OCD FOR OCR

The was my second time participating in the Mud Gauntlet race hosted on the permanent obstacle course Newbsanity in Binghamton, NY. This was also OCR # 2 on the weekend, as I raced in Byron, IL on Saturday and arrived back in NY after 1 AM and drove straight to the venue and slept in my Prius,

• Registration and Festival:

Registration was fast & easy and the festival area was very small and consisted of a tent for spectators and racers to sit and eat the included post-race BBQ (for racers). This is a smaller participation race, so a large festival area was not needed.

• The Course:

I have done several OCR’s at Newbsanity and one thing I can say is the course, always has something new each time. The course started out in the above-mentioned festival area and quickly exited. The first few obstacles were a low crawl, and a log ladder climb. Newbsanity has several obstacles that are built out of the trees from the property and I have always found climbing up and over natural logs is harder than standard obstacles made from manufactured wood.

The course was just over three miles total and it looped around the wooded areas of the venue multiple times taking advantage of the property to get the most distance out of it and utilize the terrain to its fullest potential. The terrain includes several running stream sections, swamp sections, and other technical sections that racers really need to pay attention to where they place their feet, while running.

Most of the obstacles placed in the woods are, the less technical type, which makes a lot of sense, because it’s not easy for spectators or building the obstacles in the wooded trails. Lots of the obstacles are climbs up and down, crawls under logs, and marshy terrain crossings. Also, in the woods are the monkey bars and a rope traverse obstacle (both suspended over a small swamp/stream). The course comes out of the woods several times and comes to the open area of the venue/property and this is where the more technical and larger obstacles are located and happens to be very spectator friendly.

Some of the obstacles in the open section, include a massive warped wall with three different versions to attempt, the left has no rope or net to assist. The middle provides a rope to assist beating the wall, and the far right has a rope net to help get up and over the obstacles! They also have a rig with several options, the left being grip strength intensive, the middle being a little less challenging and the far right is a version of the original Indian Mud Run floating walls.

One of the features that make Newbsanity cool is, many of the obstacles have two or three versions: The Risk and Reward paths or the Tried and True paths. Basically, the harder versions of the obstacles, are less challenges or provide a reward for completion (getting to skip other challenges), so if racers complete the tougher versions of obstacles, they are rewarded.

It rained most of the previous day on Saturday, so the course was wet and muddy and that made most the obstacles also wet and muddy and more challenging. I had a harder time getting up and over several of the high walls than I have previously at other Newbsanity races. One of the last obstacles on the course is a slip wall (Storm the Gate) that is a twenty-foot slanted wall with ropes to assist climbing up to the top and once at the top, is a suspended cargo net to traverse across. With all the mud and rain this obstacle was way harder than I remember it ever being in the past!

The course also included a tire carry, which again, was much harder than I remember it ever being with all the mud making it super rough in several sections! They also have purchased Wreck Bag’s and now have a fifty-pound Wreck Bag carry! In total, the course has just over thirty total obstacles and they cover all the disciplines of obstacle course racing and I have always enjoyed the course. It was a very long weekend with a lot of traveling and very little sleep that included sleeping in my Prius two nights, so I was happy when I finished the course and was able to clean off some of the mud and enjoy my included BBQ meal!

• The Bling:

The bling this year, included a nice finisher medal, which is a major upgrade to the previous Mud Gauntlet dog tag style finisher medals! A finisher shirt, that was screen printed on site, offering racers, four different shirt designs to choose from! I have mentioned the included BBQ meal above multiple times, because I love when a race feeds me!

• Charity:

Mud Gauntlet has been taking place for several years and is a non-profit race to raise money for comprehensive HIV/AIDS services in the Southern Tier of New York. The event is put on by the amazing non-profit organization STAP (Southern Tier AIDS Program) and just from this one event this past Sunday, they raised a total of: $24,500!

It’s no secret that I am a huge fan and supporter of any race doing it to help others and not just turn a profit! I cannot stress enough how important it is for the OCR community to make it a priority to include these types of smaller races on their race schedules!

• About Newbsanity:

Newbsanity is also a OCR training facility that offers multiple pricing packages to be able to train at the venue. I suggest anyone local, check out the packages out and start training with the Newbsanity team! Newbsanity has several events scheduled for this year and I suggest doing your best to participate!

• Overall Feelings and Event Rating:

It was a long weekend and at one point, while leaving the LaGuardia Airport area (after 1 AM), I considered skipping this race because I was exhausted, and my knee was killing me. I decided against it and drove the three plus hours to Binghamton. Looking back on that decision, I am happy I made it to the event. The race was fun times, the staff & volunteers were awesome, the new finisher medal is cool, the BBQ meal tasted great, seeing the Newby family is always a highlight, and most of all, a large amount of money was raised to help those in need! I am rating the event/race five out of five stars.

Article Written by: Walter F Hendrick (OCRSandy)