Toughest OCR is an organization based out of Sweden, and has grown to host several races around the Scandic countries (this year - 4 events in Sweden, one in Norway, one in Denmark, and their first in London, England). In the past their repertoire included a 24-hour extreme event, and a winter course involving an ice hotel in Sweden and running across a frozen lake.
Sign me up.
Okay, maybe the winter race will be a project, but I was initially sold on this race after clicking on a link to a recap video of the 2015 Stockholm event - highlights showed a huge inflatable slide that had participants zooming down and getting shot out into a lake! I decided that 2016 would be my first OCR trip abroad.
I wanted to try Stockholm and said waterslide (seems to be one of the signatures of Stockholm's event), but timing-wise the race in Oslo, Norway was a better fit. I've never been to that corner of the world, however from what I've gathered about Norwegians in the sporting world (Thomas Ulsrud, Johann Olav Koss, Mats Zuccarello Aasen) it seems like a very cool destination.
Contrary to what some may assume, the website (
http://www.toughest.se/) is easy to navigate and not stuck in mono Swedish (though it's the default language), English is one of the language choices.
An early warning to everyone: this race isn't cheap ($110-$126 CDN depending on when you register). Consider it if you're willing to pay for the experience, and you probably would like to make it a nice trip abroad.
One interesting tidbit is no wave times to choose from when signing up initially. The organization looks at when someone's registered and then assigns a wave time; basically, the closer to race day you've signed up, the later the wave you'll be put in. Wave times are sent out via email less than 48 hours after registration closes - they're very efficient despite the announced 3,800 sign-ups. The format has people leaving every 5 minutes.
If you do not wish to read my race day recap rambling, scroll to the end for the race info in a nutshell.
***Race day - September 3, 2016***
Because I signed up a month and something before race day, I don't have to run until the afternoon. Still, given that I've never been to this race venue (Holmenkollen) I figured I'd go early enough to soak up the atmosphere. I did spend time on Google Maps looking at the layout but wound up stressing myself out; whatever shows up on the map is not necessarily what it actually looks like.
Holmenkollen was perhaps the easiest race venue that I've traveled to from where I was staying. It was a 20-minute subway ride from downtown Oslo and perhaps a 7-minute walk from the station, following signs. It turns out the site is also very popular for families, hikers and cyclists.
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| Course map |
(By the way, the whole surrounding area is a site for cross-country skiing, biathlon, and includes a ski jump hill that has hosted the FIS World Cup previously. And yes...that ski jump hill will be integrated in the course!)
Yikes!
No matter how many of these OCR's I've done, I always get a bit nervous in the hours leading up to the start. Maybe because I'm in another country, or perhaps it's a race I'm new to, the feelings are a bit more pronounced. However, during my research I've learned that not far from Holmenkollen is a restaurant,
Frognerseteren, 5 stops later (and the last stop on that subway line). They are known for their apple cake, so looking to curb a bit of pre-race anxiety, I venture off to have my cake.
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| "Epelkake", as the locals call it - delicious! |
Not sure how apple cake will feel a couple of hours later during the race, but hey, I'm not racing for time so I'm not super worried. I arrive in time to shop at the merchandise tent, and check out the finishers' ceremony. (I also got to meet Jon Albon!)
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| The overall winners, Freya Martin & Jon Albon readying the champagne |
Pick up registration packet, which includes a paper bib, and timing chip which is a neat small bit that attaches around my ankle with Velcro.
I'm wearing my Eh? Team longsleeve and one of the emcees comes running over, shakes my hand, and asks if I'm from Canada. I find out he's originally from Toronto and he seems genuinely thrilled to meet another Canuck; he shakes my hand again (the two-hands-grasping-mine handshake) and tells me to have a good race.
There is also a large area for racers to warm up - enough for dynamic stretching, walking lunges, sprints. I spot a guy doing box jumps as part of his warm-up. Wow, these Europeans don't mess around.
Despite 5-minute gaps between start times, there's at least 30-40 people in my wave. The emcees are enthusiastic and don't try to work the crowd too much. We count down from 10 and off we go. Small inclines, a few stairs, then we get to the cargo net climb. (I can do this.) Not far after are some stacked hay bales to leap over; this is possibly the softest hay I've sat on to date. 6 foot wall follows (I can do this!) and it isn't long before we reach the Irish Table.
^&*&#@$ To be fair, this year is the first year I've seen the Irish Table at races, I have an idea of how to get over but need to practice. A kind volunteer gives me a boost and we go on.
The course is more of a runner's course; gentle slopes but plenty of flats to run. Parts of the course loop back into the festival area where spectators can cheer runners on. One of the first obstacles in this part is the Swing Walk:
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| Hanging bar traverse |
Obstacles are never far apart in this 8km course. We slop through mud at the Dirty Shower, then the first water dunk appears. Seems racers jumping off the platform (trampoline optional for extra air time) can tag themselves in photos for a chance to win Bjorn Borg underwear. The platform isn't as high as Tough Mudder's Walk the Plank, I'd say it's comparable to the one at Prison Break.
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| Clearly, I chose not to jump off the trampoline |
The water is frigid, almost like jumping into Arctic Enema. Sopping wet and trying to warm up, we loop back into the festival area to one of Toughest's signature obstacles: Dragon's Back.
From a spectator's POV, it doesn't look that far. I can see why many are gathered at the barrier and encouraging racers. Besides being over 6 feet off the ground, from the top it looks like I have to jump across the Grand Canyon. Unfortunately, I get cold feet and climb down to do the penalty loop (well-marked and involving a small tire carry).
