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Roger Smith, PhD.OCR Athlete / Prolific Authorwww.newbluefit.com

Tim BonnesMudRunFunCalifornia Team Leader

writers

Matthew O’LearyMudRunFun MagazineProfessional Slacker

Whats inside this issue?

“The Mud Run Sandwich”Roger Smith, PhD ........................pg 1

“Atlas Race Review” Tim Bonnes ................................. pg 3 Eye Candy - Deviant Race Spreads Matthew O’Leary ........................pg 7

“Extreme Nation Review”Muddy Mommy. ...........................pg 13

Muddy MommyOCR Athlete / Bloggerwww.muddymommy.com

Yum! A mud run sandwich. A mud run this

Saturday and next Saturday with training packed

into the middle of the sandwich. It is more fun than

anything … except maybe a mud run triple-decker.

So how do you train when you just have a week

between a pair of mud runs? You want to maintain

the fitness level you have and hopefully push one

trait forward just a little before the next race. As the

mud run season started I found myself with a pair of

short runs sandwiched together – Extreme Nation

and Spartan Sprint. So I created a week of training

specifically designed to carry me from one race to

the next. The program was based on the fact that

both were short distances and heavy on strength

obstacles. It includes a short physical wake-up in the

morning and a longer workout in the afternoon.

Sunday. A really good obstacle or mud run is a

great workout in itself. You get a big dose of

cardio and muscle work in a short

20 to 60 minute window. So the

day after is not a good time

to lift weights or run. But it

is a great time to stretch and

twist, which calls for yoga and pilates. So wake up

with a short 10 minute yoga routine. Then later in

the day spend a full hour doing yoga, pilates, or a

combination of the two. Currently, I am enjoying the

yoga and pilates routines in Tony Horton’s P90X3

workouts. I do them both back-to-back for a full

hour.

Monday. Start the morning with 30 burpees and a

quick 1-2 mile run. This will take 15-25 minutes for

most people. Then later in the day it is time to build

a little muscle with an upper body lifting session.

Focus on chest, back and shoulders today. Be sure

to include push-ups and pull-ups because you can’t

beat those classic body weight exercises.

Tuesday. It is time for an abs/core morning. Just

10 minutes of alternating abs exercises. There are

many great abs DVD’s to choose from. I like these

much better than the boring sit-ups and leg lifts we all

learned in gym class. Then in the afternoon I have been

attending the Les Mills BodyFlow class at my gym for

the stretch, twist, and flex workout. I follow that with

their high intensity BodyAttack class, but a good set of

running sprints or cycling will do just as well.

The Mud RunSandwich

by Roger Smith, PhD

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Dr. Roger Smith is a researcher at Florida Hospital, author,

and avid mud runner. He competes with the old guys in

every mud run around Central Florida. This column was

drawn from his book The New Blueprint for Fitness: Mud

Run Edition, which is available at Amazon.com.

http://www.NewBlueFit.com/

Wednesday. By this morning you should wake-up a bit fatigued. So the morning routine is just 30 quick burpees.

You can do these in 3 sets of 10; or make them into Tabata sets of 4 burpees with 10 seconds rest between, repeated for

8 sets. In the afternoon it is time to strengthen the lower body. Include leg exercises that build your glutes, like lunges,

rather than the leg extension and leg curl machines. I also work my arms with my legs because I can switch back and

forth without having to stop and rest. The legs rest while I work arms and vice versa.

Thursday. This is a good cardio day. Try a longer run in the morning. Then in the afternoon you can run stairs and

work on your core again. I return to BodyFlow class just because it is scheduled at a perfect time.

Friday. I said you were going to like Friday - just rest. Let your body rebuild and refuel your muscles. Today you can

use the foam roller to breakup adhesions in your muscles. But give your body a chance to prepare for tomorrow’s event.

Saturday. I’ll see you at the race.

This was a great program between two short races. If they had been longer events I would have spent less time on

building strength and more on running. But, in either case I would have included at least 2 days of yoga or pilates. I

believe these are essential for protecting your body from injury.

This sure is a lot of work to invest in a weekend hobby. But for Mud Run Maniacs there isn’t anything more exciting.

mud run

AM PM

Saturday

Sunday 10 Min Yoha Yoga or Pilates

Monday 30 Burpees + 2 Mile Run Lift Upper Body

Tuesday 10 Min Abs + Run Sprints Pilates + Cardio

Wednesday 30 Burpees Left Lower Body + Arms

Thursday Run Long Pilates + Stairs

Friday Rest Foam Roller

3

Atlas Race – Extreme Obstacle Racing Series

Let me start by saying that I am not an Elite

racer. I do OCR’s for a good time and to test

myself to see how far I can push myself. When I

moved to Southern California after being spoiled in

Florida for the past 3 years of the OCR boom I was

disappointed at the lack of quantity of races coming

to the area. I am constantly searching for a new race

to try out and see what it has to offer. I heard about

Atlas Race after their debut in the North West last

year. There was a lot of hype surrounding this new

racing series and they are offering

huge prize money for the Elite

and Team categories. This

race drew most of the big

name racers from across the

country, both male and female. As I said I am not

an elite racer but I figured I’ve done some pretty

tough events over the past few years so I decided to

give this a try.

