Mark’s Note: I thought “OCR” meant Optical Character Reader and I thought a “BattleFrog” was the name of a minor league baseball team. But that’s why I have guest bloggers… to bring in different perspectives. Today’s post, another from Paul Critchley, does just that.
One of my passions (aside from helping folks along their Lean journeys!) is running in obstacle course races (OCRs). On any given weekend in the summer or fall here in New England, I’ll be out in a field or the woods somewhere crawling under barbed wire, running through mud or climbing over a wall. OCR has grown amazingly in just the past few years.
When I started racing five years ago, races were sparsely attended by only a core group of enthusiasts. Since then, the sport has exploded, with appearances on “Shark Tank” and having races broadcast on NBC and ESPN. As such, lots more people take part in the sport I have loved… a love that was tested last weekend.
I was running the Spartan Super (8.1 miles long, 26 obstacles) in Barre, MA. As a “mid-to-upper” level race, this Super had a twist we’d never dealt with before: the weather.
As I prepared for the race with Keith (those of you who have read my book The Whole Professional recognize who Keith is), we talked strategy, pace, and which beer we’d try first once we crossed the finish line.
We had a 10:45 start time (waves go off every 15 minutes), and as we lined up, weather conditions weren’t exactly ideal for racing. At a sunny 84 degrees F and 70% humidity, just standing at the start line meant you were sweating profusely. But, OCR racers aren’t known as a weak bunch, so we ventured out.
