Obstacle Course Racing: Mud, Guts and Fun.

There is an old Hebrew proverb – originating from Ecclesiastes – that propounds that ‘there is nothing new under the sun’. This is certainly true of the modern phenomenon of Obstacle Course Racing, the challenging sport that is starting to pique imaginations and challenge individuals across the world.

-  Graham Barlow

The first Obstacle Course Race, or OCR, as the sport is affectionately known by its adherents, was probably the stadion, the oldest event in the Olympic Games. Dating back to 776 BCE, this was a footrace run inside a stadium – hence its name – over a less than demanding distance of about 180 metres. The difficulty was that it was run barefoot through thick sand. In fact a lot more than merely barefoot – the first competitors were stark naked, probably one of the reasons why the Olympic participants, and spectators, were all Greek men in those ancient days. Given that starting guns were still a distant dream, the races were set offby a loud blast on a trumpet, and the enthusiastic crowds would cheer on their chosen favourite as they plunged through the sand to the finishing post: a waved flag.

Sand alone, though, was not enough to keep the punters happy, so the Games organisers started to add little extras, like hurdles and other complicated obstacles, making passage across the stadium just that much more tricky and entertaining. Over the years events evolved continually, and the modern day Olympics are – happily – a lot more inclusive and clothed competitors of both sexes still run the ‘steeplechase’, the precursor of the modern day obstacle course race.