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I'm looking to put together a team to run the Niagara Ragnar. It's a 300km relay race from Cobourg to Niagara Falls in Ontario, Canada. May 19-20, 2017. We need 12 team members in total. Is anyone interested? I'm not a competitive runner by any means, so it would be more about having a great time, and the challenge of finishing it. Here's a link if anyone wants more info: https://www.runragnar.com/ragnar

I wasn't entirely sure where to post this. I may cross post into my own battle log just to keep track of the ideas in case it ends up happening in a non-affiliated way, but... Side note - I have a feeling something like this is happening at Camp NF, which I'm not attending. That being the case, I'd like to keep this separate from that as well. In light of one rebel's recent experience at a poorly run Spartan Race, I've decided to put some ideas I've been having for a new obstacle race on paper. The concept is basically having a race designed around different specializations, rather than a single standard race that only fits a specific type of athlete (which seems to either be Assassin or Scout these days). Also, this is a fairly complex idea, so I apologize in advance for the length. I'm going to save a few posts beneath this first one for updates. The Concept: The idea behind an obstacle/adventure race is to challenge the participant and force him/her to test his/her boundaries. It seems to me that outside side of the more extreme races (IE - The Death Race, which was created by the person who went on to create the Spartan Race and is a bigger testament to his original concept), this idea has been lost in most, if not all of them at this point. The Spartan Race has lost it in the Sprints, but regains it in the longer races. The problem there is that it still only fits a single type of athlete - the Ranger/Assassin who also enjoys semi-long distance running (IE - not me, lol). So how do we change that? Adaptive races. This concept could follow the class system that the Rebellion already uses. Several different courses that range in length that focus on the skills that each class has, or is seeking to acquire. The Scout race would be longer and require mostly endurance style obstacles. The Assassin race would incorporate Parkour. The Ranger race could be designed more like a traditional Spartan Race. The Warrior one would focus more on strength-based challenges (and less on running, think more powerlifting meet). The Druid and Monk ones are TBD, and the Adventurer's one would incorporate ideas from all of them. The Details: Here's a break down of my general ideas for each race. Warrior "Race" - The race for warriors would probably more closely resemble a lifting meet than a race. Powerlifting challenges, maybe a Farmer's Carry, some movement between challenges. End with a stretching challenge haha. Distance not important. Assassin Race - A Parkour challenge course. This would be pretty basic. An obstacle course specifically designed with Parkour in mind. You could have it set up for specific vaults, or simply include the obstacles and allow the participants to choose now they navigate it. Also including climbing and some body weight challenge. Probably about 3K? Ranger Race - This would probably more closely resemble the traditional Spartan Race, with a series of strength- and endurance-based obstacles that would need to be met over the distance of about 5K. Incorporate some lifting, some body weight, some movement-based challenge. Scout Race - I'm thinking either an 8K or 12K footrace or a triathlon. This isn't really my area of expertise. Monk Race - Uhhhh... 3K with sparring/martial arts-focused challenges? No idea. Druid Race - Also not sure... a 3K with yoga-based challenge? Adventurer's Race - This one would incorporate challenges from all of the above. I'd think... about the length of a 5K with at least 5 challenges from each of the other races... some lifting, some endurance, some body weight/parkour, etc. The Problems: Okay, so there are a lot of problems with this idea. A traditional obstacle/adventure race is a single course, which is relatively easy to set up. This wouldn't be, plain and simple. Other issues are funding, location, and timing. The larger Spartans have multiple heats that take place over two days. If this were just a trial were do you have it where people can participate and spectate/stay overnight? How much would entry cost? How much does renting the space and setting up an obstacle/adventure race cost? Things I just don't know. The Rest: What are your ideas? Is this something NF should look into? Is it something we as a community should look into? What do we do for the Monk and Druid races? Are there ways to improve these? What about specific challenges/obstacles?

Woop woop! I've signed up for my first adventure race! The Dirty Dash - http://www.thedirtydash.com/race.i?id=42&t=Oregon - and I am SO excited! My 27 weeks leading up to the race will be all about training to have a blast getting dirty! But WHY? you might ask.... Because I want to WIN a few Mountain Trail Competition titles (horse events) and the physical improvements I'll gain by training to get dirty will go a long way to helping me be competitve! Win Win! For the first week of the year I've been focused on getting my shite together.... just in time to jump into this challenge on Monday! Goal 1 - Yoga 3x / week. I really need to loosen up - especially shoulders - if I have any hope of getting strong enough to pull myself up and over walls or swing wildly across the monkey bars. Goal 2 - Bodyweight work out 2x / week. Focus on arm strength (again for swinging, climbing, diving, etc...) and core strength. Goal 3 - Walk / jog daily. I'm not putting a time or distance setting on this challenge goal for a variety of reasons including: It's dark and cold and icy at this time of year so that leaves me little blocks of time at lunch / breaks to go out and get a little exercise during the days. My focus will be to just get out and move some each day. By the time this challenge is up I'm going to need to start putting in significant effort in this area as the course is 4+ miles of muddy fun. But, at that time I'll also have more daylight and ability! Level Up Goal - Pay off at least 25% of our one remaining non-mortgage debt! I encourage you to chime in, throw some mud pies at me, and help keep me focused on the goal!

Welcome to my journey - it should be fun... and dirty. I've decided to take up adventure racing - and my first race is set to be a mud run at the end of June. I've a long road to haul before that date.... improvements need to be seen in endurance, strength, flexibility, nutrition.... all and all we're looking at a complete overhaul here. I've got my challenge log going over on the Assassin's board - this log will detail a bit more of the long range goal status. My focus by month: January: Flexibility Nutrition February: Flexibility Nutrition March: Flexibility Nutrition Strength April: Flexibility Nutrition Strength Endurance May: Flexibility Nutrition Strength Endurance June: Flexibility Nutrition Strength Endurance Time