OCD FOR OCR

• Brief history about Aaron:

I first learned about Aaron Fletcher from a Facebook post by Matt (The Bear) Novakovich just prior to the Utah Spartan Super where he predicted that Aaron could potentially podium in his first Spartan race. I first thought it was Matt just being funny, but after reading his response to comments it was clear he was serious and I was intrigued because I have never seen Matt publicly make claims for any non-Spartan Pro’s. I decided to research Aaron and looked into his college resume while at BYU and it didn’t take long to figure out that Aaron is a World Class athlete and someone who other OCR elites needed to take seriously.

His BYU College career is nothing short of impressive and although he typically was running shorter distances than a Spartan Beast, I was of the opinion an athlete of his caliber can adjust his training and run the further distances with no problems.

Matt was not far off when he predicted that Aaron would podium at the Utah Spartan Super and Aaron ended up in the lead or near the front for most of the race and only faltered because he failed the Spear Toss and Rope Climb and ended up finishing fourth to Hobie Call and less than ten minutes behind. I did find irony that Aaron failed the Spear Toss and Rope Climb, because these are two of Matt’s strongest obstacles and he should have had Aaron more prepared (shame on you Matt).

Fast forward to the Spartan World Championships Beast in Tahoe. I actually talked to several of the top Elites prior to the Beast about Aaron and they all expected him to come out of the gates fast and near the front, but his lack of experience and the longer distance would catch up to him in the latter stages of the race. Well as things turned out that, is pretty much how things played out, at the first few live feeds of the race, racers saw familiar faces like Cody Moat, Robert Killian, Hobie Call, Ryan Atkins, Jon Albon, and some other guy! Well, that other guy was Aaron and he held a strong top two or three positions, most of the first half of the race. This time it wasn’t the Rope Climb or Spear Toss that would be his enemy, but rather turned out to be the heavy carry obstacles that allowed other racers to catch up and overtake him. He used a lot of energy on the carry obstacles and this ended up costing him the remainder of the race, but he still was able to finish seventeenth overall and only 19 minutes and 34 seconds behind the winner Hobie Call in his first Spartan Beast and only second Spartan Race.

I researched Aaron prior to requesting he do this interview and I learned he had been struggling to find his way since graduating from BYU and obstacle course racing is just what he needed to light a fire and inspire himself to train, compete and in my opinion eventually start winning obstacle course races.

I can’t be the only one that is intrigued by Aaron and his future in the sport, so I requested he do this interview for us to learn more about him and how he plans to train for the future.

• Interview with Aaron:

How are you feeling after your first Spartan Beast?

Aaron: I’m finally starting to feel recovered physically after three days off and my back has been killing me since the finish! It was a great experience, my longest race yet. I’m excited to get back to serious training next week, right now I’m focusing on healing up. As much as I need to physically recover, the mental toll of the race is going to last a little longer. It was a real emotional roller coaster out there; there was a point when I felt I had a good chance to win because I was feeling really fresh at the top of both climbs, but those feelings quickly gave way to frustration during the double sandbag carry. Those kinds of experiences always light a fire under me. I’m going to be more prepared next year.

I know you are friends with Matt and work for him, but which OCR athlete would you most compare your abilities to and why?

Aaron: This is a tough question because I don’t want to sound pretentious. Honestly, I think I match up best skill-wise with Cody Moat, though obviously not as strong yet. I have a very diverse background as an athlete. As far as OCR specific experience, I have a strong running background in cross-country and on the track; growing up in Alaska I did lots of trail and mountain running as well as being part great Nordic skiing team in high school.

How much heavy lifting/carrying training did you do, to get ready for the Spartan World Championships?

Aaron: Simply put, not enough. I practiced the bucket carry three times a week going up and down our stairwell for ten minutes at a time, but that’s about it. I mistakenly assumed that would be enough for the double sandbag carry. Needless to say I won’t make that mistake again! It took me a while in the race to even figure out how to pick both bags up. I held my own during the bucket carry, but the damage was done.

Other than the heavy lifting/carry obstacles, what would you say is your biggest flaws that you still need to work on?

Aaron: Grip strength. After the bucket brigade in Tahoe my forearms were pumped so I had no chance on the Herc Hoist. OCR requires such a diverse skill set that there is always something to work on, which is something I love about the sport.

