OCD FOR OCR

Stadium Blitz (or as some call it, the Gronk OCR) had only its second event/OCR to date at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL (the home of the NFL Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and I was excited to see what they had to offer, and the chance to podium and then tell former New England Patriots Tight End, Rob Gronkowski that the Pats blow chunks and the Pittsburgh Steelers rule 😊!

• Registration and Festival:

I signed up when registration first opened and was pleasantly pleased with the low cost of the event. Upon arrival to the stadium parking was smooth the registration process appeared to be flowing easily. The festival area was on the second level of the stadium and had vendors providing food samples as well as the familiar faces of Fit Bar where participants could practice on their holds. A merchandise tent was also set up to purchase Stadium Blitz gear. The festival area also included Gronkowski’s face everywhere.

• Pre-race MC:

The MC for the send-off was decent. The pre-race cheer could use some work as he was having some difficulty getting the “as yet we blitz” chant going. I would have gone with Get Blitzed, as that has more potential and a cutesy hashtag connection.

• The Course:

The start line was on the second level of the stadium and began with some walls then led right into the stadium stairs. The course went up, and up, and up some more. Survival instincts, kicked in and my brain kept reminding me that what goes up must come down, eventually, well at least halfway down, and then back up again.Included in between the ups, were functional fitness exercise such as kettle bell swings, jump rope, a sand bag carry, and a sled push. Upper body obstacles were also incorporated, including bar traverse, and rings. The football throw was for some the equivalent of the Spartan Spear Throw, minus the burpees. Did I mention there were stairs?

• The Bling:

Finisher medals were provided at the finish line and Stadium Blitz socks (sort of lame) were given at registration, instead of the usual finisher race t-shirt.

• Overall Feelings and Event Rating:

Overall the event itself was enjoyable. Thumbs up, and up, and up. My biggest beef, is with the scoring system. I am still trying to wrap my brain around how it worked, or didn’t work. The results were based on a point system. Racers received a certain amount of points for specified obstacles if they completed them and scanned their RFID chipped band. Racers also received points for finishing under 40 minutes. While it’s understandable to try a different concept for results for a new concept race, the end result was miscommunication to some racers on where we actually finished. As this race continues to grow up, it would be a good idea to improve the scoring system, as competitive racers will want more oversight, in terms of volunteers/staff checking for actual obstacle and exercise rep completion. The addition of age group awards was a topic of discussion at the event. I give it a four out of five stairs, I mean stars!

Article Written by: Joy Moody