Things I wish I knew before my 1st OBSTACLE COURSE RACE

Key wellness, self-care, and productivity/progression strategies

1) Prioritize the right training focus: grip is helpful, but not the whole race

• Don’t over-invest in pull-ups/chin-ups thinking they directly make you better at OCR obstacles.
• Train for hand tolerance and obstacle-specific hanging/carrying, including:
  • Practice grip release + re-grip repeatedly (to simulate real obstacle bar timing).
  • Use different shaped grips to get comfortable grabbing varied surfaces.
  • Consider indoor climbing to mimic obstacles (especially for grip + movement).
• Train for “half-rep” mechanics:
  • When you can’t fully reach the next handhold, practice bent-arm/partial pull positions (e.g., hanging leg raises with a bent arm).

2) Treat common obstacles as learnable skills (practice them deliberately)

For obstacles that often appear (especially Spartan), the emphasis is technique over brute strength.

• Rope climb (avoid “arms-only” climbing)
  • Key technique: lock feet off using a j-hook / s-hook
  • Practice until you can do it without looking and without exhausting your upper body.
  • Benefit: turns a draining task into a controlled break during the race.
• Spear throw
  • Don’t rely on race-day reps; race-skill reps are too few.
  • Practise hundreds of throws using a home-made spear setup (for safety and repetition).
  • Goal: build consistent stance + technique so misses become rare.
• Rope traverse
  • Learn the safer “style” so you’re not exhausting yourself hanging awkwardly.
  • Takeaway: good technique can make it go from painful/crippling to easy enough to rest.

Rule of thumb: If someone passes an obstacle easily and you can’t see a clear fitness advantage, they likely have the skill—watch and train that skill at home.

3) Run-specific productivity: train for the distances you’ll spend most time doing

• OCR feels longer than it is due to stopping/starting and terrain:
  • A 5K may feel like 10K; a 10K can feel like a half marathon.
• Training guidance:
  • If you’ll do a 10K, train like a 20K-ish endurance effort.
  • Expect your OCR week to resemble endurance preparation for road distances—not just short-run training.
• Train off-road:
  • Road-only running can shock your legs and confidence on mud, logs, steep hills, roots, and descents.
  • Off-road confidence helps you beat stronger runners who lack agility/confidence.

4) Choose the right competitive category + set the right mindset

If you want to improve performance, train seriously in the category that matches your competitive intent:

• Open: more relaxed atmosphere, more social support/helping.
• Age group: more direct competition; penalties matter; less “help.”
• If you just want the experience: walk/jog, enjoy it, and don’t let competitiveness force you into misery.

5) Equipment “self-care” that prevents pain and discomfort

Adjust gear based on function, not brand hype.

• Shoes: trail/off-road grip matters
  • Park-run shoes may fail on wet mud, ropes, roots, and obstacles.
  • Expect trial-and-error; find your fit + feel.
• Use gators
  • Prevent stones/twigs entering shoes.
  • Help keep shoes/laces stable in mud and deep muck.
• Carry water only if it truly helps
  • The speaker initially over-carried, then learned to match needs:
    • Carry water for comfort, but don’t assume you must.
  • Test packs/hydration—some bounce too much.
• Protect hands from callous/uneven hard skin
  • Uneven callousing can cause hand tearing/ripping during hanging events.
  • Simple routine: sand down hard skin + moisturize regularly.
• Overall gear philosophy: test what you use; train with what you’ll race with.

6) Build mental toughness for stop-start effort + “don’t waste time”

OCR mental demand differs from steady running:

• Effort constantly changes: obstacle → stop → start → hills → downhills → obstacle.

Practical training methods:

• On long runs, introduce interruptions:
  • Every kilometer do a burst or interruption, then resume.
  • Examples: burpees / press-ups / chin-ups / grip work on bars.
• Or do: a 20–30 second hard sprint followed by a return to a jog.

Self-talk + movement rule:

• Practise the “do not stop moving” mindset.
• If you fail an obstacle, avoid standing around—get back to hard running immediately.

Why it works: Much of performance difference is in your head, especially how quickly you re-enter forward motion.

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Presenters or sources

• Presenter/Speaker: “Things I wish I knew before my 1st OBSTACLE COURSE RACE” (video narrator; no specific name provided in the subtitles)
• Sources mentioned:
  • Spartan (official tutorials for techniques, referenced generically)
  • YouTube/online tutorials (general references)
  • “OBSTACLE COURSE RACES” images on Google (mentioned as a caution; no direct link)