Is It Hard? (That's What She Said)

In the process of completing the Spartan Beast Ohio last weekend, I thought very hard about what factors play into making a race easier or more difficult. The terrain? The obstacle layout? The distance? Certainly all of these play a factor, but to what degree? Some races have gained a reputation for being almost mythically difficult (see: Killington Ultra) while others are scoffed at as "beginner crap" (see: Dallas Ultra. I don't say it's beginner crap, by the way, because ANY Ultra is a HARD Ultra).

The way I see it, there are a handful of factors that play into race difficulty, and each of these factors carries a different amount of weight for each individual racer. There are people who have no trouble with hills, but loathe mud. There are people who love mud, but hate rainy weather. It is truly up to each person to research what a particular course/venue has to offer, then decide if it's right for them. It's a big part of why I provide so many details in my race recaps. They (hopefully) help others to get a sense of what sort of difficulty the race will provide.

Let's look at the factors that contribute to difficulty.

1) Distance

Obviously, the longer the distance, the greater the endurance challenge will be. Due to the nature of OCR, it's difficult to standardize the distance and get them perfectly accurate. Some courses are generally known to be a bit longer than others within their same grouping. Example: some Sprints are 3 miles, others closer to 5. Some Beasts are 12 miles, some closer to 15. There has been a push lately to make these discrepancies a bit lessened, but it's gonna be an uphill battle for a few years. Speaking of which...

2) Hilly vs Flat

There is a general consensus that hilly courses are always tougher than flat courses. I submit that this can be false. A hilly Sprint is certainly tougher than a flat one, but once you get to the Beast or the Ultra distances, a flat course could actually screw you up by overworking your hip flexors. It truly does depend on what kind of terrain you are accustomed to. I would urge someone, at the longer distances especially, to train on the kind of terrain you'll be racing. If it's hilly, it will feel easier if you don't fight the terrain too much and let gravity assist you on the downhill sections.

3) Mud

Mud is a huge wildcard. A course like the Ohio Beast, which is flat, can get mountainous levels of quadriceps resistance if you add enough mud or water. Likewise, a dry course might be easy, but the same advantage you enjoy will also be enjoyed by your opponents (if you are competitive). Also, what kind of mud are we talking about? There's a huge difference between Sucking Mud and Sloshing Mud. If you don't know WTF I'm talking about, sign up for next year's Chicago Super.

4) Inclement Weather Potential

Some areas, like the Pacific Northwest, are famously rainy. Some places are seasonally wet as well. Rain has potential to ruin your day. Thunderstorms can flat-out cancel an event, but even innocuous drizzle can make grip obstacles impossible for many folks (and god help you if there are a lot of grip obstacles in the race you chose). Chicken-winging works if you can do it, but again, either train in these conditions or at least consider them when planning your schedule. Rain can easily take a race from a 4 level of difficulty to a 9.

5) Obstacle Spacing

Courses are changed every year. They might not have the same obstacles in the same places. But looking at a previous year's course map, you can generally get a sense of how they space the obstacles. Even spacing is always nice to see, but often a race might be backloaded with obstacles near the festival/finish area (Spartan Ohio, looking at you), or might have random gauntlets of several obstacles in a row in the middle of the race if it loops near the festival (Spartan Minnesota). These can create some major fatigue zones, especially if there are two or more obstacles that you are very likely to fail. This contributes hugely to the difficulty of a course, no matter how good you are at OCR.

6) The Bob Hope Factor

A boring course is a tough course. If the terrain all looks the same, if there are no scenic vistas, if the obstacles are ho-hum, you will probably find your mental game slipping. To me, nothing makes a race harder than being friggin' BORED. Courses that keep you on your toes and have varied terrain/obstacles will help you feel fresh and focused throughout, making the difficulty level from the other factors on the list much more tolerable. Always find a race with the Bob Hope Factor!