By Sara Hetzel

Introduction

Obstacle Course Racing (OCR) is a popular outdoor activity that combines running and obstacles such as rope climbs, monkey bar traverses (some with hanging obstacles), wall traverses (up and over), bucket carries, water slides / water obstacles, and many, many others. Many people are looking for fitness challenges and have begun looking into doing their first Spartan Race, Tough Mudder, Savage Race, or one of the many local and regional OCRs like Indian Mud Run, or Mud Endeavor. To further add to the variety, companies like Spartan Race have various race lengths, on various terrains from flat to mountainous, and even some in stadiums! Many of the races include mud, hence the name Mud Run. Then there is Tough Mudder which mostly focuses on team effort, although their Toughest Mudder is an individual competition.

With so many different companies putting on so many different types of Obstacle Races, the likelihood of you finding one near your hometown is pretty high. This may leave you with the question: how do you train for your first OCR? In this article, we will provide some tips that may help you hit your first start line feeling confident.

Hit the Trails!

Arguably one of the biggest aspects of Obstacle Course Races is the “R!” Undoubtedly, this is also an area I see many newcomers skip when prepping for their first race. Shorter races tend to be 5k distance, which means you can expect to run at least 3 miles throughout the race. Not only that, many race directors add challenging terrain to make the run an additional obstacle! Running exclusively on the treadmill or sidewalk may not prepare you for the twists, turns, divots, and hills that you will encounter on the course. It is a good idea to spend some time training to tackle technical trails. If you run OCR, you may come across a difficult trail at some point. That being said, it is also in your best interest to do some form of hill work prior to the race as well. Even if the course is flatter, you may come across at least one hill. And if I’m wrong, at least you will have strong legs to run hard! Speaking of which….

Train your Legs

One obstacle that people overlook when doing their OCR research is the heavy carries. Even if a heavy carry doesn’t feel particularly heavy while you are completing the loop, your legs are going to feel it when you’re done. Make sure you safely build your strength to keep your legs ready not just for the carries, but for what comes after the carries, too! A few ways to train your legs for OCR is by doing squats, lunges, leg press machine exercises, or push sled exercises.

Rock Climb

It goes without saying (but I will say it anyway!) that you should train your upper body as well as your legs. One great way to train for your first OCR is by trying rock climbing! Rock climbing is great for building grip strength that you will use on the rigs. Not only that, it can build your confidence and coordination on these rigs as well. Rock climbing gyms are growing in popularity, and it may be worth your while to check one out before you hit your first start line!

At FitBar they just came out with the HG-8 Hangboard Grips, which are targeted at rock climbers that want to work on finger strength at home. They easily to attach to a pull up bar, and provide an alternative to going to a rock climbing gym. They also have the mounted cannonballs which can work more hand strength, and allows you to work on hand-eye coordination when traversing. The HG-2 Pull Up Ball Grips are similar in that they allow you to work your finger strength.

Try a Ninja Gym

When I think of growing sports, I think of Ninja Warrior competitions and Obstacle Course Racing. Although the two sports are vastly different, there are some overlaps in the training. Ninja obstacles may require more technique than a lot of OCR obstacles (you’re probably not going to see standard monkey bars on Ninja Warrior any time soon), but spending time on more difficult obstacles will certainly help you train for your first OCR. Between rock climbing and ninja gym-ing, your grip and coordination will feel so comfortable, you are bound to do well!

If a ninja gym is not close by, some people choose to build their own. FitBar makes a number of ninja obstacles that can help turn your backyard monkey bars into a home ninja rig.

Don’t just Dead Hang

If going to a rock climbing gym or ninja gym is out of the question for whatever reason, really pay attention to this tip! A lot of time when people don’t have access to these types of specialty gyms (it happens!), they’ll grab a pull up bar and hang for what feels like days. While working on your dead hang is a great skill if you are new, realistically, in the world of OCR, you aren’t going to spend much time hanging from a straight bar. Try adding movement to your dead hang! See if you can swap hanging from one arm to the other, doing some hanging shoulder taps, hip taps, switch up your grip, etc. There are a lot of options that you can accomplish without access to a specialty gym.

Additionally, if you want to get your hands on some obstacles even though ninja gyms are far away, check out the FitBar shop for some options you can hang on a pullup bar at home! Personally, I love my Beater Bar; the wide grip is the perfect width for training for Spartan Monkey Bars! The Grip Wheel also offers a great alternative to pull ups and dead hangs.

Choose an OCR

When training for your first OCR, it is always a good idea to know what to expect! You will have a great time on your first one, but it is a good idea to look into the course that you have selected. Savage Race will have more grip-intensive obstacles than Spartan, and Spartan has burpees (when you don’t successfully complete an obstacle). This means looking into obstacles, terrain, etc. Every race is going to vary in distance and obstacle order (yes, even though Spartan standardizes their distances now, that means them too; don’t expect a perfect 5k), so do what you can to prepare for whatever the race director throws at you. There are lots of forums and Facebook groups where you can ask very specific race questions and learn very specific OCR techniques. When training for your first OCR, it is worth your time to look into it all! Below is a summary of the more popular semi-national / national races:

Spartan Race: individual effort, more all-round body strength obstacles (walls, carries), many race lengths – most common is Sprint (5k), Super (10k), Beast (21k), and Ultra (50k) various terrain depending on location, pro / age group / open waves, competitive vibe

Savage Race: individual effort, more upper body and grip strength (creative monkey bar-type obstacles), 3-mile (Savage Blitz) and 5 to 7-mile (Savage Race) options, flatter terrains, pro / age group / open waves, good all-around vibe

Tough Mudder: team effort, all-round body strength (very creative team obstacles), 5k, 10k, 15k lengths, various terrain depending on location, good afterparty / chill team vibe

Rugged Maniac: individual effort but in a team environment, all-round body strength although mostly easier than the others, 5k length, various terrain depending on location, competitive and open waves, known for the fun after-party

Have Fun!

Unless you’re a professional in another regard, chances are you are interested in obstacle course racing to HAVE A GOOD TIME. Hit the start line with your head high and a smile on your face. There are going to be points in the event where your body feels tired, but when that happens, remember why you are there in the first place. There’s a saying in OCR that says “you’ll know at the finish line”. Believe me when I say you will!

About the Author

Sarah Hetzel has been doing obstacle races for over 5 years with dozens of races under her belt. She recently ran her first Spartan Pro wave in Atlanta and made 3rd place!!

Sarah works in the special education field and hails from Greenville, SC. She has run the following races: Spartan Race, Savage Race, Bone Frog, OCRWC, Warrior Dash (now defunct), Rugged Maniac, Terrain Race, and the Green Beret Challenge. She can be found on Instagram at @sjhetzel