It’s the end of the year and we’re reflecting on anything and everything that went down in obstacle course racing this year. From Spartan Race flip-flopping on every decision, to Tough Mudder and the biggest OCR event in history, to Savage Race being savage. And so much more. It’s all in play today. And what better way to present it all, then by Roasting it and through sharing some of the spicy Instagram comments from you guys, the OCR community.
Enjoy.
1.) January ’24 – AG & Elite waves
Starting things off with that big curveball Spartan threw at us, where they’re combining Age Group and Elite heats into one single competitive wave for 2024. Most racers being PSYCHED on the change.
Everyone got to race together like it’s a big family reunion.
And a big plus is that we won’t have those sad little Elite heats looking emptier than an investors Hawk Tuah crypto account.
2.) January ’24 – Spartan PICS
Spartan Race really pulled a fast one in 2024, deciding to start charging for race photos for the first time ever. The initial buzz was a mixed bag—some folks were ready to riot, while others held out hope that maybe this meant they’d get some top-notch pics of them scaling walls and dodging mud like a ninja in a swamp. But now that the dust has settled, it turns out the whole deal felt more like a bad blind date, where the majority of these photo packages were NOT WORTH THE MONEY. Along with Mark’s comment below, on Spartan giving up this free organic marketing.
What. A. Screwup.
It looks like Spartan’s photo strategy is as effective as Biden’s debate performances – no one’s buying it!
3.) February ’24 – OCR Graveyard
In a gut-wrenching twist for hardcore OCR fans, both Rugged Maniac and Bonefrog decided to hang up their muddy shoes in the spring of 2024, shutting down operations for good. It hit us right in the feels, like finding out your favorite childhood toy is now a relic in a dusty attic. These races were more than just events; they were the wild playgrounds that helped shape the sport and bring folks together.
So, here’s to Rugged Maniac and Bonefrog—two brands that fell down harder this year than the CEO of UnitedHealthCare.
4.) February ’24 – TM AlUla
The biggest OCR event of all time?!?! Maybe.
Tough Mudder rolled into AlUla like a circus on steroids, bringing the first-ever Infinity event to the Middle East. This shindig was wilder than a squirrel on a sugar rush, with obstacle-crushing heroes from 40 countries showing up to play in the sand. Now, hold onto your headbands, ’cause Tough Mudder wasn’t messing around with the prize money. They were throwing around $480,000 like it was monopoly money at a family game night gone wrong.
The winners? They each pocketed a cool $80,000, which is more cheddar than a mouse could dream of in a lifetime. This race had more stars than a clear night in the desert, with big names like Jon Albon and Ryan Atkins duking it out like two raccoons fighting over the last slice of pizza.
It was gonna be eight hours of pure, unadulterated, sandy madness, and we we’re all so fucking excited.
5.) February ’24 – TM Live
The biggest OCR event in history. Excitement is overflowing and Obstacle Racing Media is pushing Live Coverage. A chance to sit back, grab an uncrustable and fitaid and watch the battle of the century.
And what happens race day morning?!?!
The live coverage was about as disappointing as a wet firecracker on the Fourth of July. They dropped the ball, turning what should’ve been the most epic broadcast in OCR history into something that made people feel like they just found out Santa’s a fraud.
The coverage was so bad, it was like watching paint dry in the desert – a glorified finish line cam with commentary that assumed everyone knew these athletes better than their own mama.
It was a missed opportunity so fucking big, you could’ve driven a monster truck through it.
I’d rather take drinks from strangers at a Diddy party than have to sit through that coverage again.
6.) February ’24 – Veejay quits & returns
Alright guys, gather ’round for the tale of Veejay Jones, that OCR superstar who decided to trade in his mud shoes for a camera and a golf club.
Earlier this year, he was out there, all smiles, at Tough Mudder AlUla. And then poof! He vanished faster than my will to work out after a buffet. Now, it seemed like he had officially retired, (probably after witnessing that horrific Tough Mudder coverage).
