Overcome and Run

This week, I tried my hand at my first in-studio interview with Chris Bednar, an elite OCR athlete who has been climbing the ranks in the west coast OCR scene.

Chris tells me about how he got into OCR and reaching his first podium at Warrior Dash last year. He talks about training with some of the top OCR athletes and how that affects his performance, what kinds of training methods he prefers, and what race distance he's focusing on.

We talk about the US OCR Championship race last September, and what it was like to race against some of the best in the sport for the first time.

We also discuss running elite versus age group, the pros and cons of each, and why he prefers to stay in the elite category.

Lastly, Chris tells me about last weekend's Spartan Super race in Arizona where he got his first Spartan podium, and we talk about race day mentality.

Last weekend we were in Chino for Spartan's opening Super/Sprint weekend, and on Saturday I grabbed interviews from the Elite podium winners of the Super race.

We talk about everything and anything from the course, to the obstacles, to the competition, to the comparison between this year and last year's January race. Veejay also tells me about his focus for this year, Heather and Rea lament with me about the foam grips on Twister, Ryan gives us a pro tip for the barbed wire crawl, Evelyne and I talk about SoCal Spartan venues, and Glenn tells me what the Spartan Open House is.

For this week's episode, I hosted my first round table discussion all about obstacle innovation, how OCR and various OCR brands have evolved over the year, and what 2018 might look like for the sport. I brought in OCR journalist Adam Kwitko and Matt B. Davis of Obstacle Racing Media to go over these topics based on their years of experience and coverage of the sport.

We talk a lot about Tough Mudder and it's decision to go down the compeititve road, and other changes they made in 2017. We also discuss other changes and new race formats in OCR, and Matt and Adam reminisce about the early years of obstacle course racing.

Another big topic of discussion is standardization: the pros, the cons, who likes it, and who doesn't, and what it means for the sport.

Adam also takes the opportunity to interview Matt and myself about being OCR podcasters, and the three of us discuss OCR and the media.

We're kicking off the new year by talking with Yancy Camp athlete and elite OCR competitor Morgan Mckay all about her win at the Spartan Ultra World Championships in Iceland.

Morgan tells Heather all about the inaugural Ultra Championship race, from the overall format, to the penalties, the gear, the competition, and what she found to be the most challenging part. She also discusses how this race compares to other endurance OCRs, and what set this particular event apart.

Morgan also talks about her medical DQ at World's Toughest Mudder, and coming back from that to win in Iceland. She and Heather discuss course safety as well, and how race companies handle it.

They then discuss goals for 2018, what races (and goals) Morgan is focusing on, and what it is about endurance races that appeals so much to her and why she chooses to specialize in longer distances.

This week's episode is live from the LA Spartan Sprint at Castaic Lake last Saturday! I spoke with Ryan Kent, Veejay Jones, James Nair, Timmie Brann, Lauren Taksa, and Natalie Miano all about the race, the competition, and what their goals are for the 2018 season.

Elite Podium:

1st: Timmie Brann & Veejay Jones

2nd: Natalie Miano & Ryan Kent

3rd: Lauren Taksa & James Nair

This week, Green Beret Challenge Pro Team member Deborah "Debo" Arrieta joins me on the podcast to talk all about the Green Beret Challenge and their upcoming championship race next summer, and what she's been doing to prepare for the Spartan Ultra World Championship in Iceland next weekend.

We start by talking all about the Green Beret Challenge, from their race formats to what sets them apart from other OCRs. We also talk about their recently announced championship race happening next July.

We then talk about Spartan's new 24-hour championship race happening in Iceland next weekend. We talk about everything from the format to the rules, and Debo shares how she has been preparing for this race in particular, and what sort of cold weather gear she'll be bringing. We also discuss the age old debate of burpees versus mandatory completion, and the pros and cons of both.

Voting for Mud Run Guide's Best of OCR awards is now open, and Overcome and Run has been nominated for Best OCR podcast!! Voting ends on December 15th, so please be sure to head over there and vote!

This week, Yancy Camp athlete Beni Gifford joins me on the podcast to talk all about The Warrior Race in South Africa, Tough Mudder X, and why the mental game is so important to your race.

We start by talking all about the Warrior Race, from the format, to the obstacles, to why he considers it one of the most difficult races he's ever ran. He shares his experience and talks about his 5th place finish in the Black Ops race, what is what like to be the first international athlete to complete the course, and what the competition was like.

We also go into Tough Mudder X: Beni tells us about his experience at the debut event last July, and we discuss what the future of TMX will look like as it opens up to the general public in 2018.

Lastly, Beni talks about why he prefers short courses, which leads us into into a discussion about mental strategy and why it's so important to your race.

The book Beni referred to is The Science of Running.

After running World's Toughest Mudder myself, I was able to grab some live interviews at the Champions Brunch the Monday morning following the event.

I spoke with Wesley Kerr, Rea Kolbl, Deanna Blegg, Allison Tai, Ryan Atkins, Kris Mendoza and Austin Azar, and Will Dean himself. We talk about everything from the course, to the competition, to the highs and lows of the 24-hour race. I also kick off this episode by recapping a few of my own thoughts about my race.

Will Hicks gives a short recap of the WTM winners in his latest episode of the World's Toughest Podcast here.

Mud Run Guide has opened nominations for the Best of OCR Awards, and we would love it if you voted Overcome and Run for Best OCR podcast! You can submit your nominations here.

This week, I got the opportunity to head up to Thousand Oaks, California to check out DojoBoom, the new trampoline park that just opened last week and that's managed by Kevin Bull, a well-known competitor from American Ninja Warrior.

After a tour of the gym (and the chance to play around on the climbing wall and the Ninja rig), I sat down with Kevin to ask him about American Ninja Warrior and his run that launched him into national attention, his experience on two seasons of Spartan: Ultimate Team Challenge, and all about DojoBoom.

I also documented my gym tour on Obstacle Racing Media's Instagram story, and I posted the whole video on our website!

With World's Toughest Mudder only nine days away, this week's episode(s) are dedicated to Tough Mudder's pinnacle 24-hour event. From discussing the top competition, to tips, to the mindset needed to complete the grueling 24 hours, I brought in five experienced World's Toughest Mudder competitors to share their thoughts about this event.

In Part two, I talk to Kris Mendoza, Will Hicks, and Amanda "Pinky" Neil.

Kris is an elite OCR athlete who placed 3rd at World's Toughest Mudder in 2016 with 100 miles. Kris and I discuss the upcoming WTM move, he talks about his switch from a two-person team to a relay team and we talk about the relay format overall. We also chat about the community on the course, variety in OCR, and Kris shares how WTM got him launched into OCR, his biggest challenge at WTM, and how it felt to hit 100 miles last year.

Will Hicks is a WTM veteran and expert, and the host of the World's Toughest Podcast. He's been following the Toughest competition closely leading up to World's Toughest Mudder, so we discuss the elite competition and his predictions for the top contenders. We also talk about the overall atmosphere of WTM, how to push past the dark moments out on the course, goals, and he shares some last-minute tips.

Amanda "Pinky" Neil is a 4-time WTM veteran and a well-known figure in the community (and the first one to provide us with her version of puzzle pieces this year). We talk about all sorts of tips, from shoes to wetsuits to pit stops, as well as talk about how she got started with WTM, and she reminisces on past years. We also talk about the contender category, how WTM has changed over the years, and teamwork on the course.