freak n farmer recap…..way overdue!!!!
With not being able to attend the Spartan Race World Championships, I ventured to a local obstacle race about 2 hours from my place called The Freak n’ Farmer. The race was situated in the Oliver, BC on the lands of Covert Farms which was a fantastic setting for a race and the obstacles were mainly based on farm life. The terrain was not much of a challenge other than one steep kicker of a hill that was full of cactus plants and that made it very difficult to bear crawl up as it was just that steep. However, the venue and feel was fantastic with a live band playing all day and the smell of good eats emanating from the food area. I must say, I came into this race taking it very lightly, as how could a small town race compete obstacle wise with a Spartan Race or Tough Mudder race. Well let me tell you the obstacles (many) were harder than almost anything the before mentioned races throw at you….seriously! The race I entered was the Competitive 12km race which one could do solo or in a team of up to four and I elected the solo category. And as you will see I jump between Metric and Imperial measurements…it’s the way I roll. On to the race course…
We lined up on time after a pre-race meeting 30 minutes prior to the start which I thought was great as you could listen to the meeting and then go warm-up or stay warm and not stand for 10-15 minutes while the race organizer blasts his notes. We are off and it’s a long straightaway down a sandy road that goes between the rows of grapes and after about a kilometre and a bit I reach Obstacle 1 which is called “Show Us Your Pipes” which consisted of picking up a long irrigation pipe and running it about 150 metres to a turnaround point and then back the other side. I remember saying to the volunteer, “Really, we have to bring this pipe that far?” It was awkward to carry and run with a 25 foot piece of irrigation pipe as it flexed and bounced with every step.
Dropped the pipe back at the starting point and off the course went for an extended downhill run until Obstacle 2 came around which was “Cactus Hill”, a very steep loose sand/gravel hill you went straight up. The first thing I tried to do was bear crawl…at the Ultra Beast last year I recalled someone saying, “Ain’t no shame in bear crawling.” And so I thought I would give it a try. However, the cactus plants were everywhere and I got a few caught in my hands which is not only hurts the hand affected but then with the other hand you have to try to pull the cactus out! Shaking my hand wouldn’t dislodge the stupid things. At the top, I was able to get my legs almost right away and got to a triple kicker of obstacles.
Obstacle 3 was a truck tire flip known as “Flip It” but we are not talking flipping 2x one way and 2x back. No, these guys decided we needed to flip the tire approx. 100m down and then around a marker and 100m back. Then right after that was Obstacle 4 (Hit The Wall) which was a 10ft wall but it did have a couple of boards to grip onto which made it fairly easy to navigate. Once over the wall, it was Obstacle 5 (Zig Zag Drag) which was dragging a farm tractor tire down the field and back which was again about 150m each way. With my arms getting a workout it was nice to run about 2km before the next couple obstacles. Obstacle 6 was a set of 4 wine barrels stacked up with 2 on the bottom and 2 on top. I had to disassemble the 4 off the rack and then restack all 4 back into place. Sure the bottom 2 were easy but lifting an approx. 80lb large wine barrel took all I had to lift them up into place on the top rack. Right after that was a small car tire drag (Obstacle 7 Reservoir Drag) through some pretty green water and then back across after touch a sign at the other end of the pond. Oh and this was a pond lined with black plastic liner so the edges were slick and steep to navigate. The tire was easy but once out of the water, I had to lift to drain the inside so it was lighter to carry up the sides of the pond.
Another good running stretch happened as I ran down the grapevines again to the Freak N Corn Maze which was Obstacle 8…not too bad of an obstacle which started to feel like horror movie with someone about to jump out at any time! I ran through the rows of corn until I reached the other side and ran to Obstacle 9 which was the “Barnyard Climb”…an unknotted rope climb to the rafters of the barn and back down. Immediately after that was Obstacle 10 (What a Pallet Drag) and had to lift/drag a wood pallet over a mowed path and bring it back. Without much of a break were more multi-obstacle stages to complete. Obstacle 11 had me carrying sacks of potatoes from a truck and back to a turnaround and load the sacks back onto the truck again. Then what I thought was one of the hardest obstacles was dragging a 4x4ft fruit picking bin in the dirt about 75m and then back. My hands were screaming on this one as was my back and arms. I mean, wood bins don’t slide very well on freshly plowed fields and footing isn’t the greatest either. Then once past that obstacles was a monkey bar traverse which was constructed out of ladders which made the grip different than the smooth pipes I’m use to and below was some fresh manure to land in if I failed, as was 20 burpees. More running to the next 3 obstacle which once again where back to back to back.
Through the mud as the sprinklers were going full force and then several water pits to sludge through. And what is an obstacle race without barbed wire?! Yes under the wire and through the mud for Obstacle 16. Obstacle 17 was just brutal…drag a wood pallet loaded with a concrete slab and had to drag this through the mud for about 100m total. I got it stuck in the mud at the turnaround as I tried to navigate around some tires and took some time to pull it free. I did figure out that if I kept the momentum up the pallet would slide better in the more watery sections. Then off for another long section of running….sort of.
Obstacle 18 was just cruel punishment! An approx. 2.5 km run up a slight incline trail and back down and around…easy right? Well I had to carry a watermelon around this trail. My arms ached as I moved that watermelon on top of each shoulder, resting on the back of my neck, and just cradling it as I ran the course. It is one thing to carry a watermelon in a grocery store but it’s another to carry it 2.5kms! Now was the home stretch once I navigated a maze (Obstacle 19) in some old wire used to hold grapes or tomatoes plants. Over some wire and crawling under others as I moved through the maze. Now was a 1km run back to the start/finish area and up and over a 7ft wall (Obstacle 20) to the slip n slide to the finish.
Overall this was a great race and a very well-marked course and stocked with volunteers. The awards were fabulous too as it was a homemade trophy with a sprinkler head inserted into a wood base and a huge basket of fresh fruit and veggies from the farm itself which were consumed during the week that followed. After the race, I refuelled and listened to the live band play and watched a couple of the kid races and was great to see a lot of kids racing.
Frank