Honestly, I just need to do more races. I learn so much every time. I remember seeing how fast Hobie Call went down the cargo nets and how Robert Killian blasted through the monkey bars at the Utah Spartan and being kind of blown away by how fast they were through the obstacles, and I tried to implement techniques I saw at Tahoe. My biggest need is experience.

How did you do with the swimming sections of the course and could this be a strength for you? Some top OCR athletes just don’t handle the water swims as well as others.

Aaron: I won’t be winning any swimming races, but I don’t think of it as a weakness.

I like to ask get questions from some of my Elite/Pro friends and Jesse Bruce wanted to know if you were having a good time running the Spartan World Championships course?

Aaron: He must have been tipped off about this one, because for the first nine miles of the race I could not keep the smile off my face. Racing of any kind is one of my favorite things in life. Spartan Races are hard, but I’ve never finished another event where I had as much fun!

Now that you have two Spartan races under your belt including the World Championships course, what changes do you plan and need to make to your training? Also, how does training for OCR’s differ from training for cross-country mountain races and Steeplechase races?

Aaron: This is a big question; I’ll try to answer fully without writing you a novel! Before my first Spartan in Utah, I did lots of interval type training (mile repeats with burpees, etc.) because I was still just coming off the NCAA track finals and was still in track mode. That race reminded me that there is no substitute for steep climbs, and I completely eliminated that type of workout and focused on long mountain runs afterwards. I also started doing a lot more pull-ups, more than doubling my max in the time between my first race and Tahoe.

Currently one of my favorite workouts is doing a double summit of Y Mountain in Provo UT, which gives me about 6500 ft gain and descent over 13.5 miles. It takes me about 2 hours and 20 minutes to complete. I’m definitely going to keep that kind of workout as a staple in my regime, but maybe adding a heavy carry as part of the second ascent of the mountain. The biggest change I have to make is carrying sandbags around. A lot. I’m not sure how much exactly I will end up doing, but I felt well prepared for basically everything else in Tahoe.

Throughout college I was always a relatively high mileage guy, training up to 110 miles of running per week; at BYU most guys would only train Monday through Saturday with Sundays off and I was no exception. Depending on whether it was cross-country or track season, I would do either long interval sessions and tempo runs on roads and grass or shorter intervals on the track. I ran my best when I did just a little bit of light lifting, but not very much as I have a tendency to gain weight pretty rapidly when I lift, and I always tried to stay around 150 lbs during racing season.

The main adjustment in my training has been learning how to judge training volume in more than just mileage terms. A 20-mile mountain run may take me three hours, while on the roads I would usually complete it in under two hours. Obviously those runs do not have the same impact on your body recovery and fitness wise even though they are the same distance. Just keeping track of mileage also doesn’t do justice to grip strength exercises and carries. I’ve had to completely relearn how to track my training, which has been fun. I also do a lot more pull ups now than I ever did in college.

Do you see more elite college athletes making the transition over to obstacle course racing, as the sport grows in popularity and podium prize money? Much like mixed martial arts fighting has done for college wrestlers.

Aaron: OCR is definitely on the radar of collegiate runners, especially steeplechase guys who are also good cross-country runners. Most college guys I have talked to think of OCR as a backup plan if they don’t make it as a track runner. I don’t think Elites have a lot to worry about though, racing OCR at a high level requires training that most college runners have had no exposure to and also a certain level of masochism that isn’t common among track guys.

I have never hidden that fact that keeping in shape and running races has helped me battle depression better than any therapist or medication, would you like to share about your struggles after graduating from BYU?

Aaron: My last summer was tough. I had an internship lined up at a Civil Engineering firm in Alaska and some good long-term plans that were starting to fall into place for my wife and I. However, I had a very good track season and after the NCAA championships I was in position to qualify for the Olympic Track Trials. We decided to forego our jobs in Alaska and stay in Utah so I could train for the Trials, and then just before the Trials I ended up being bumped out of a qualifying spot and lacked the resources to travel to another meet to try to run a faster time. I was crushed at having that dream shattered. We had sacrificed a lot for me to have the chance at running in the Olympics, and then that opportunity disappeared. We didn’t know what the next step in life was; my wife and I are both finishing up our degrees right now at BYU and we didn’t have a place to live or any way to survive the next school year. I was also no longer on the BYU team and thus was also cut off from most of my resources as an athlete.

