OCD FOR OCR

Cold temps, the first ones below freezing, I have encountered this season (even Greek Peak was above freezing this year on race day) were not enough to deter me from making my 7th consecutive annual pilgrimage to Mountain Creek for the Tri State Super. I also returned the next day and did two laps of the Sprint, which was an abbreviated version of the Super, in which certain parts of the course were closed off and some obstacles were modified or eliminated in order to keep the race in line with the standardization Spartan is attempting to bring to their races as of late.

Accompanying me to the race both days were none other than Lorraine Ensana, who dominated her age group on Saturday and podiumed in her one lap on Sunday’s Sprint. Lorraine opted to run the Trail Race after her lone lap of the Sprint, running the 10k distance (a half marathon was also offered).

• Registration and Festival:

We had a VIP parking pass so we were able to park right across the street from the race site and thus were able to cut out the shuttle ride from about 2-miles down the road. The registration and merchandise tent were located in this VIP lot. Registration was no real issue, except Lorraine somehow misplaced her envelope (or is it Bibalope?) containing her timing chip, headband and other items necessary to be admitted to the course.

Knowing my own scatterbrained tendencies, especially when I’m busy and excited, I’m honestly surprised I haven’t yet done the same thing myself over nearly a decade of racing.  There was less than 20-minutes to our assigned Age Group start time when she realized her credentials were missing, yet she was still able (for a $40 lost timing chip fee) get everything replaced in time to join me in the start corral and not miss a beat in her race performance, so I do have to give credit for Spartan being expedient here too.With the running back and forth in the beginning, due to Lorraine’s issue with the chip, etc., I noticed that the Merch tent is definitely set up in a way to keep you in their shopping. Marketing is marketing, but when you just want to get through as fast as you can, there are so many choke points and it was almost as annoying to get through as a Wegmans on a Sunday.

No real surprises in the festival area. Harley Davidson was on site with a bike you could sit on and rev. They had this at Killington too, but I haven’t quite made it to try it yet. Maybe at Fenway. We’ll see. Spartan also set a bonfire in the festival area that on a chilly race day was very well received. Others, I’m sure huddled close to the fire jump at the finish line to stay warm while congratulating friends and family on a successful race.

• Pre-Race MC:

Standard Spartan script from the emcee. I ran Age Group so we got a more perfunctory version of it from the emcee, however course director Garfield Griffith was also on hand at the start to go over rules and course conditions, including the decision to close the dunk wall and rolling mud obstacles due to air temps and water temps added together being less than 80 degrees Fahrenheit (Spartan’s recently adopted policy/criteria for such decisions). Garfield’s delivery of important pre-race notes came with a good dose of wit and dry humor that definitely took the edge off.

• The Course:

The courses at Mountain Creek seemed to be a little different than the past few years, but not radically different as it did start and finish in the same spots. I also believe this is my first time running a course under the direction of Garfield Griffiths since he has joined the Spartan organization, whose work I have encountered in other race series he has worked with. Overall, I was pleased with the flow. There was a good amount of technical running, but nothing too debilitating if it’s not your jam. Despite the cold temps, we had dry weather so things weren’t overly sloppy and it was nowhere near the trying time last year’s “Nor’easter” race weekend proved to be.

The Super clocked in at between 8 & 9 miles, depending on whose GPS watch you believe, or likely how many penalties loops you had to do (Olympus and the Box had an extra penalty loop to run instead of Burpees). It’s something Spartan sometimes implements, either as an experiment or just to liven things up a bit. I recall, having them for Killington and other Beasts before, but I cannot recollect if they ever had them at a Super before. This meant that despite my lone failed obstacle (curse you Box and your short rope) I still legitimately ran a Burpee free race (lol).The Sprint was just shy of 4-miles and was made entirely of portions of the Super course with the obstacles that would typically appear on Sprint courses. Not quite as difficult as say Tuxedo, at least in my opinion, but a greater challenge than West Point or Long Island, just to put it in context with its neighboring Sprints.

• The Bling:

Like Palmerton and Killington before it, this weekend’s Super was part of the US Mountain Series so we got the Super version of those great medals. Although the Sprint was technically not part of the series, its finisher medal was of the same Mountain Series design just the same except with the appropriate color and labeling. As for the shirts, they were the standard shirts for the respective distances. The trail race participants received a cotton/poly blend shirt and I am hearing that the mainstream Spartan Race finisher shirts will get this blend in 2020.

• Trail Race:

While I did not participate in the trail race myself, I would be remiss to not mention a bit about it, as Lorraine and many other friends who were on site that day gave it a try and it seemed to mostly have high reviews. A 10k and a half marathon distance were each offered and both started at the same time. People enjoyed the course, but there was a little talk that the markings could be confusing in places. Still no one seemed to get lost for more than a few seconds from what I heard and it seemed to be a different kind of fun for many veterans of the courses on these slopes just taking in the terrain and putting the focus on their trail running abilities. I considered running it at one point, possibly even doing the half marathon instead of the Sprint (I bet there was someone who did both, but even I’m not that crazy).

• Overall Feeling:

I have never disliked this weekend and this year was no exception. Maybe the weather sometimes leaves a bit to be desired, but this year, you just had to dress appropriately and give the race your all. For 2020, this race weekend will be moving up to early October which will hopefully increase the odds of moderate to great weather for those who make the trip. 

However, I and many other OCR athletes will be indisposed that weekend due to the OCR World Championships being held in Vermont the same dates. I rate this five out of Five Stars for this last hurrah before I go on a hiatus from this race next year.

Article Written by: Brian Kellogg, OCR Aficionado