Atlas Race held its Los Angeles Event on 22/23

Feb 2014 at the infamous Vail Lake Resort in

Temecula, CA. This venue has hosted some big

players in the OCR industry such as Spartan Race

and Tough Mudder. Let me start by saying the

terrain at this place is wicked. There are miles and

miles of trails available for use along with a huge

freshwater lake and some very, very large hills that

can be used. Atlas Race took advantage of all of this.

The Race started with a quick run through some

mud and immediately went into a climb up one of

4

the smaller hills. This smaller hill is about 1/4 of a mile

with close to 500ft in elevation gain. It is quite awesome

to get on top of it and look at the beautiful terrain. On

top of the hill was a 12 foot wall with ropes that needed

to be scaled to move on. Once moving back down the

hill were some of the standard tire flips and mud bogs

with an inverted wall which were a pretty good time.

The course looped back around to a cargo net climb that

was 20+ ft tall with no supports at the bottom. Very

different than any other cargo net wall climb I have seen

because of how the net moved, the height of it and how

the cargo net put you under the supports at the top

requiring some upper body strength to get over and back down. There were a few more cargo

net A-frames to go over but nothing compared to that cargo wall. After some more trail running

came what I saw as the race equalizer. This massive hill that was close to 70% incline at some

points with awesome sugar sand and a 50 pound sandbag that needed carried to the top. This

was close to 1000 ft in elevation gain covering about a 1/2 of a mile. By the time I got up this hill

I was spent, and still had about 2 miles to go. The rest of the race consisted of some 8 ft walls,

another sand bag carry some shallow but Florida thick sole sucking mud, 2 lake crossings, some

over and under walls and a few barbed wire crawls.

All in all this was a very good event. The Boss course that I ran covered 5 miles and had

20 obstacles to negotiate. The race was well organized; there were no back logs at any of the

obstacles. Packet pick up was a breeze and there were no wave Nazi’s. I would recommend this

event to anyone that is into OCR events.

http://www.bswarms.com

7

8

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When I arrived at the site of the inaugural Ex

about two specific obstacles; the unique set of

monkey bars, which consisted of an ascending then

descending series of bars, with a rope in the middle

intended for racers to grab the rope once they had

climbed one side of the bars, swing across to grab

the opposite bars, and then descend the other side.

The bars were spaced far apart, and slick due to the

light rain, making the incline even more daunting

than normal for most female, and some male,

participants. The other concerning obstacle, the

great equalizer, was the rope climb.

All elite teams met at 8am to receive our final

instructions from the Race Director. It was deemed

that the monkey bar obstacle may be too challenging

for some female competitors, so although men were

required to attempt till completion, women were to

try the full obstacle, then try climbing the middle

rope to swing to the descent, and if both attempts

were failed, 20 penalty burpees would release the

female participant to continue on. Women were

also only required to carry one 50lb sandbag instead

of two, and although men were required to hold

their sandbags at their sides, women were allowed

to carry theirs in any way we saw fit. Outside of

that, all other obstacles were to be completed by all

competitors in the same fashion. Teams of 4 men

and women would be competing against each other

for cash prizes, and as we stood together receiving

our instructions I realized that this race would be

no easy competition. The likes of World’s Toughest

Mudder winner Junyung Pak, Spartan Race Elite

Racer Hunter McIntyre, and Spartan Race Elite/

Body Builder/All Around Beast Mode female Ella

Review by MuddyMommy

http://www.muddymommy.com/

Kociuba showed up with hopes to win the coveted

cash prizes, taking the competition from intense, to

all around insanely fierce. We knew that to place

anywhere above last place, we would have to give

this event all we had.

The elite men began at 9am, one team of four

beginning each minute. This gave us the perfect

opportunity to spectate as team after team was sent

down the course, tackling the 20+ obstacles one by

one. We watched as they tackled many obstacles

with ease, and formulated a hopeful plan-of-attack

where they seemed to struggle. After the last team

of men was sent down the course, it was our time

to line up, it was time for the women to take on the

course.

Eight female teams gathered in the starting corral.

32 powerful, determined women, ready to tackle

the course the men had just taken on. We lined up,

said our well wishes to our team mates, and before

we could blink we were on our way. My focus for

this race was on pacing. I didn’t want to start too

fast, only to find myself with no gas left in the tank

by the final obstacles. To me, the race itself was a

course built to play toward a man’s strength, with

a heavy emphasis on upper

body challenges. Monkey bars, tractor pull, sandbag

carry, parallel bars, rope climb… these obstacles

alone are tough enough to challenge the most

seasoned elite males, which makes me even more

proud to have been a part of the amazing group of

women that took on this course.