I decided to sign up and train for the Utah Spartan to give myself a goal to work towards as we tried to work out what was next for us. The training was like a breath of fresh air as I was able to get back to what I know and love best. It helped me keep my sanity while we unraveled the mess we found ourselves in. Long story short, we trusted God to help us figure out what to do and everything worked out in the end. Training for OCR helped me get through the tough times.

I have to ask the question everyone wants to know, your opinion, who is the greatest BYU quarterback of all time? Max Hall, Robbie Bosco, Steve Young, Jim McMahon, Ty Detmer, or someone else?

Aaron: Tough question. I’m going to go with Ty Detmer as long as we are talking about college careers only, with McMahon second and Bosco third.

Have you talked with Matt about potentially becoming a Spartan 2017 Pro athlete and looking for other 2017 sponsors? If you are interested in sponsors, please share how best to reach you.

Aaron: I would love to be a part of the Spartan Pro team if they were interested. I am looking for sponsors for the next year, and would love to talk to anybody who is interested in me. Anybody can email me at fletchad@byu.net or through Facebook.

You can’t pick Matt (sorry buddy), at this point with your limited exposure to obstacle course racing, what current OCR athlete do you admire most and why?

Aaron: It’s got to be Hobie Call. I know that’s kind of the default answer, but he’s such a great guy. The whole sport is great; I haven’t met anybody who wasn’t super nice and welcoming. After the race in Tahoe I was feeling really bummed after losing so many places over the last part of the course, and Cody Moat and Hobie specifically sought me out to give some encouraging words. Matt called me after the race to give some encouragement. Hobie even took my wife and I out to dinner with his family that night. It’s been really awesome to get so much support from the best of the best; I know they believe in me and my potential and that’s really encouraging.

I know at this time, you are not going to be attending or participating the Obstacle Course Race World Championships in Canada, mostly due to financial costs (hint to potential sponsors!), but if you were able to attend, do you think you would be a threat to finish near the top in an obstacle course completion system that does not include the ability to do a penalty to be eligible for prizes and podium?

Aaron: I think I could do well if it weren’t so soon after the SRWC. It’s a pretty quick turn around time. I feel comfortable in my ability to complete almost any obstacle but I do have very little obstacle experience, so on the more technical obstacles at OCR worlds that could be tough. It depends on how much technical running they put on the course because that is my biggest strength.

What are your personal expectations for OCR races in 2017? I personally think if you tweak you training and get good advice from elites likes Matt, Hobie, Ryan, etc you can podium pretty early an often.

Aaron: I’m going to train hard and get ready for SRWC next year as my primary focus for the year. As far as expectations go, I don’t show up to races if I don’t plan on trying to win. I expect to steadily improve through the next year as I gain experience as this sport has a steep learning curve, and I’ve learned so much. It was really fun to get in and mix it up with guys who have been doing this professionally for a long time in my first two obstacle course races this year.

What are the chances you can actually travel to races in 2017, not just including Spartan events?

Aaron: Ah, here it is. Honestly, my ability to travel to races is largely dependent on my ability to find sponsors. My wife and I are still living on a college student’s budget, so traveling far to races is a bit beyond our means. I am going to race as much as I can; there are several OCR’s in Utah starting in the spring and I would love to do those.

First thank you for taking the time to do this interview, I like to always close with allowing the person I am interviewing to share something they would like fans and readers to know about you.

Aaron: I’m just so thankful for the amazing welcome I have gotten in the OCR community. It’s been incredible. Everyone is so optimistic and kind. I’m also super grateful to my wife for going on this journey with me, and also to my Father in Heaven for the talents and abilities I have. It is such a blessing to have a strong body. And thanks to you for the interview Sandy!

• My final thoughts:

I came away very impressed with Aaron and how candid he was with his answers and I am a fan. The future of OCR elite/pro racing was already in great hands with the current amazing OCR athletes we all know, follow, root, and cheer for, but the addition of a top-flight athlete like Aaron will only make it even better and he clearly has a good understanding about what it’s going to take for him to get better and start potentially winning some future events. I hope everyone that reads this interview enjoys it as much as I did doing it.

Interviewed by: Walter F Hendrick (OCRSandy)