been able to jump onto another wall in due course to give it another go to keep my band.

After Urban Skyscraper, the course brought us back to the CKO bags and the Urban Teeter Totter for our “official” encounter of each before rounding back onto the grass for the last few obstacles, most of which would be the most challenging ones of the race. At this point, you could almost throw a rock and hit the finish line, but there was more work to do! First, we climbed a small to mediumish a-frame cargo net crawl, followed up in a few feet by Tricky Swiss, which I encountered at NorAm. Tricky Swiss is all about core strength, coordination, timing and is just plain fun. Following up, was everyone’s nemesis from Indian Mud Run and NorAm earlier this season: Gibbons. For the uninitiated, Gibbons takes the concept of floating monkey bars or a multi rig with handles and adds another element with removable dowels making any deficiency in your upper body strength or coordination apparent immediately.

Once I got past this, it was a fun rig complete with trapezes and wheels that stood between me and the finish line. This rig hearkened back to my NorAm experiences back in August and it was the best feeling to kick the bell, have the course marshal yell “Clear!” dismount from the final wheel, realize the band was still on my wrist and that the finish line was right there for the taking. The euphoria was soon enhanced when I checked my results, had the correction made and then be congratulated by the timing guys on winning the age 40 and up elite division. l also must note, that each of these final high skill, grip intensive obstacles were wisely positioned over soft ground and grass and were no higher than they had to be to make the thrill and challenge be there for all athletes who took them on. 

• The Bling:

Finishing the race earned me a finisher medal with a nice quote on the back. I sometimes forget to check the backs of finisher medals and am always happy to find an “Easter Egg” when I look more carefully. The finisher shirt is a synthetic material, but probably the most comfortable of those types of shirts, I have worn in a while. Bonus perk was that on the back, it references the Hoboken venue. And thanks to my performance that day, I am able to speak firsthand about the bling for podium winners. Whereas placing in prior City Challenges got one a medal earlier in the season, top finishers got a nice plaque, which I believe was because this was denoted as the season ending “Championship Race” for City Challenge.

• Overall Feeling:

The Hoboken City Challenge hits all the bases. Plenty of obstacles of varied skill levels to challenge athletes of all levels. A fast and flat course close to a major population center makes it an easily accessible first race, but with enough challenges to keep a veteran OCR racer coming back. The obstacles are well varied from grip type of obstacles to carries to walls and balance obstacles too. In addition, the placement of the obstacles made a lot of sense and you sensed a climactic flow throughout the course of the race. And more importantly, City Challenge has made strides in placing obstacles in spots that make sense from a safety standpoint. If you want mountains and mud, you’re out of luck, but I encourage you to “think outside the mud” and experience an urban OCR done right! I rate this event/race, five out of five stars!

Article Written by: Brian Kellogg, OCR Aficionado.