Community Stories
Your People or Your PR: How OCR Training Crews Are Changing the Way We Train and Race
June 27, 2026
Breaking Barriers: How Para-Adaptive Athletes Are Redefining What’s Possible in OCR
Obstacle course racing was designed to be hard. The walls, ropes, rigs, and carries are built to challenge able-bodied athletes at their physical limits. Now imagine facing those same obstacles with a limb difference, a …
Why Team OCR Might Be the Best Way to Experience Obstacle Racing
You can run an obstacle race solo. But there’s an argument — a strong one — that the sport is at its absolute best when you race with a team. Team OCR takes the elements …
The Over-40 OCR Athlete: Why the Age Group Racers Are the Heart of This Sport
If you think obstacle course racing is a young person’s game, you haven’t spent much time at the starting line. Walk through any OCR event and you’ll find that some of the most dedicated, most …
From Couch to Barbed Wire: What It’s Really Like to Do Your First OCR
Every OCR veteran was once a first-timer. Before the medal collection, the race calendars, and the casual conversations about obstacle technique — there was a moment of pure “what did I just sign up for?” …
Best Headlamps for Night OCR: Because Running Into Obstacles You Can’t See Is Not a Strategy
Wall & Wire may earn a commission from links in this article. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence — we only recommend gear we’d actually race in. Night races and 24-hour endurance events like World’s …
Does Compression Gear Actually Help in OCR? What the Science Says (and What Racers Report)
Wall & Wire may earn a commission from links in this article. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence — we only recommend gear we’d actually race in. Walk through any OCR starting corral and you’ll …
Best Hydration Packs for OCR: How to Carry Water Without Slowing Down
Wall & Wire may earn a commission from links in this article. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence — we only recommend gear we’d actually race in. For Sprint-distance races, you can get away with …
Best Grip Gloves for OCR in 2026: Do You Need Them, and Which Ones Actually Work?
Wall & Wire may earn a commission from links in this article. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence — we only recommend gear we’d actually race in. The grip glove debate in OCR is almost …
Best OCR Shoes for 2026: 5 Trail Runners That Can Handle Mud, Water, and Everything In Between
Wall & Wire may earn a commission from links in this article. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence — we only recommend gear we’d actually race in. Your shoes are the single most important gear …
How to Train for the Barbed Wire Crawl: Faster, Smarter, Less Painful
Difficulty: Beginner Equipment: Bodyweight (optional: resistance band, stability ball) Obstacles This Helps With: Barbed wire crawl, low crawls, tunnel obstacles, any ground-based obstacle The barbed wire crawl is one of those obstacles that looks straightforward …
The Bucket Carry: How to Train for OCR’s Most Deceptively Brutal Obstacle
Difficulty: All levels Equipment: Sandbag, heavy backpack, or actual bucket with gravel Obstacles This Helps With: Bucket carry, sandbag carry, atlas carry, tire drag, any loaded carry obstacle Nobody fears the bucket carry before their …
How to Get Over the Wall: Technique and Training for OCR’s Most Iconic Obstacle
Difficulty: Beginner to Intermediate Equipment: Bodyweight, box or bench for step-ups Obstacles This Helps With: 4-foot wall, 6-foot wall, 8-foot wall, inverted wall, slip wall Every OCR athlete has a wall story. Maybe it’s the …