Sunday, August 31, 2014

Race Recap: The Inferno

Race Review for The Inferno Obstacle Race on Aug. 30th, 2014

This race was held in Salem, Oregon and offered free camping for all participants in an open field with one portalet and no running water.  Event parking (whether camping or not) was $10.  I had commitments on Friday that left me unable to take advantage of the free camping, but my friend Mariah was looking forward to that (and less of a commute on race day).

Have I told you how much I have been looking forward to this race... and at the same time dreading it?  (Race Preview with more details here.)  I have no upper body strength and working out really hard was not going to give me huge biceps in 6 months.  Maybe I need a personal trainer?  At any rate, I still can't muster a proper push up or a chin up on a bar and wasn't looking forward to scaling tall walls or trying to cross monkey bars.  Even more humbling was searching on google for some hints to what obstacles I might be facing... I find an 11 year old girl rocking some of the 2013 obstacles at a promo event in downtown Portland.  Check out this girl and how much she rocks!


I have seriously got to work on my upper body and core strength because this girl makes it look easy, and there is no doubt about it that this event is NOT easy and not for the faint of heart. 


You can walk around any obstacle that you feel you can not safely perform with a penalty of doing 30 burpees.  Mariah, who is a total beast and "accidentally" ran in the competitive heat and may have "accidently" won for the overall female division said she felt like she did 200 burpees.  There were some obstacles that were unavoidable and had to be completed in the competitive heat.  


Some of the challenges you might face at future events:
  • 200 meter open swim.  This was off a dock and an out and back swim.  If you can only tread water, you can take the 50 burpee challenge for skipping it or throw on a safety vest and start floating.  It isn't that bad.  No sea monsters.  
  • Lots of walls to scale.  Some with ropes and some without.  Seriously lots of walls.
  • Tires hanging from ropes to swing from.  It's like monkey bars only it isn't... and it's a lot harder.  It's fun at least... but get ready to do some burpees.
  • Monkey bars with some of the bars vertical instead of horizontal. 
There were many more, but I don't want to give away The Inferno's secrets.  I will tell you that with some of the challenges that required carrying heavy objects and flipping big 'ol tires, at least there were some options to choose a size/weight that was appropriate to your individual strength level.


Training for an event like this does require some upper body strength, some good core, did I mention upper body strength? and some cardio.  It wouldn't hurt and only help to have a team of friends, or make friends in line at the porta potty to run with and help each other over some of the many walls to scale.  


Above all, go in it to have fun, challenge yourself and be safe.  Some of the volunteers to monitor the penalties were more on "the honor system" than to stand over you like a drill sergeant.  Do what you can and move on to the next challenge.  There are a lot of them.  

After being in a race that involved wasps, I really appreciated that The Inferno closed an obstacle after a participant tossed a log onto a nest and was stung several times.  I heard she finished the race and was "okay" but I know that those suckers hurt.

Serious beast.

Finishing this event is a huge accomplishment and a true test of your inner beast.  The medal is pretty awesome and it is a fun event.  If you participated, there was a great opportunity to sign up again for a significant discount, but if you missed out.... stay tuned to The Inferno's Facebook page for any upcoming information and possible discounts.  


What is the toughest race you have completed?  Physical or emotionally challenging?













1 comment:

  1. Update: This review is specifically for the 6 mile run but those who want even more of a challenge can sign up for the 13.1 course or if that is a bit intimidating, there will be a 3 miler option next year in the works as well.

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