Community Stories
Your People or Your PR: How OCR Training Crews Are Changing the Way We Train and Race
June 27, 2026
Your First Spartan Race: A No-BS Training and Race Day Guide
Difficulty: Beginner Equipment: Bodyweight + basic gym equipment Target Audience: First-time Spartan racers You signed up. Maybe it was a New Year’s resolution, a dare from a friend, or a social media rabbit hole that …
5 Grip Strength Exercises Every Obstacle Racer Needs
Difficulty: All levels Equipment: Pull-up bar, kettlebell or dumbbell, towel Obstacles This Helps With: Monkey bars, rope climb, Twister, multi-rig, Tyrolean traverse, bucket carry, atlas carry Here’s a truth that every experienced OCR athlete learns …
How to Crush the Rope Climb: A Complete Guide for OCR Athletes
Difficulty: Beginner to Intermediate Equipment: Climbing rope (or gym alternative), pull-up bar Obstacles This Helps With: Rope climb, Tyrolean traverse, any vertical climbing obstacle You’re on mile 7, your forearms are pumped, your grip is …
How to Get Better OCR Race Photos (Without Slowing Down)
Let’s be real: half the reason people do OCR is the photos. The muddy finish-line shot, the mid-obstacle action photo, the team victory pose — these images are the social currency of the OCR community. …
How to Actually Stick the Spartan Spear Throw (And Stop Doing 30 Burpees)
The spear throw has the highest failure rate of any Spartan obstacle. Estimates vary, but most course reports suggest over half of all racers — including experienced ones — miss the target on any given …
The OCR Race Day Checklist: Everything to Pack, Do, and Know Before You Line Up
Race morning is not the time to discover you forgot your shoes. Or that your bib needs to be picked up at a location 30 minutes from the venue. Or that the parking lot is …
How to Prepare for a Spartan Beast: The Half-Marathon With Walls
The Spartan Beast is where OCR separates the committed from the curious. At half-marathon distance (13+ miles) with 30 obstacles, the Beast demands endurance, strength, technical skill, and — above all — the ability to …
The OCR Obstacle Glossary: Every Major Obstacle Explained
Whether you’re a first-timer studying the course map or a veteran who wants to know what “Twister” actually means, this is your reference guide to the most common obstacles in obstacle course racing. We’ve organized …
What Is Obstacle Course Racing? The Complete Beginner’s Guide to OCR
If someone told you to run several miles through the woods, climb walls, crawl under barbed wire, carry heavy objects up hills, and swing across metal bars — and that you’d pay for the privilege …
The Ultimate 2026 OCR Race Calendar: Every Major Event You Need to Know
Planning your 2026 race season? Whether you’re targeting one race or building a full competitive calendar, this guide covers every major OCR event worth your time and travel budget. We’ve organized by month so you …
Spartan Stadion NYC at Citi Field: Race Preview and What to Expect
The Spartan Stadion series brings obstacle racing into the urban arena — literally. The NYC Stadion at Citi Field in Queens is one of the most anticipated stadium events on the 2026 calendar, combining the …