OCR is back!
Total Warrior was my first Obstacle Course Race for 21 months! I should have been at Tough Mudder in Scotland (well I was actually there) but of course it was cancelled, oh and there was the small matter of going to Tenerife in December 2020 where Spartan European Championships were also cancelled – but I digress
I haven’t been to Total Warrior, due to clashes with other races, but I’ve heard good things about the race. The ticket was £50 for 12km (20 something obstacles) and as you will see from the photos below, it wasn’t just relying on cheap hay-bales and cargo nets as filler obstacles. Atmoshere was pretty good with huge number of people. Waves of up to 6 was being set off every couple of minutes. When we were finishing around 4pm, there were still groups being set off!
The event weekend started on Friday night and had waves through Saturday and Sunday. Adults could choose between a 6km,12km or 5hour ultra option, whilst there was also a kids race.
Total Warrior YouTube Video
Total Warrior Obstacles
Some really fun obstacles including a water slide (didnt get any footage I’m afraid) a fire jump and monkey bars. The first couple of kms were a little sparse – the first “obstacle” being hill repeats at the first kilo. Whilst maybe a little “boring” it did help ensure the participants were spread out nicely whilst the obstacles did start to pile up towards the middle and end of the race.
Total Warrior Route
The route was a beautiful trek across the grounds of Braham Park, near Wetherby. Not too hilly – nicely undulating and defintiely a fast course – I saw the winner (On Saturday) did it in 51 minutes! I dont think I can even do a flat 12km at the speed, never mind with the terrain and obstacles too!
The Event Village
The Total Warrior event village was banging. Very much stretched out with the start / finish away from the main village. But there was a huge amount of space, lots of pic nic tables, toilets (always a necessity). Massive sound system from a Jeep so that the finishers could enjoy their finisher beer (and buy more if wanted) in the sun whilst relaxing and discussing their successes and failures on the course.
Final Summary
My first ever Total Warrior, but will definitely not be the last. Held over a weekend with a Friday night, Saturday and an Ultra option on Sunday, this is defintiely one for the OCR enthusiast! Really well organised with 2 water stations, lots of mud and water. Shame there wasnt a medal at the finish, but Total Warrior said as soon as they finally arrive, they will be posted to us. My one critisim is, that was well as paying for the ticket, there is a seperate charge for parking (£6) and bag drop (£3) and god knows how much for event photos from My Bib – personally, I would prefer everything to be “all in”
Want to know more about Total Warrior? Click the LINK to go to the Website
