A news briefing on what happened in obstacle course racing (OCR) for September 2024. Primarily focused on the North America scene.

NEWS: EVENTS

SPARTAN PAN AM

Spartan Pan American Championships went off in Seattle this month. On the men’s side we saw some legit competition show up. But the star at the end of the day was up and coming OCR athlete and trail runner Baylen Bean, who had an awesome race, running up front from start to finish. He had a dominating performance on the run side and in his obstacle game. Baylen crushed the course, enjoyed his victory, stitched up a leg injury from the race and even did a podcast all within just a couple days.

Check out The OCR Report for their YouTube coverage.
And hear more from Baylen as he chats with Mike on Obstacle Running Adventures about the Seattle victory and some future plans in OCR and trail running. Check out podcast Episode #403 here.

On the women’s side, there wasn’t much surprise at the top, as Nicole Mericle shows up and did what she does best. Running fast, handling obstacles with ease and coming across that finish line in 1st.

And behind her?!?! Lauren Weeks came out and showed that she is most likely the best all-around OCR/Hybrid athlete right now.
With Cassandra Gill popping up in a solid 3rd place spot. Newer to the OCR scene, she’s definitely one to watch out for in 2025 as her performances continue to push her rankings upward.

SPARTAN KILLINGTON

Next, we have the toughest North American Spartan Ultra race going off out in Killington, VT. As always, this brutal course crushed some souls. We put together some Killington stats from the 2024 event and compared it with New Jersey, to see how tough this venue actually is.
Check it out.

As you can see, Killington is no joke. With a 58% DNF rate on that Ultra, you better be prepared if you’re heading out there, or to any other mountain ultra for that matter. Want advice?!?! Check out our post, 7 Tips from Scott “The Fayne” Knowles’s on Running a Spartan Ultra.

And Josh Fiore continues to dominate that Killington Ultra course as he pulls off another win. He was also featured on the Obstacle Running Adventures podcast after his big win and they discuss Killington and his World’s Toughest Mudder plans coming up. Check out podcast Episode #402 here.

SAVAGE PRO SERIES

The Savage Race Pro Series is underway. And Shawn Roberts is back at it this year cruising through those Savage obstacles and terrain. Gaining 1st place spots in the first two Pro Series races so far. With Savage OG’s, Jordan McDougal, Ryan Brizzolara and Kevin Thompson all battling it out for the final podium spots. (Ryan and Kevin currently tied for 3rd).

Speaking of Savage OG’s. On the women’s side we have 3 Savage locals holding onto the podium so far including: Jamie Horianopoulos (also getting 1st place in both races), Rachel Watters and Jessica Sheppard.

Event 3 has a chance to be pretty epic.
With a battle for that 3rd spot between Ryan and Kevin. Jordan and Shawn trying to hold onto their current placement, and then we have Anthony Kunkel saying he’s going to show up… A big wildcard to throw into the mix! We’re definitely excited about this last Pro Series event scheduled for November 2nd in Florida.

MIDWEST OCR

A fresh OCR event went off late this month. Midwest OCR was put on, featuring obstacles from Race Ready Obstacles and the feedback from the race has been great. Some obstacles most racers don’t see these days, including some quite difficult and challenging obstacles which many of us love to see out on course. The OCR Report provided coverage on this one, so be sure to check it out here!
We hope to see them come back and grow this one.

NEWS: COMMUNITY

SPARTAN ELITE & AG 2025

Elite & Age Group Spartan racers. Listen up.

If you haven’t heard yet, Spartan Race is going back to their old ways next year and having Elite & Age Group heats separated.

Changes yet again.
Surprise, surprise.
Spartan Race is that good friend you have that just can’t seem to hold down a relationship for more than 6 months…

Anyway. Let’s stick with the facts. And continue with, (not technically September news).

Info on the Elite & Age Group US National Series races for 2025 came out on October 1st. And we decided to throw it in here as we’re a day late. Check out the picture here from Spartan Race showing you the race breakout.

Overall, it looks like Spartan is betting big on Sprints next year.

We’re sure Athletes will show up and battle it out.
But which athletes?
It’s likely another move that keeps out some of that old guard. But will bring in some fresh faces and new competition.

How do you feel about this?!?!

NEWS: UPCOMING

OCRWC

First off, the OCR World Championships (OCRWC) is finally here. And for any of you going after this one, we hope you’re ready for that altitude! As it’s on our list as the tallest mountain in championship OCR racing this year. Just check it out on our chart here.

We’re psyched to watch the coverage coming up and look forward to some solid battles. Check out The OCR Report for coverage on YouTube.

USA OCR

And we have the first USA OCR National Championship event kicking off in Dalton, Georgia on October 12th. They’ve partnered with Phoenix Race and are set to be bringing in a variety of obstacles from different brands. 3K & 15K races offered over the weekend.

What else is happening?!?!

If you have any news about Events, Sponsors, Products, Athletes, OCR community doing cool stuff, or anything else, send us a message.
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