OCD FOR OCR

Anyone who follows my obstacle course racing, knows I spend a lot of my time racing one or two major race companies, taking on as much as I can of what they have to offer. It’s admittedly an easy rut to fall into, when you get used to the schedules, the venues, the lineup of obstacles. Like a comfortable pair of shoes, but the downside is that you can miss out on a world of smaller events, from smaller companies or better yet, my favorite: Once a year events run for not-for-profit, but volunteer led and designed to bring communities together while of course raising cash for worthy causes.

The organizers often pour their hearts and souls into their craft, creating a course that makes the most of sometimes limited resources, provides unique thrills and has everyone feeling like a winner at the end, no matter their course time, or even whether they paid attention to their course time. Fortunately for me, there is just such an event held each April in a small town not far from me: The Daniel Barden MudFest!

While the 5-mile heats are timed and have been for as long as I have attended this race, this was the first year a timed 5k heat was offered. Despite the availability of timed “competitive” heats, the overarching emphasis is camaraderie and challenge, living life to the fullest over having the course as a competitive sporting event. However, the organizers do recognize that some of us have a need for speed and to compete, even if only against ourselves.  

• About Daniel Barden Mudfest:

The Daniel Barden MudFest, having just celebrated its 7th annual installment, is a combination of a 5 kilometer (3.1 mile) and a 5-mile course that raises money for a scholarship fund in memory of Daniel Barden, one of the victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting. As per the website, it draws participants from throughout the Northeast and other parts of the country.  

• Giving back:

The Adventure Scholarship takes place in the Adirondacks of NY state. 14-16 students from the Central NY area and Sandy Hook, CT area, go on a 10-day, 80-mile canoe trip. They camp, hike and canoe totally “unplugged” for the entire time.

• Registration and Festival:

Registration was held in a hay mow of the barn on site, which was much appreciated on a cold damp morning. Participants had the option of picking up their packets the night before( to avoid race day lineups and chaos). I’m sure early pickup was an option that served to ease some more local runners’ anxiety. 

Post-race, the hay mow was transformed into a cozy after-party hall (it is normally used as a popular wedding reception venue) A choice of Saranac finisher beers, freely flowed from nearby Utica’s FX Matt Brewing Company, a perennial sponsor. PepsiCo was also on hand distributing all the individual bags of Frito Lay chips, one would care to consume post-race. Several bands, played post-race, including my own brother-in law’s band: BoCNY, keeping finishers entertained and in a mood to celebrate for a good long time under the gas heaters thoughtfully placed in the hay mow for our comfort. 

According to the race director, due to the poor weather, only about half of those registered showed up and ran the course. That didn’t stop those that did come to race and spectate, staying and enjoying the awesome after party. The sad part about this, was less people, meant they raised less money on beer and food sales for the charity. 

• Pre-race MC:

Pre-race, we were ushered thorough all the same traditions as previous installments of this event. We were briefed on the life of Daniel Barden, followed by a moment of silence. Then we took the “Daniel Barden MudFest Oath” followed by the “Christening in the Mud” in which runners are encouraged to take some mud from the ground and dab their neighbor on the forehead or some other conspicuous spot. The tongue-in-cheek pomp and circumstance at the start corral is not your average pre-race pep talk and it makes the race particularly memorable. 

• The Course:

The main course is a 5k (3.1 mile) loop that goes up into the woods behind the farm (where the race starts) and hits some trails that are sloppy and steep. Walls are plentiful as are crawling obstacles. Noteworthy obstacles include a set of monkey bars with a stage, where a lone guitarist is usually stationed, but I didn’t see him this. He’s a guy I went to high school with and his absence is conspicuous. I hope he’s okay. A new addition to the 5k course was a sideways upright rope traverse obstacle, that I’m a little surprised I haven’t seen at more races.

The 5-mile “competitive” heat adds a few extra obstacles, such as an extra series of higher walls, a slide into a water pit and most noteworthy! The obstacle that keeps me coming back year after year, the Irish Ninja Warrior. The Irish Ninja Warrior starts with athletes climbing a board-ladder that’s about 15-feet to a narrow platform where racers get a rope to Tarzan across a small pond. Other races give you a Tarzan swing, but they can’t compare to what is here. Taking it from a high platform adds speed and a real fear factor getting up there and just like last year, due to the weather, the rope was wet and slippery, and the cold weather played havoc on racers grip strength making it even more challenging!  

After the Tarzan Swing, racers crossed another pond on a rickety set of floats tied together leading to a Tyrolean traverse across a third small pond. This is all billed as one obstacle, but it’s really a small gauntlet of three of the better obstacles on the course, (at least in my opinion) and when you factor in the above mentioned weather and that this gauntlet is closer to the end of the course, it makes it a tough challenge for all levels of racer while also being well built and very safe.

If you come to MudFest, I suggest opting for the 5-mile course. The 5k is a good challenge, but you won’t know what you’re missing until you do the 5-mile course! You also get some of the most technical trail running, I’ve encountered in a while only on the longer version. 

The 5-mile exclusive spur dumps back into the 5k course and the last half mile is enjoyed by all participants. It includes a long fast downhill run through a cornfield toward a rig of gymnastics rings (a new addition this year from what I recall) and what appears to be the finish, but then a sharp turn back uphill awaits leading one to the thickest rope climb I have ever seen. So thick that my usual hooking technique was of no use.

I typically have no trouble climbing a rope, but with the thickness and the slipperiness of the rope in the rain, I had a tough time and I wonder how others fared on it. Then we finished off with a final gauntlet, that included a see saw obstacle, a warped wall and Paul Bunyan’s Cabin, a structure that includes log balance beams nice and cold over water.

• The Bling:

Pretty much it was standard bling in the form of a finisher shirt and a medal.  Both are of good quality. The medal is around the same weight, amount of color and detail as those bestowed upon finishing races from the bigger OCR series. As per my tradition, I worked out in my finisher shirt, early the next week and it passed that test with flying colors in terms of comfort and fit. 

• Overall Feelings and Event Rating:

My least favorite thing was the thick rope for the rope climb and that’s just because, I’m not used to it. I can’t even say that was any real kind of flaw. I was humbled by what I usually consider a “gimmie” obstacle. Oh, I suppose I could also find fault with the cold rain turning to wet snow while I race, but that doesn’t hold much water when you consider I have run this course in a foot of snow cover on the higher hills of the course in the past, yet I still keep coming back. Maybe the hardest obstacle of the Daniel Barden MudFest is finding something you don’t like!

It’s a challenging course but doesn’t take itself too seriously so it’s fun for all. The after party, year after year is one of the best in the business, it always has good spirit and people really do hang around for it (even with the horrible weather this year and previous years). The price for the race is reasonable and the proceeds are going to a worthy cause. If you are free the weekend of this event, in 2020 and you like OCR, you really have no choice but to go! I give it 5 out of 5 stars!

Article Written by: Brian Kellogg, OCR Aficionado