Despite the shorter length course, this race was

no cake walk. The barrage of upper body challenges

and obstacles left even the fiercest competitor feeling

zapped of energy by the time the finish line was in

sight. I took the obstacles in stride, knowing that I

was not the fastest competitor present, I planned to

use my strength in obstacles to surge ahead of my

competition. The sandbag carry and tractor pull

did not phase me in the way that it crippled many

racers, and the series of cargo climbs and over/

unders were completed with ease. My attempt at the

monkey bars was quickly followed by the 20 burpee

penalty, as I was unable to keep a quality grip to

maneuver the obstacle. And as I rounded

the bend toward

15

the finish, with only the rope climb to complete, I

felt confident. I was ready to claim a quality finish.

Now I must explain that although the rope climb

has given me a bit of a struggle at previous races,

I’ve never failed a rope climb, nor have I had to

attempt the climb more than once. Each time prior

to this race I had moved methodically up the rope,

taking a quick break if needed mid-climb, but I had

never failed. Well apparently Extreme Nation was

determined to shake that confidence a bit, and I

was forced to come face to face with the shattering

reality that I may not be as strong as I thought I was,

because at this race, I struggled with this obstacle

more than any obstacle I have ever faced.

I reached the rope climb, and quickly realized

that my entire team was there with me at the same

obstacle, attempting to reach the bell at the top

which would release us to finish the race. I felt

confident that I could lead my team to victory,

planning to climb the rope with ease and then dash

ahead to the finish line. But with increasing despair,

we each attempted to ascend the rope, and time

after time, we each failed. I recall hitting a point

where I looked over at my husband on the sidelines,

discouraged, my forearms burning and my hands

shaking uncontrollably, and I said, “I don’t think I

can do this.”

I had never spoken those defeated words during a

race, and allowing that phrase to escape my mouth

in a desperate plea to be given mercy felt like a

punch to the gut. I felt like a failure. I felt foolish

to have believed that I could compete against the

women who had effortlessly cruised up the rope as

though it posed no challenge whatsoever. I looked

around at those who remained at the ropes, all of

us struggling to overcome an obstacle that, with

each failed attempt, seemed to grow taller and more

ominous. As I watched the frustration building

around me, I came to the resolve that this obstacle

would not defeat me, and that I would not leave this

race feeling as though I failed. I mustered all of the

strength I had remaining, gripped the rope with a

resolve to finish my race, and climbed that rope.

I hit that bell with a triumphant ferocity, it’s ring

announcing that I had not been defeated. With

a renewed strength I shouted out my victory, a

sense of relief and empowerment washing over

me. I eagerly descended and crossed the finish line,

thrilled that I didn’t give up, that I didn’t allow the

voice inside me telling me that climbing that rope

was impossible. I had won a personal battle, and it

17

was a pretty amazing feeling.

The championship wave quickly

arrived, and the top 10 male teams

lined up to compete for their spot on

the podium. The competition was

fierce, and as they battled it out on the

field, the 8 female teams prepared to

again tackle the course. With my recent

struggle still fresh in my mind, I dreaded

my 2nd turn at the rope climb, but resolved

that I would push as hard as I could to

complete the obstacle more quickly this time.

I wanted not only to make myself proud, but

to make my team proud.

Happily, that is exactly what I did.

I traveled the course again, taking on obstacle

after obstacle. And as I neared the rope climb, I

watched on as my first two teammates conquered the rope on

their first attempt. Their excited screams echoed through the air, and I told myself that I

too, was going to follow suit. I arrived, noticing that a few of the other competitors who had struggled initially

were again attempting their climbs. Not this time, I told myself, I’m not going to get stuck here again.

Deep breath, tight grip, and climb! I dug deep and climbed to the top of the rope, swiping

for the bell.. and narrowly missed by a fraction of an inch…. Feeling defeated

yet again I found myself slipping toward the ground, dumbfounded

that I had not hit the bell. Upon reaching the ground, I

took a moment to calm my nerves, and again

reached upward, ascending the

rope with profound

determination. This time, I succeeded! I was able to

finish the championship wave with a time that I was

proud of, I helped my team earn a 6th place win and

$400, and above all with the knowledge that I did

not let the course get the better of me. That, to me,

has got to be one of the best feelings in the world.

I came away from Extreme Nation having

experienced a vast array of emotions. I arrived

hopeful and confident, experienced time of major

struggle, became discouraged and doubtful of my

abilities as a competitor, felt elated when I finally

achieved a result I’d begun to believe was not going

to happen, and left with a pride in myself and in my

team that in almost indescribable.

Despite my initial skepticism, I’m now left with

an intense gratitude for having run this race. I am

grateful to have been provided with such a fantastic

experience, proud to have pushed through pain

and self-doubt to finish a race that I, at one point,

thought might be impossible, and am empowered to

continue growing, learning, and building my own

abilities for future races. Although the future of

Extreme Nation may have a few hills and valleys as

they discover what exact formula will fit their ideals

best, I do hope to see this one stick around. They

have a great, challenging race, and it’s one that I

know I will always be proud of.

~Holly

http://www.mudrunfun.com/events/search/trojan

20

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