But just when we thought he was gone for good, like a bad haircut from the ’90s, news drops that Veejay’s making a comeback this January at Mettle Games in Kuwait.
We’re all surprised.
Even Veejay himself was shocked, commenting on his own post like; wait, what?!?! “That’s crazy”.
The OCR Report will have live coverage. So get ready in January to watch Veejay jump back into the game and run and move through obstacles faster than those UFO’s in Jersey.
7.) March ’24 – TONAL Machine
New and Fresh obstacles from Spartan this year?!?!
Spartan decided to throw this new TONAL machine into their Stadion races, and let me tell you, racers were looking at it like it was an alien dropped into a mud pit.
This “obstacle” was about as out of place as a vegan at a barbecue competition – just a random fitness machine that had nothing to do with obstacle racing. It’s like Spartan decided to turn their race into some kind of infomercial, probably because some corporate dollars were waving in their face. The racers were roasting this thing harder than a marshmallow at a campfire, calling it everything but an actual obstacle. Classic move from a company that’s starting to smell more like money than mud, you know what I’m saying?
Just another day in the wild world of obstacle racing, where corporate sponsorships and money are running the show.
8.) March ’24 – Trifecta Medal
It feels like so much negativity so far this year. Yikes!
But finally, we’ve got something positive from Spartan. They rolled out a shiny new medal in 2024 for those brave enough to tackle the Trifecta weekend, and let me tell you, it’s like a fidget spinner on steroids! This bad boy spins in all kinds of directions, and racers are loving it like a kid in a candy store.
It’s a sweet piece of bling that has participants feeling like they just won the lottery, proving that not all changes are met with grumbles. So, hats off to Spartan for giving the racers something to show off at the next BBQ.
9.) March ’24 – “you’re fired”
Back to bad news. Bleh.
Spartan went and laid off Steve Hammond and Garfield Griffiths – these guys were like part of the holy trinity of Spartan. Steve and Garfield had boots on the ground at many races over the years and we all knew them well. They really were the cream of the crop, the secret sauce in Spartan’s mud pie.
Letting them go is like firing SANTA CLAUS on Christmas Eve.
People are more riled up than the women of THE VIEW when they heard Trump won again.
10.) May ’24 – Yara Yara Yara the Trifecta Queen
Alright, you guys know about Yara Alves?!?! – the human tornado of Spartan racing who’s collected over 140 lifetime trifectas!
This 4-foot-10 powerhouse travels the globe every weekend, racking up miles like a squirrel hoards nuts. This woman has spent 1,574 hours racing – that’s basically two solid months of just running through mud and climbing walls!
Let’s play a game:
Guess who has more flight miles?
Yara or Taylor Swift on her Eras Tour?
It’s Yara. And it’s not even close. She has ten times more than Taylor with 1 million flight miles ticked off this year. At this rate, she might as well start her own company. ‘Trifecta YaraLines‘.
When will she stop!?!? Well, she’s said she wants to be the first person to hit 300 lifetime Trifectas. We saw her a ton in 2024 and we’re sure 2025 will be no different.
So here’s to Yara Alves – the woman who makes obstacle racing look like a casual weekend hobby, when for her, it’s basically breathing.
11.) July ’24 – Skip JAX? No soup for you!
Here’s some more Spartan Race shenanigans for ya.
These guys decide to run the National Series in Jacksonville, Big Bear, and Utah this year. Racers racked up points in each race depending on their placement. And all of us thought that the overall National Series podium would be decided on best points total. Makes sense, right?
But, they pulled a move so sneaky, it’s like changing the rules of Monopoly right before someone’s about to collect $200. Just days before the final race, they drop this bomb that you gotta run ALL THREE races to get that sweet, sweet cash.
Hawk Call & Annie Dubie who crushed a couple of the races and were stacking points like a squirrel hoarding nuts, both get completely shut out because they couldn’t make ONE RACE. It’s like showing up to a party and being told you can’t come in because you missed the appetizers.
