Here in the UK we have a wealth of OCRs right through the year.
Here are my suggestions of the races you should look out for if you ever visit the UK for a race.
Tough Guy (www.toughguy.co.uk)
Or more precisely Winter Tough Guy. Mr Mouse is widely understood to be the “father” of OCR here in the UK and his Tough Guy, The Original, race really is one of the most toughest, brutal and challenging course in the UK. A quick search on YouTube will show racers breaking though ice whilst this year was a “mild” 40 (ish) degrtees. If you don’t fancy a winter run, there is a summer event – Tough Guy, Nettle Warrior… I have yet to do a Tough Guy, but I am sure will be in my calendar for 2017.
Nuclear Races (www.nuclear-races.co.uk)
A permanent site which hosts 2 main races per year – Rush and Fall out on a variance of a 12km (8 mile) course. Blackout is the course run at night, whilst Oblivion is for those wanting to hit 48km in 8 hours. A very technical course, but has a variety of “fun” obstacles which makes it a crowd favorite including the “Death Slide” and it’s live feed back to thge event village.
Airfield Anarchy – (www.airfieldanarchy.com)
A relatively new company with a semi-permanent site offering three races through the year – Frostbite, Mudfest and Afterburner. The main one – Mudfest, Epic Weekend – is held over one weekend in June and hosts a 3, 6 and 10 mile race. Although all the medals are separate pieces, the three fit together to create one awesome medal which ANY medal collector would need in their collection. Camping is available whilst both the Friday and Saturday nights hosts a huge festival with 2 stages for live acts and music.
Mudnificent 7 – (www.mud7.co.uk)
An annual race bringing together 7 races together to create one awesome race. Think Power Ranger battle zords! Last year was the first race whilst this year, it has given over to smaller races from across the country allowing the OCR public to see what the races have to offer. This, combined with a huge OCR expo means that many wallets will be lighter at the end of the day.
Tough Mudder – (toughmudder.co.uk)
I know you know that this race is available over the the US too, but from what I gather from other legionnaires is that you don’t have the camping option for the race weekend so you are definitely missing out! Camping (extra cost) is available from Friday through to Sunday and will host a small village of runners and volunteers (or in my case, a mix of both). The party atmosphere is electric along with the smell of BBQ, a bar and race stories, this is one experience not to be missed.
So there you have it, my run down of races to watch out for if you are here in the UK. Honorable mentions should also go to Rat Race, Dash of the Titans, Judgement Day and Reaper.
See you in the mud! #KeepMedaling
As written for Medal Addict
