Well, well, well, look who decided to join the party, you bunch of hill-climbing, wall-scaling, rig-flowin', mud-racing lunatics!

Welcome to the OCR Crew newsletter.

We'll be covering topics like:

• In the News,

• Training Tips,

• Community & Race Spotlights,

• Ask A Pro / Ask A Coach,

• Gear Reviews,

• Workout of the Month, & more

From keeping you up to date, Asking Pro's the questions you're too afraid to ask, to shining a spotlight on the unsung heroes of the community.

We're here to make you think, laugh, and maybe even train smarter.

⚡️ Back-to-Back Race Weekends ⚡️ 

Have you ever dreamt of crushing a Spartan Trifecta, tackling the Broken Arrow Skyrace Triple Crown, or surviving the grueling Marathon des Sables?!?!

Multi-stage racing offers an exhilarating blend of adventure and challenge, but it demands more than just grit. Cumulative fatigue, muscle soreness, and mental strain can turn epic goals into brutal ordeals without the right preparation.

For the full Article: Check out our latest OCR Directory article written by Abby Lock - Trail Run Athlete, Coach & Writer.

It dives deep into how to train, fuel, recover, and thrive across multiple start lines, ensuring you dominate—not just endure—your next back-to-back race weekend. 💪 

If you’re serious about competing in multiple races in one weekend, this is a MUST READ article.

But let’s go ahead and talk about some of the topics and high-level ideas that you’ll see written about.

Building Fatigue Resistance

The key to multi-day racing success lies in fatigue resistance—your ability to maintain performance as exhaustion sets in. The article outlines five powerful training strategies to sharpen this skill, including back-to-back long runs, double workouts, and downhill-specific sessions. For example, stacking a high-intensity long run one day with a moderate effort the next mimics race weekend demands, teaching your body to recover under stress. Weighted hiking and moderate running finishers further bolster durability, preparing you to power through tired legs and tough terrain. These tailored workouts, when timed correctly, build the resilience needed to close strong on every race day.

Nail Down Your Nutrition & Hydration

Fueling a multi-stage event is a high-stakes puzzle. The article breaks down how to replenish glycogen stores, repair muscle damage, and maintain hydration to bounce back between races. Timing is critical in this to make sure you kickstart recovery. Hydration goes beyond water—electrolyte balance, especially sodium, is vital for heavy sweaters. By practicing carb-loading before events and fine-tuning hydration during training, you’ll ensure your body is primed to perform, day after day.

The Secret to Staying Race Ready: Recovery

Recovery isn’t glamorous, but it’s the backbone of back-to-back racing success. The article emphasizes sleep as a non-negotiable performance enhancer, with 7–9 hours nightly (plus strategic naps) to repair muscles and manage inflammation. Compression gear, foam rolling, and selective cold or heat therapy can further reduce soreness and boost circulation. For those seeking an edge, supplements like tart cherry juice or omega-3s may help, but only when paired with solid nutrition and rest. These tools, when used wisely, keep you fresh for every start line.

Embrace the Challenge

Back-to-back racing is as daunting as it is rewarding, amplifying every detail from your gel choice to your bedtime routine. With the article’s comprehensive strategies—targeted training, precise fueling, proactive recovery, and mental prep—you’ll transform multi-day events from intimidating to exhilarating.

Ready to test your limits and chase that Type 2 fun? Dive into the full article on OCR Directory for detailed workouts, recovery tips, and expert insights to help you conquer your next multi-stage adventure with confidence and strength.

📰 IN THE NEWS 📰 

Cassandra Gill dominating U.S. Spartan Racing in 2025 🏆️ 

We are a third into the 2025 racing year and when we look back on how the year went, I’m betting one of the key highlights for Obstacle Course Racing in the U.S., might be on Cassandra Gill. She’s been showing an amazing range and some dominating victories the last few months.

Starting with the first two US National Series races, Jacksonville and Charlotte. Both Sprint courses. Short and quick ~30minute type efforts. Cassandra pulled away and stuck a first place win at both of them.
Then turns around to enter the mountainous course of New Jersey and showing she can handle that terrain just as well. Coming in 1st place in the Super on Sunday just two weeks ago.

Just a week later, she goes long and races in the Fayetteville Spartan Ultra. She stayed damn close to the men’s leader the whole race. But couldn’t quite reel him in.
Still… she finished this race in 5hours and 20minutes, just 5 minutes shy of the 1st place man. With third overall coming in 23 minutes after her.

An impressive feat to come 2nd overall in an Ultra event, and so close to that 1st overall!

That range of domination from ~30minutes to ~5hours is something we don’t see too often. She’s still new in the sport and has plans to race a lot more this year. So stay tuned and follow along on her IG, as she continues through this impressive race year.

DJ Fox shows up at the Cocodona 250 💪 

DJ Fox made some waves in the Cocodona 250 this week. Pushing his way up into 4th overall, maybe 3rd at one point?!?! But it sorta looks like he got lost for a little bit, as well as maybe fading a bit, because…. well, just because this is 250 freaking miles… And as of now, it appears he came in at 7th place overall, 6th place men’s. Per the Cocodona website. Behind some incredible ultra running athletes.

The dust isn’t fully settled just yet, so fact check these details on your own.
But here’s to you DJ. From OCR WTM legend to ultrarunnin’ renegade. Kickin’ up Arizona dust and takin’ names. We can’t wait to see what else you’ll do in the world of ultrarunning.

🏆️ THIS WEEK IN OCR HISTORY 🏆️ 

Hobie’s final Elite win before stepping back from Spartan Racing

In early May, 2015, OCR legend Hobie Call won the men’s elite division at the Spartan Sprint in Las Vegas, Nevada, navigating a 5K course with obstacles like the Rope Climb and Sandbag Carry.
Facing a stacked field, including rising star Ryan Atkins, Call’s victory was a gritty swan song, as he soon stepped back from elite racing to focus on family and coaching.

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