OBSTACLE COURSE racing was the endurance-sports juggernaut of last decade. That came to a bruising halt with COVID-19.
“Last year could not have been any worse for us,” says Joe De Sena, CEO and founder of Spartan, the largest OCR company in an industry of weekend-warrior brands like Tough Mudder, Rugged Maniac, Savage Race, Bonefrog Challenge and Conquer the Gauntlet. “We bring people together—in 45 countries now. In 2020, we suddenly weren’t allowed to do that. We were totally shut down.”
By last June, De Sena was forced to cancel Spartan’s remaining events and furlough three-quarters of his staff of 500. Smaller companies were in even tougher shape.
“COVID-19 is crushing the industry,” Tough Mudder CEO Kyle McLaughlin stated last summer in a press release from the Endurance Sports Coalition, which warned that without further support from Congress, more than 80 percent of an industry that accounts for 50,000 running, triathlon, cycling, and obstacle course events in the United States each year would cease to exist.
Denne historien er fra January - February 2021-utgaven av Men's Journal.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra January - February 2021-utgaven av Men's Journal.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Fantasy League
Inflation, war and endless political campaign ads got you down? Hollywood wants to take you far away.
The Tug Trip
Chasing grizzlies and pushing deep into coastal British Columbia aboard a uniquely Canadian touring vessel.
Death, Incorporated
How Putin's mercenary army known as the Wagner Group does the Kremlin's dirtiest work in Ukraine and in conflict zones around the world.
Cynthia Addai-Robinson
The British-born actor trades the Shire's misty mountains for a fantasy island in Amazon Prime's prequel to J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Idris Elba – Been Around the Block
Superstar actor Idris Elba hits 50 in September. But we might have not seen his prime yet.
American Ruins
This country's unmatched and unlimited industrial might helped define the 20th century. But that was then, and this is now.
NICK KROLL
The comedic powerhouse and man of many voices behind Big Mouth and Human Resources returns to the big screen in the star-studded thriller Don't Worry Darling.
HAIL TERRY
Four-time Super Bowl champion, avuncular television football analyst and all-around entertainer TERRY BRADSHAW's secret to career longevity? Letting it rip.
EVOLUTION OF Z REVOLUTION
How Nissan reinvented the smart, soulful sports car.
PLUNGE RIGHT IN
Mallorca's cliff-lined coast is the peak playground for deep-water soloing-as grippingly demonstrated by the emerging sport's top climber.