Zigzagging through the festival area, we get to the Platinum Rig - wait, I traveled over several time zones and STILL cannot escape the dreaded orange structure?! Because Diabolical Dom isn't setting up the torture, it is actually doable. (Note in photo below, the barrier to jump over with the arrow pointing up, and the one called 'crawling')
The crawl is quite low, and because there's a preference for metal piping as frames, accidentally bump my head halfway through the crawl. It is over a bed of gravel and sand. Ouch! More bad news: it's not the last time I'll encounter it.
A quick drink of water at the water station, then off to the rope climb. It is one of the obstacles with the 'Fast Lane' option (avoid line-ups at obstacles, but higher difficulty level and once completed, shortcuts onto the course), and in this case it's a salmon ladder! Toughest's project director, Andreas Sjölin, goes running past me. I'm guessing he's also running the course.
I'm not really going to bore you with a detailed breakdown of every single obstacle, but I'll highlight the differences. Very little of the obstacles here are made of wood, so less wall jumping, but plenty more of other stuff. Some involve climbing and jumping down from over 7 feet up.
Toughest's version of the Herc Hoist is called Pull a Stone, and in this case it's a large kettlebell. The traverse wall reminds me a bit of the one at Shale Hill mixed with Tip of the Spear - some rock climbing stones, then a bar traverse to the next wall which have rope handles.
Carries include Bulgarian Bag (inner tube carry); sandbell; log carry which isn't too heavy, but a nice downward & upward slope loop. A guy I've crossed on course a couple of times who had called me 'Champion!' is filming himself saying, "I hate my log..."
Jeep Dunks is the jerry can carry - two per racer, and they are metal. The obstacle that follows are the monkey bars. Well played...
There was one very small technical hill climb, but short enough. The second water obstacle was a short swim, but again in Arctic Enema water temps. Brrrr!
One obstacle that was new to me was an American Ninja Warrior-style ring traverse - remember Kacy Catanzaro and the two big rings she had to hook onto pegs as a traverse? (
This) Ok the traverse was in a straight line, but once I got a rhythm, it wasn't hard to get across. Yay!
Back into the festival area where more obstacles await. Two more new ones, Ring Slide - holding onto two rings and trying to slide along a long metal bar. I get stuck at this since I lose momentum at the middle section because the bar is designed to dip slightly due to the racer's weight. Spinning Wheels, I don't make it past the first wheel (again, think ANW and the giant spinning ring traverse) I would need to practice those in order to figure out how to succeed. More penalty loops - hello, small tire friend!
The other obstacle I fail is the Ninja Jump which is a quintuple step setup. Most people fall off when they get to the 3rd step. They are pretty angled and set far enough apart, not to mention not super favorable on traction.
By the time I see 'Crawling' for the 3rd time, I inwardly groan. The gravel is painful on my knees, and there's sand all over my legs. At least I know to stay low enough.
Out of the festival area again to the last obstacle, the ski slope. Yes, the big slope ski jumpers zoom down on to build their speed. There's cargo netting all across because at some point everyone has to use their hands to help the ascent. My Achilles are hating me for this, and even more so every time I stop to catch my breath (a little difficult to stand up here) The emcees are at the finish line encouraging racers to run across the finish line.
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| I climbed all of that...! |
We get our medals (with 'Oslo 2016' and the Norwegian flag printed on the ribbon) and also a rubber finisher bracelet (Oslo 2016 as well). One of the sponsors, Dalblads, has boxes of one of their products, Swebar protein bars (
website but in Swedish) in several flavours. Participants are grabbing handfuls, and they are encouraged to do so. I try their banana chocolate bar and it's tasty and easy to eat. Seems their popular flavour, chocolate chip, is all gone for the day.
On our way down from the epic climb, a photographer is taking photos of finishers with a bunch of signs to choose from to hold, ranging from 'I am the Toughest', 'What did you do today?' to a flexing arm, and a poop emoji with a smiley face.
What a fun day, trying a new OCR with a different flavour & some new obstacles and challenges. Most participants were in good shape and it felt like running with faster runners in open heats. Everyone on the subway is wearing their finisher medals. I feel kind of sleepy; it's a good sign. Moral of the story? Eat apple cake.
The bottom line for Toughest OCR:
- cost will be one of the factors, as it is around $110 early bird.
- included in the cost: bib, timing chip, finisher medal, finisher rubber bracelet, no finisher shirt. The merch tent has a few shirts but they are unisex size. (I went for the hoodie)
- bag drop is free; no showers or rinse station. Bring baby wipes. (That poor hotel shower however..)
- first come, first serve for wave times. However, racers depart every 5 minutes, thereby reducing lineups at obstacles.
- the obstacles are generally doable, and they present the right amount of challenge without being too frustrating or tiring; the carries aren't as hard (except the jerry cans) or as long as Spartan. Also, quite a few obstacles involving upper body.
- course is more a runner's course, and the plot is well-marked with a lot of space to run and/or pass slower runners. Genius move: 1 water station, but the course passed it twice.
- only the logs were different sizes; the rest of the carries had 1 weight option for everyone.
- not all obstacles have penalty loops. If there is, the loop is well-marked and highlighted by a large red "Penalty" flag
Worth the experience: for me yes, simply because it was a little different, whether it was the obstacles themselves, to being instructed in Norwegian by the volunteers, to the boxes of Swebars at the end to gorge on. Willing to pay for the experience and make it a nice trip? Go for it. I may try this one again.
