ocr · ocr news ·Dec 09, 2021 | Last Update: Dec 09, 2021

Winter OCRs to Get you Moving

Baby it’s cold outside…which means that there aren’t many Obstacle Course Racing (OCR) events going on over the next couple of months. That's not to say this is "off season." There are already some great races on the schedule for early 2022 to get you moving and help lose those holiday pounds.

Here are a couple of my favorites cold weather obstacle course races:

KC Timber Challenge | Yeti

Kansas City’s only permanent OCR venue and the best permanent course in the Midwest holds its annual winter time event the last weekend of January, this year on the 29^th. The event is not timed, but the first wave usually runs hard anyway. The 5k winds through a mix of easy and technical trails with highlights including a decommissioned school bus, an awesome low rig, and one of the most unique obstacles in all of OCR - a car smash. That's right! A local towing company brings an old car for you to obliterate. So, if there’s any reason to run early (and fast), it is to get the first pick of what part of the car you want to destroy. If you can’t make it to KC Timber Challenge Yeti, don’t worry. They hold around 3-5 more events per year on their course…although the winter time Yeti is always my favorite one.

Learn More and Sign up for KC Timber Challenge Here

Abominable Snow Race

An OCR that occurs in the Midwest that bounces between venues. This year the 5 mile course it is in Lake Geneva in Wisconsin also on January 29^th. Since it is January in Wisconsin it means the event is basically guaranteed to have snow, truly making it a winter time OCR. This is a competitive race and even has a two lap King/Queen of the Mountain Challenge. Perhaps most exciting is this year David Mainprize and Sidney Paul Morris, from Battle of the Lions (as well as OCR World Championships), are working on their build crew…which means the obstacles should be awesome!

Sign up for Abominable Snow Race Here

Spartan / Tough Mudder

Additionally, Tough Mudder and Spartan are holding their first events early in the year. If you are less of a cold weather person but still want to race in January, Tough Mudder kicks off their 2022 season in Southern California January 29^th & 30^th with their newest format, venues having the 5k, 10k or 15k options. Additionally, Spartan is holding their first event in the US the same weekend in SOCAL with a Sprint, Super and 4 hour Hurricane Heat options.

For our Eastern Hemisphere OCR family (or those who love to travel), Spartan is holding a race in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on January 21^st for those that prefer nicer weather and events in the French Alps at Valmorel for those that want the winter time experience.

Regardless of where and when you start your OCR season in 2022, there’s one thing for sure. After a rough 2020 and return in 2021, OCR is back and better than ever. Pull on those MudGear socks, and I’ll see you on the course!

Evan “Ultra-OCR Man” Perperis is a professional obstacle course racer for the MudGear-Battle of the Lions Pro Team. With over 65 overall podiums and counting, he is best known for his annual ultra-endurance events that often last multiple days to raise money for the charity Folds of Honor. You can read about these events and his military service in his biography “Ultra-OCR Man: From Special Forces Soldier to Record Setting Pro OCR Athlete” (available in hard copy, digital and audiobook). A NSCA-CPT he also has an additional five books on training and preparing for Obstacle Course Racing.