My past race in Virginia had me thinking a lot about a few small things in the world of Obstacle Course Racing (OCR) Etiquette, some may not agree with my below points but as with all sports there are always a few unwritten rules which athletes follow.
UNWITTEN RULE 1 – THE START
The best place to start is well from the start. Running races like marathons and such have seeded corrals for starting the race. Obstacle Course Racing does not have this seeding system however it does an elite (competitive) heat in some of the race series.
If it is your first ever Obstacle Course Race do not sign up for the competitive heat, as with everything in life there are always exceptions but for the majority of people start in an open heat to test out the sport then move into the competitive heats (if available).
With the explosive growth of the sport many of the top racers are finding themselves shut out of elite heats, for the sake of the sport you want the top athletes all racing each other on race day. As the sport continues to grow I am sure in the future sanctions might be put in place regarding entrance into these heats but as any young sport it’s still in it’s growth stage.
UNWRITTEN RULE 2 – THE PASS
Many OCR races find racers running on single-track trails and narrow pathways. As you are running down the trail or hear someone coming up from behind you, take the millisecond glance around and if they are looking for the pass if so give it to them. Conversely, if you are barreling down the trail and find yourself needing to pass a racer, kindly ask for the pass with a “on the left” or “on the right” or sometimes all that you can muster is “behind”. As you pass always remember to say thank you, even in your most out of breath state, the small gesture speaks oceans about you as a racer.
In addition, this one is more for the guys. Let’s face it right now in OCR the guys have faster finishing times then the women do. It’s a fact, how many in a race varies but normally the fastest woman still has about a dozen or so men in front of her. So many times the top three female racers may actually have twenty or thirty men in front of them. So in the elite heat especially when a woman asks to pass a guy, please guys let her pass. She just might be racing for the podium and a quick pass could make the difference between 2nd and 5th in a close race. Mostly this has not been a problem but almost every race I have been at I have heard from the women, one or two guys on course not wanting a woman to pass them. This isn’t about chicking or anything it’s simply about letting each runner run her best race possible.
UNWRITTEN RULE 3 – PENALTIES
This rule is specific to Spartan Race and any other race that might have a penalty for failing to complete an obstacle. These races are manned by volunteers and if a particular obstacle is challenging it may result in many failures. DO YOUR PENALTY. Many times it’s up to the racer to ensure they are doing the correct penalty but don’t cheat it, in the end you are only cheating yourself. Is that result going to feel as good knowing you cheated a penalty or obstacle.
UNWRITTEN RULE 4 – GLADIATORS
Here is another rule that is fairly Spartan Race series specific however I have seen other races like Superhero Scramble have a similar theme to gladiators at the end of the race. Don’t make a pass in the gladiators. If this unwritten rule doesn’t make sense, basically the last obstacle in any Spartan Race is the gladiator pit. Depending on the day and the gladiators the pit can be completely benign to well a little more aggressive. It is really the ONLY part of the course where you are not in control of how your run will be. Depending on the racer, two might have completely different experiences in the pit.
Do not pass your competitor in the pit; it’s a cheap pass. If you go into the gladiator pit behind your competitor and the finish lies just ahead that should be the order you finish in. Even if you are going for the win, a pass in the gladiators isn’t the way to win a race. Don’t be the racer to win a race this way. In many running based sports a pass in the last 10 yards is a no no. Don’t be that guy or girl and win the race the way it should be run over the obstacles and miles that lay before this one.
FINAL THOUGHT
As the sport continues to grow no doubt there will be other unwritten rules of etiquette that will present themselves in OCR. Many may disagree with me on several of these points however after over a dozen races this season and in my third year of OCR racing these are the unwritten rules that have presented themselves to me. I have been on all sides of these situations and know if we all hold ourselves accountable we can only progress the sport into the future. Who knows maybe someday soon we will see it on the likes of NBC, ABC, CBS or even ESPN!
Here’s another. Just in general, don’t be a jackass. I am a 55 year old woman who ran her first Spartan Sprint in June. I was on the last obstacle; a walk up the wall. In fact I was on my 5th try to walk up this wall and was almost at the top when this idiotic hunk of steroid tried to take the wall by charging to the top. When he started to slip, he grabbed my rope and swung into me, knocking me hard to the ground. It’s the only obstacle I didn’t finish.
Regarding Rule#2 and women passing men…I’m all for it. I train hard and I race to finish in the fastest possible time but if a woman is fast enough to pass me, good for her. If I’m not too out of breath I’ll try to say something encouraging…then I’ll try to catch her. Let’s be honest, if you’re competitive, you don’t want ANYBODY passing you.
Great! Can we add? One I’d share, esp for those of us not in the competitive heat, has to do with the companionship aspect of the sport. You often have to work together through obstacles or wait for others to finish, etc. I’ve never had a p
roblem but I consider that an unwritten rule of the race to be respectful and work together. Sort of like how I’ve always heard in the Tour de France if one biker takes a spill the guy next to him helps him up, waits & they start again together.
One I try to live by. If you aren’t worried about your time, and even if you are, stop and help someone who may be struggling to finish an obstacle. Everyone wants to finish as fast as possible but help those that need the help. You may need a boost getting over a wall and you may encounter a racer struggling to carry 50lbs up a hill or pull a 90lbs bucket. Please help when you can.
I agree wholeheartedly about stepping aside for oncoming racers – being new – I made sure to step aside every time and smile. That being said, I was more than disappointed when I was passed by groups of racers having to wait at times a solid few minutes before I could snake my way back onto the trail – only to be held up behind said group … not sure what the solution would be besides a slightly wider path …
I agree with all of these and just would add what others have said: Be polite, help others if you at all are able to, and in general don’t be a jerk. Also, Don’t PUSH someone who is on top of a wall. Often they need to find their balance so they can swing themselves down the other side. I had someone push me when I was on top of one and I landed weird, and luckily did not hurt myself. I had some guy in the barbed wire crawl tell me that “Rolling was cheating”. It upset me- I don’t think rolling in the barbed wire is a cheat, it is simply a way to get through it. I also yielded in the barbed wire to faster racers. I know that in my exhaustion at one obstacle (I think it was the spear throw) I totally lost track of the amount of burpees I was doing….. Things like that can happen….. I’ll be keeping closer track of them at NJ though. I would never want to feel that I had not done the full amount expected of me to earn my medal.
Rolling is cheating.
My sister and I ran out first OCRs this year and we both chose the competitive heats on our respective race days — I finished 13th for women and she was 3rd on her day. So that rule obviously has exceptions, like you said. I wasn’t sure where I would stack up, but did not want to be in the back of a pack of tutu-wearing guys. Sorry.
Why are people saying rolling is cheating? Hobie Call rolls, right? And the volunteers were telling us to roll through the barbed wire mud obstacle to get people through it more quickly. There were parts that we had to crawl because of the mud pits, uphill slope, etc., but otherwise, rolling worked.