But hey, did any of us really expect this to go smoothly anyway?!?!
Spartan Race paying all athletes owed money and in a timely manner is just as likely as the government confessing they killed JFK.
12.) July ’24 – UWC Morzine
Spartan Ultra Championship in Morzine, France, 2024. When of the biggest highlights of 2024.
A race so wild, it made regular Ultras look like a walk in the park with your grandma! This shindig had thousands of racers from over 40 countries showing up to get their butts handed to them by Mother Nature herself.
What’s called a 50km race with 60 obstacles, ended up being more like 60km with some crazy mountain gains. It was like climbing a mountain while wrestling a greased-up pig, folks!
They had a soul-crushing double carry, where you lugged a 60lb sandbag uphill, then traded it for a chain, and then took that sandbag back down. It’s like the race directors were sitting there thinking, “How can we make these folks regret every decision that led them here?”
But despite feeling like they’d been put through a human-sized blender, the racers, freaking, loved it! The views were so breathtaking, you’d forget you were supposed to be suffering. And let’s not forget the French alpine village setting – it was like being in a postcard.
This wasn’t just any old race. This turned out to be the crème de la crème of obstacle racing. Folks were feeling more legit than a bald eagle wearing the American flag. The Spartans that finished this one weren’t just racers – they were legends, with stories that’ll be told around campfires for years to come. Now that’s what I call a world championship!
13.) July ’24 – 100Meter is not OCR
Spartan Race is out here trying to turn OCR into some kind of obstacle course sprint dating show. Their out pushing this 100-meter event and handing out more cash for this dash than they are for the Sprint Championship the same weekend.
The OG crowd is pissed. They’ve been grinding out miles, crawling through mud, and climbing walls, all for what? To watch some ninjas jump into “OCR”, hop over a few hurdles, collect $20K, and call it a day?!?! OCR is not a ninja warrior playground.
It’s like going to your next ultra-marathon and it’s replaced by a game of leap-frog.
14.) July ’24 – A baby is born
Ryan Atkins and Lindsey Webster, the OCR power couple, just had a baby girl back in July. This little one’s got the genetic makeup of a marathon-running, obstacle-crushing machine. Kid’s gonna be so fast, she’ll leave everyone else in the dust like they’re running through quicksand.
She’s gonna grow up thinking mud pits and barbed wire are just playground equipment, and by the time she’s five, she’ll be lapping you all like you’re on a treadmill. So, to all the wannabe OCR champs, here’s a heads-up: the Atkins–Webster dynasty is never coming to an end, and you’re all just pawns in their game of mud and glory.
15.) August ’24 – Year of the Boar
We’ve had Scorpions, Hawks, Leopards and Snakes. And now for 2025, Spartan’s trying to put lipstick on a pig, with “Year of the Boar”.
Maybe next year they’ll give us the “Year of the Couch Potato” and we can all just stay home.
16.) August ’24 – World Obstacle, FISO, UIPM, Ian, whoever tf else…
The 2024 World Obstacle Championships in Costa Rica turned out to be wilder than a possum in a popcorn machine.
First off, they’re changing rules faster than a chameleon in a bag of Skittles. Racers are out there feeling like they’re playing Monopoly while everyone else is playing Uno. Someone even called it a “clown show,” but that’s an insult to clowns everywhere. At least clowns know how to count the people they stuff in those tiny cars.
It’s so bad, people are saying this organization should hang up its muddy boots and call it quits. These FISO folks want to get into the Olympics, but they’re running this gig like it’s a backyard mud-wrestling tournament.
These guys are more disorganized than Young Thug’s YSL Rico trial.
Kaci telling us how “the rules are made up and the points don’t matter” – sounds like they’re confusing obstacle racing with “Whose Line Is It Anyway?“
17.) September ’24 – OCRWC
It’s time to talk OCRWC. So, it’s their second year up in Mammoth Lakes, California, where the air’s thinner than all them rich people in Hollywood who went on Ozempic this year.
