THIS WEEKS FOCUS - SPARTAN RACE NEW JERSEY

For a lot of Northeast US OCR folks, spring doesn’t really start when the calendar says it does.

It starts when New Jersey starts staring back at you.

Mountain Creek is one of those venues everyone respects.
Some people love it.
Some people swear at it.
Most do both.
It’s steep, rocky, and if the weather gets weird, the whole day can go sideways fast.

Which is exactly why the last 4 weeks matter.

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The Trifecta weekend in Vernon brings out thousands of participants each year.
But this year is a bit different.
Spartan Race announced the National Series - NorthEast schedule and this Mountain Creek venue is first up, with the Beast race.
It’s going to be EXTRA exciting to watch some Elite runners show up and go after this Mountain.

Whether you’re going out for a fun run with friends, pushing it in your Age Group, or going all out with the Elites. These Quick Notes can help you remember the basics to be aware of for the next 4 weeks. 👍

So here’s the big mistake many OCR people encounter this time of year: panic training.

You look at Vernon on the calendar, remember all the stories about busted quads and shoe-sucking mud, and suddenly every workout turns into a death march.

Bad plan.

Four weeks out, I want one last big specific day.
Not just long. Specific.

That means Hills. Carries. Grip when your heart rate is already up. And just as important: downhill control. A lot of people think New Jersey is about the climbs. It is… until the descents punch you in the knees and hips for the next 8 miles.

Three weeks out, do your last real long effort.

Wear the shoes you plan to race in. Practice your fuel. Practice drinking when you’re breathing hard. If you’re doing the Ultra, this is the week to figure out what lap-two problems might look like before lap two is real.

Two weeks out, stop trying to become a different athlete.

Cut the volume a bit. Keep one honest workout in there. Get one more hilly session. Stay healthy. Fix your sleep. Fix your feet. Tight calves, hot spots, and little aches turn into big problems on this course.

Race week is simple:

Don’t cram.
Don’t prove anything.
Show up feeling a tiny bit undertrained instead of totally cooked.

If I had to boil Vernon down into one sentence, it’d be this:

The strong climbers do well.
The durable descenders survive.

Joe Martello was out in Atlanta for a Spartan Race Trifecta weekend and grabbed some really strong shots again.
Sooo many to choose from! Yikes.
But if I had to Pick, Check out my 2 favorites from the weekend.
And check out his full portfolio HERE!

Saving CASH means you can sign-up & travel to more races 🤘
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“As ultra legend Kilian Jornet says about fueling:
‘Normal food is not a problem… but gels give that quick boost when you need it most.’

More coming in 2026 😎
Check it out HERE.

It was around Late March in 2019 when OCRWC issued their Top 10 list of Men & Women in the World Rankings OCR scene.

Top 10 for the Men & Women were:
Jon Albon
Ryan Atkins
Thibault Debusschere
Thomas van Tonder
Sergei Perelygin
Nikolaj Dam
Ryan Woods
Sergei Silin
Piotr Lobodzinski
Ludvig Werkmaster

Lindsay Webster
Nicole Mericle
Rebecca Hammond
Karin Karlsson
Zuzana Kocumova
Ida Mathilda Steensgaard
Rose Wetzl
Anna Svensson
Elin Johansson
Lisan De Vries

7 years later and we still see a few of these athletes out there.
But the majority have come and gone unfortunately, as they pushed into other ventures (like Pro Trail running with Jon) or started families (like Ryan & Lindsay).