NEWS: EVENTS

So. There were two Spartan National Series races in June.
A Super in Mont-Tremblant Canada and a Sprint in Mexico.
I’m sure everyone had a blast and all, but there’s actually two other events we’re gonna give a shout-out on.

And they’re both in Ohio… weird.

Spartan Race Cincinnati. Or as we here at ocr directory like to refer to it. Cincinasty. The race directors this year added in an Ultra distance. And sure, it’s just a little mountain in the midwest, but they went and turned it into a torture chamber on steroids. Racers were falling out left and right. But that’s what we love and it’ll be a highlight Ultra race for you Spartan racers in the years to come if they keep it like this.

Read more about this brutal Cincinasty Spartan Ultra here.

And then WAR-X in Thurman, Ohio just went down this past weekend.

Why are bringing up this smaller race in the middle of nowhere Ohio?!?!

Because we really like seeing young people come in and start crushing this sport.

Noah Buschur is one of those names.

At only 19 years old, he’s been making some waves on the local scene and we hope to see him take off. He’s got a background in cross-country and ninja and has only been jumping around some OCR races for a couple years now. But this past weekend he went head-to-head against a couple solid OCR athletes and showed what he can do. Logan Broadbent an OG in the sport and favorite to win in the majority of local races he shows up to was on the starting line. As well as Kevin Thompson who’s been picking up some impressive podium spots in recent years. It was Logan and Noah that battled back and forth for over half the race. But Noah stepped it up and put the hammer down on that 2nd half, leading himself to winning this 10K in 1:21. Over 5 minutes ahead of Logan and Kevin who came 2nd and 3rd.

Noah says he will be at OCRWC this year for the 3k and 15k.

He was out there last year but altitude and herc hoists beat him down over the weekend. We’re hoping he’s learned a few things from that and can show up and put down a solid performance this time around.

For anyone wanting some tips on Altitude prep. Check out this! “Getting High: 5 Methods to Prep for Altitude Running”

NEWS: ATHLETES

We had over a dozen athletes in the OCR community head out to Palisades Tahoe, CA in June for the Broken Arrow Skyrace. A huge weekend with three key races. The VK, 46K and 23K. New for 2024 they added an 11K and 18K options. So there’s no reason not to show up. Wherever your fitness level is at, they’ve got a race distance for ya.

Do the three staple races (VK, 46K & 23K) and it’s a Triple Crown.
What’s that look like?
Well, OCR Athlete Dave Perry completed this and says he finished the weekend with 46miles & 16,000ft of elevation gain.

Not to mention… this is in Palisades Tahoe where you’re hitting peak mountain altitudes on course of 8,855ft.

Yikes…

Among the dozen athletes we knew about on course, we saw some well-earned Top 10 finishes from a few of them.

Hawk Call – Holding a steady 6th place most of the 23K. Falls in the final few miles running downhill like an animal. Picks himself up and is able to grind it out and stay in his position to finish in 6th against a strong trail running crowd.

Abby Lock – Planning to just jump into the VK on Friday, she crushed her expectation and takes an 7th place finish against a steep mountain and steep competition. Only to turn around and last-minute sign up for the 23k on Sunday. Apparently the VK was a good warmup and had no effect on the legs, because she went back out and was able to pull together an 8th place finish.

Ja Shua Ried – Focusing on longer distance races he went full send on the 46k Saturday morning and hit that finish line bell for a solid 10th place spot.

NEWS: COMING UP

There are two big races we’re looking forward to in July.

July 5th we’ll be seeing the Spartan Ultra World Championships go down in Morzine, France. One of the most beautiful and most grueling mountain venues we’ve seen.

How competitive will it be?!?! We don’t have many details yet, but crossing our fingers some battles are witnessed out there.

And mid-July gives us the last Spartan US National Series race in Utah. It’s at altitude and on steep dry mountains and it’ll be a fun one to watch unfold. Let’s hope ya’ll are ready!

What else is happening?

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