After starting up ObstacleMan last year, I've never really shut up about what my next OCR is or my training for OCR. Naturally this has led to several people from family, friends and work colleagues asking me "what is OCR?"
It is of course Obstacle Course Racing. (I apologise if you're here looking for an article about Optical Character Recognition!)
Obstacle Course Racing
After declaring OCR is "Obstacle Course Racing" and giving a brief description, you're often then faced with the inevitable "Ahh, is that the Tough Mudder thing?"; much to the disgust of many seasoned OCR veterans haha.
Don't get me wrong, Tough Mudder is a fun enjoyable event, so why do many of those in the OCR community get annoyed at that question?
The Double Edged Sword of Tough Mudder
Possibly because it is such a common response from those asking about OCR, there is an element of getting a bit fed up with the question.
However going deeper into things, it's debatable whether Tough Mudder is a fair representation of what an OCR is. Yes it has obstacles, it has running and it has mud, but it's not actually a race (excluding World's Toughest Mudder). On the Tough Mudder website it even states "Tough Mudder puts camaraderie over finisher rankings and is not a race but a team challenge".
Everyone helping each other on the Tough Mudder Everest ramp
Tough Mudder is undoubtedly the most mainstream OCR-type event. However it is missing the competitive racing part of OCR, essentially what makes it a sport. So it is understandable that racers get a little annoyed when all OCR events, everything they train for and compete at, are bundled together as "that Tough Mudder thing".
Having said that, Tough Mudder can often be someone's first taste of OCR, and although not competitive it does a great job of including fun obstacles and showing how enjoyable the feeling of camaraderie and sense of achievement can be.
Indeed it was actually a Tough Mudder a few years ago which was my own entry point into the world of OCR, and encouraged me to seek out more competitive events.
Taking on the Tough Mudder Artic Enema in 2014 (I'm enjoying myself, honest)
The Competitive Scene
Aside from mud runs and challenges like Tough Mudder, the competitive OCR scene is expanding quickly. There are now annual UK, EU and World championships attracting high level athletes. If you want to know to how qualify for the UK and EU champs, then check out this post ;)
The level of competitors has increased dramatically over the last few years with the top level racers undeniably being elite athletes. Home grown stars and characters are being developed and growing in stature like World champ Jon Albon, UK champ Conor Hancock and BBC's Ultimate Hell Week winner Claire Miller.
Jon Albon (left), Conor Hancock (center) and Claire Miller (right)
The Fun Runner Scene
At the same time, one of the beautiful things about OCRs is that average joe office worker and weekend warrior can sign up to the same events and run alongside these elite athletes (well, at least briefly at the start of the race haha). The world of OCR is enticing more highly competitive runners at the same rate as encouraging more fun runners and charity runners to take part.
There is very much a split between those who are chasing times and finishing positions, and those who are just wanting to get muddy, have fun and enjoy the challenge of the obstacles. Just as one race is added to the UK OCR League or the UK Qualifiers list, another one lowers the difficulty of it's obstacles in order to be more accessible.
Difference in Opinion?
However, I don't see this division in ideals as a bad thing. Quite the opposite in fact. With organisers taking different stances with their events, it means that there is something for everyone. I can appreciate that some people don't want to race, and even those that do might find signing up to their first super-competitive race a bit daunting if they have never experienced anything similar before.
Also even though I like to be competitive, one of my favourite things about OCR events is the range of participants and the characters you meet. It wouldn't be the same if there wasn't people dressed as superheroes or wearing tutus.
A makeshift Justice League / Avengers taking on a Spartan Race
(Photo courtesy of @spartanraceuk)
So... What Actually is OCR?
This leads on to the question of what actually is OCR? To be honest I think the term obstacle course racing means different things to different people. The sport is rapidly growing but is still very much in it's infancy, and therefore lacks any formal mutually agreed definition.
Some see it as an all encompassing term for competitive races, mud runs and adventure races. Others see it solely as the timed and competitive, clearly defined obstacle course races.
What do I think? I'm naturally a very competitive person and so lean towards OCR being all about the races. However if any event, mud run or challenge is going to be included under the OCR banner; as long it is encouraging people to get outdoors and be active, it's fine by me.