Now, folks had a hoot and a holler at this event! But… it came with some negatives.
For one, getting to this place is harder than trying to teach a cat to fetch. Overseas athletes are looking at it like it’s on the moon, and even us Americans are scratching our heads trying to figure out how to get there without needing a sherpa and a map.
Secondly, OCRWC dropped a bombshell, telling us they’re taking a siesta in 2025. It’s like they’re playing hide and seek, but forgot to tell anyone they were hiding.
They’re promising to pop back up in 2026, but that’s just about as reassuring as what the government is telling us about the hundreds of UFO’s flying around in the sky.
Third, us OCR fanatics are seeing more and more world championships pop up out there than fleas on a junkyard dog. It’s getting more diluted than gas station coffee. Maybe folks are starting to look at this event like it’s just another mud run with a fancy hat.
The futures just about as clear as what the price of bitcoin will be in a year.
18.) September ’24 – Spartan flip-flop #431
It’s time for another Spartan Race flip-flop!!! While we saw those combined Elite and Age Group waves in 2024, they’ll doing a full 180 next year and going back to separate waves!
The majority of athletes were digging this 2024 format, loving how they could race against folks in similar shape and not have those sad, empty elite heats.
The community’s more confused than a squirrel trying to do taxes. Some racers are throwing their hands up saying, “Bring back tire flips and gladiators, and maybe we’ll show up!”
It’s like Spartan’s playing musical chairs with their race format, and nobody knows when the music’s gonna stop. Another classic Spartan move.
19.) October ’24 – Spartan’s WC List for ’25
Spartan releases their list of all the Championships we’ll see next year.
It’s. A lot.
And we can’t help but think about how North American OCR has been going in two directions the last couple years.
We got elite athletes dropping out, saying “sayonara” to the lower Prize Money payouts, the same old obstacles, the same old venues and an upper management that doesn’t f’in care.
And then we have these race organizations pumping out more and more championship races like they’re going out of style.
There are more OCR championships happening next year than Hunter Biden has pictures of hookers and snorting coke.
The whole shebang’s getting watered down faster than cheap beer at a college party. And looking shakier than a Jenga tower in an earthquake.
20.) October ’24 – WTM
The World’s Toughest Mudder in November was like a 24-hour endurance buffet where nine guys decided to eat their way to 100 miles. These dudes were running so much, they probably burned off last Thanksgiving’s turkey in one go.
And while they were out there sweating like a sinner in church, the OCR Report was giving us live coverage for the full 24-hours. Fran and Will were on the mic, chatting away like they were at a bar instead of a grueling race, making it feel more like a podcast than an extreme sport.
Hats off to those racers for pushing through those 24 hours while the rest of us just pushed through our couches—because if there’s one thing we learned, it’s that watching people suffer is way more fun when you’ve got snacks in hand.
21.) December ’24 – Savage Marketing
Savage Race just pulled a stunt that’s about as bold as a raccoon in a tuxedo! At the last Spartan race of the season down in Florida, they rented a plane and had it flying over like it was the aerial version of a middle finger, dragging a giant banner that said, “Do a Savage Race!”.
While all those Spartan participants were slogging through the mud, Savage was up above them doing some real gorilla marketing—talk about taking the competition to new heights! It’s like they said, “Why just run with the pack when you can rain down discounts from the sky?” Now that’s what I call Savage!
So there you have it guys.
A Roast for all the good, bad and ugly that went down in 2024 Obstacle Course Racing.
But looking past all the chaos. We still love this sport.
There’s nothing quite like running through mud, tackling obstacles, and sharing laughs with friends who are just as crazy as you are.
At the end of the day, we’re all out there pushing ourselves to be a little better.
So here’s to all of you, the OCR community—may we continue to embrace the madness, support each other through the mud, and keep this wild ride going into 2025. Because no matter how many times the OCR industry tries to screw with us, we’ll always come back for more—like raccoons to my trashcan every Monday night.
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