OCD FOR OCR

Mid-July for an avid Obstacle Course Racer in the Northeastern US, particularly one who is a fan of the Spartan Race series is marked by the Super and the Sprint at Palmerton, Pennsylvania’s Blue Mountain ski resort. With some of the most significant elevation changes outside Killington and historically humid temps, it is no wonder it attracts all those who seek to push the envelope in terms of what their bodies and minds can push through. This year, I shunned a favorite local road race of mine, to experience all this mountain had to offer and in the hopes of redemption after suffering on the course with no nutrition during last year’s race. (I forgot my pouch in the hotel room last year and I paid the price).

• Registration and Festival:

Like most other Spartan Races, registration was a snap. Lines moved fast and upon presentation of ID you had your timing chip, headband, start time bracelet and free beer tab within seconds. 

Being one of the larger and more popular Spartan Race venues and with a lot of stuff going on, the festival area had a lot going on for a Spartan. No shortage of vendors, a lot of familiar faces and a good energy permeated the area between the registration and the starting line. Not an all-out party, but it was nevertheless good to hang out between racing and waiting for a friend to receive her Age Group podium medal. 

The weather was warm & sunny and certainly that contributed. I also noticed that Spartan put out some corn hole tables, something I have only seen at other race series, no doubt to encourage some social activity at the festival, though I didn’t see anyone playing and if that’s what they really wanted, they will have to do more to keep people hanging around. 

• Pre-race MC: 

Spartan’s start emcees are as a rule, uneventful and decidedly canned. The emcee delivered the standard script with good vigor and spirit for his part, but that’s about all I can say for something I can now recite in my sleep.

• The Course:

All in all, the course lived up to its reputation as being one of the most, if not THE most challenging Super distance course currently offered by Spartan USA. Since the discontinuation of the course at Wintergreen, in Virginia (which I sadly never got to run) the consensus is that Palmerton soundly holds that crown. While we age group and elite runners were not “treated” to the double sandbag carry this year (not sure if that is due to the push for “standardization” or the logistical issues with using more sandbags), that sandbag carry with just one bag still reigns supreme to all other sandbag carries in the series by a significant margin and it comes after a significant “death march” of about a mile that certainly serves to spread out the crowds and burn you up a bit before the “main course” of the obstacles is served up.

I also note that the overall course layout didn’t differ all than much from last year, which is either laziness or just having this venue down to a science and changing the obstacle lineup being enough to make things different. As far as the obstacles go, I had far more fun with the lineup than I have had at most of the Sprints, I have done this year. The Sprints really takes out most of what is novel or challenging. 

Upgrade to a Super and you encounter things like Beater (this was my first real attempt at this obstacle after failing the initial monkey bars in the rain at the NJ Beast). The Box (which I have yet to master) and the Vertical Cargo, with the table added (which I also encountered for the first time at NJ and loved having another crack at this weekend) 

At Palmerton you also get the Ape Hanger, a combination of a rope climb followed by suspended monkey bars over water that you must drop into even after ringing the bell, this obstacle is only found here and at the Tahoe World Championships. Sadly, the Sprint eliminated the Ape Hanger, as well as removing the table from the Vertical Cargo and made for a challenging but not all that exciting Sprint course. 

My biggest beefs with my experiences over the Palmerton weekend were two-fold. First, officiating  was sporadic. When I got to the Ape Hanger, people with red headbands were able to not only fail and not do burpees, but some even just jogged past the entire obstacle without an attempt or a penalty at all. Other obstacles didn’t even have cameras. At the Box, Asa Coddington was making do by making all athletes who failed there count their burpees aloud. 

The volunteer pool is clearly not adequate to manage what Spartan aspires to put on as a serious athletic event, especially at one of their signature courses that attracts competitors from all over the country, if not the world, and are part of the Mountain Series with its own attendant standings and awards in the balance. 

Secondly, the sandbag carry ran out of men’s sandbags early into the Age Group heats. I for one charged up that death march slope only to stand there as my body cooled while waiting in a single file line for a bag.

• The Bling:

Standard Super finisher shirt of this year‘s design and material  I‘m not crazy about the material and find myself reaching for finisher shirts from a few years ago when I get dressed. The finisher medal for the Mountain Series races, however is drop dead gorgeous and I was eagerly awaiting this race in anticipation of getting my hands on one at last!

• Overall Feelings and Event Rating:

Overall, the Super at Blue Mountain held up to its reputation as the most challenging Super you can sign up for. I find it hard to say no to a challenging race and Palmerton never disappoints. But I can’t help but have a bit of a bitter taste in my mouth about the lack of adequate sandbags from a big OCR promotion like Spartan and the slipshod officiating. While I don’t think it really affected my own standings or performance significantly, but I can see it getting in the way for others who are in the running for a podium spot. I really enjoy Spartan Race and I want it to succeed, but things like this could really cast a pall over their events over time if not nipped in the bud soon.

The course was a veritable challenge and is one of the gems of the Spartan Race portfolio in the Eastern US.  But it’s regrettable that Spartan dropped the ball on the sandbags and in the officiating this year.  I will give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Article Written by: Brian Kellogg, OCR Aficionado