- OCR Crew
- Posts
- The OCR Crew Newsletter #18
The OCR Crew Newsletter #18
The Spartan Cincy Race Breaks EVERYONE
Paul Henry
June 09, 2025
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.
THIS WEEK’S SPONSOR IS:
Project Mayhem Racing!
Looking to make some waves in the OCR & Trail scene, this new race brand is putting on a fun weekend later this summer just north of Pittsburgh, PA.
With a 10K trail race & a 4mile obstacle course. Prize $$ and Gear for Podium winners.
Plus, they have the FIRST EVER: Last Man Standing Multi-Rig challenge 😵
⚡️ SPARTAN’S CINCINNATI MUD FEST⚡️
What’s everyone talking about from this past weekend?!?!
It’s the Cincinnati Spartan Race in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. A race that completely broke everyone that showed up.
Check out our full Article all about it Here: A Mud-Soaked, Hill-Humpin’ Nightmare That Broke Everybody
Last year, this sneaky ski hill was the third-hardest Ultra in the U.S.
This year? It’s a mud-soaked, 36.2-mile monster with 9,179 feet of vert that left racers crawlin’ and cussin’ every step.
Photo Cred: Dan Kimlinger
Overnight storms turned Perfect North Slopes into a dang Slip ’N Slide, with mud so thick it ate shoes and river crossings that nearly swept folks away.
Dustin Bowers said:
That first stream crossing was ridiculous; I almost got swept away… like literally someone had to help me.
Spartan cranked the pain with a double sandbag carry on the ultra-loop and an uphill barbed wire crawl with Aaron Yoder dubbing it “Heartbreak Hill”.
Elite winner Dan Verbene, who clocked 9:59, called it “Brutal AF… and tougher than New Jersey.”
For reference, Dan ran the New Jersey Ultra 6’ish weeks ago with a time of 8:14. 😯
And Ella Scaduto is not sleeping well this week, saying:
I thought I was never going to get off that mountain. Gonna have nightmares about that place for awhile.
And my favorite quote of the weekend comes from Michael Sanford:
Worse Race Ever, we came to Cincinnatti 2023 and swore we wouldn't come back but it was my Birthday weekend and said hey, let's redo it. But I promise I will NEVER come to that venue again, this course was past Ridiculous, I like a challenge but this was not that...
If anyone knows Michael. Please check in on your friend and get him a beer. 🍻
Gif by DudeDad on Giphy
So how hard was this race actually?!?!
Last year I compared it against New Jersey and ended up doing the same this year. Check out what this year’s stats look like.
Almost every measure is showing the Cincy Ultra being HARDER than New Jersey. 🥴
And… some of these stats are even crazier than Killington…
Could Cincy be the hardest Spartan Ultra in the U.S. this year?!?!
Hit us up on Instagram or comment on the website article and let us know your thoughts about this muddy nightmare of a weekend that’s got the OCR world buzzin’.
Want a shirt?!?!
It’s a great way to show support for the page & look good at your next event 😎
Check out the Store page here.
