Race Review - Black Swamp Moonlight Run

This was our second one after the Chicago Terrain.  It was a little bit of a haul (4hrs).  It is a series.  We did the first one, then we did this one and we will have one more night one in October.

We are continuing this one only because we paid for it.  It is an okay race but it is way to far to do.  Not to mention that water we have to go through is nasty.  It is black, smells like death and it takes like 5 washes to get the smell out.  I know it is a "swamp" run but it would be nice if you could opt to not go through the nasty water.

It is a small company owned by a husband and wife so we don't mind supporting them.  Just not sure we will do it next year.

I will say - the night one was so much better than the day one.  The obstacles were the same but it being night with like a billion glow sticks and different lighting and props made it a lot better.

They are a nice couple and they work their tails off.  So if you are looking for a race in Oak Harbor, OH - check them out.

I have to admit.....coming from the Chicago Terrain and seeing the rig collapse made me so hesitant on the obstacles.  I couldn't help but think if it collapsed.....let me say, that does not happen.  It was a rare accident.  But still scary nonetheless.

So the review of the event Black Swamp Moonlight Run
Terrain - grass, gravel, mud, muck
Organization - organized well
Cost - $50 plus $10 to park
Time of the race - 10:00pm
Overall - it was an okay race ran but great people, just too far of a drive for us
Swag - a medal and tee
My Time - untimed
Race #30 (50 total to date)

Race Review - ChicagoTerrain

This was a sketchy one. It is a company that travels and does OCRs at various locations across the country.  The reason it was sketchy was the weather.  It was gloomy and gray.  Once we got there - the heavens opened up.  It was a torrential downpour.  It rained buckets.  It was raining so bad that I couldn't even see.  We went to get our bib and lo and behold I didn't have my ID and Matt forgot my paper in the van.  So we had to trudge back through the sheets of rain.  By this time I had enough.  My mood was less than happy.

Finally the rain subsided and we were all drenched.  We did the 10K.  It was alright.  It seemed like a lot of walking and not that many obstacles.  It was around a motor speedway and some of the obstacles were climbing bleacher stairs - that royally sucked.

Once we got to the end there was a rig about 5 or 10 feet up in the air.  We climbed one side, did a cargo net across then there was a fire pole we slide down and got our medal.

We went to find the cleaning station and it was not working due to lack of water.  We were informed that it would be 15 minutes or so.  We were on a time crunch because we had to drive 4 hours to Ohio for another race (yes, we are crazy like that).

We decided to just get back into a water tub underneath an obstacle to at least get some muck off.  As we were walking that way, I heard an odd cracking noise and looked as the rig that we were on about a minute or so prior crumbled and collapsed with people on it.  There were yells and screams.  I yelled at Matt, I do that in all crisis situations, and we ran to see if anyone needed help.  Everyone seemed okay for the most part.  It was the scariest thing I had witnessed in a long time.  The race crew had that cleaned up in record time.

Also, they charged to take pictures at the end.  Who does that?

So the review of the event Chicago Terrain
Terrain - grass, gravel, stairs
Organization - organized alright
Cost - $35 plus $10 to park
Time of the race - 9:00am
Overall - wouldn't necessarily do this one again, was rather boring not to mention the rig mishap
Swag - a medal and tee
My Time - untimed
Race #29 (49 total to date)

Race Review - Boom Shakalaka

This was the second race of our day.  We did the  Rugged Maniac earlier that day.

This was an event set up by one of our favorite race coordinators - 131 Productions.

It was just a simple 5K/half marathon.  We opted for the 5k.  The start was at a bicycle track which was interesting.  It then went out on the road.  The 5k ended at the track and the half did 4 laps of the 5k.

Afterwards they had popcorn and snow cones plus beer for anyone wanting to drink.  They also had bananas, oranges and granola bars.  They really do take care of their runners.

The tee shirts I wish were done differently.  Being a Christian I can't necessarily wear a shirt that says "damn" on it.  It was clever and cute but I can't wear it in good conscious,

So the review of the event Boom Shakalaka
Terrain - straight pavement
Organization - organized good, 131 Productions always does a good job
Cost - $35
Time of the race - 7:00pm
Overall - basic 5k, nothing to brag about really
Swag - a medal and tee
My Time - 32.54
Race #28 (48 total to date)

Race Review - Rugged Maniac

OCR season is winding down.  It is a predominately summer season, for reasons that are obvious.  Granted there are winter ones but they are few and far between and suck.

We had never done Rugged Maniac and drove about 3 hours to do it.  This was a double header day for us.

The event was at a ski resort - who knew that Indiana had so many ski resorts?  Haha!  We were running a little behind and once we got there the registration line was huge.  We heard of several people that was signed up to run the elite and had over an hour wait time in the lines and missed their heat.  While it isn't a big deal for us because we run for the fun of it - the elites are a different story.  They run to qualify for the world OCR.  So I can understand their frustration.

We were in line for quite a while.  Once we got up there, they gave me a men's shirt.  Matt asked for a women's shirt for me and I heard them say they ran small so I got a large.  It still doesn't fit.  I was bummed because I really liked the shirts.  Blah.

Start times were every 15 minutes and ours was at 10:15.  We were soon in the corral and were off.  Holy hills.  Hills...Hills....Hills.  Not as bad as the Indy sprint but they were hard on the legs.  I like hills though.  So I didn't mind them.

There were a couple obstacles that I hadn't seen at other OCRs before.  So that made it fun.  Most of the obstacles were not impossible.  The rings were slick and no one was doing that great on them. I often wonder why they put rings or metal things in mud OCRs?

There wasn't a lot of "mud" which I actually liked.  I enjoy mud races but I liked that it was wet and muddy but I wasn't caked with it afterward.

The warped wall made me nervous.  I have seen them at several events we have been to and never attempted.  While this one was shorter, I was still nervous and almost backed out and took the ladder up.  But seeing everyone attacking it and seeing the guys helping everyone over it, I decided to go for it.  It was exhilarating.  I felt pretty beast even though I didn't do it on my own.  But I can say I have done it!

Then the Accelerator was kind of scary.  It was a pretty high up warped slide into a pool of water.  It was fun but Matt ended up kicking me in the head.  haha....but it was all good.

Overall it was a fun race and would be a good one for a first timer.

So the review of the event Rugged Maniac
Terrain - trails, hills, ski resort
Organization - organized okay but the registration line was crazy long
Cost - $50 plus $10 parking
Time of the race - 10:15am
Overall - was fun, not too challenging and would do it again
Swag - a medal and tee (tee was way to small and even got a bigger size)
My Time - untimed
Race #27 (47 total to date)