I’ll start by saying that pretty much every OCR event that is in Toronto, is not actually in Toronto. They all happen about 1 – 1 1/2 hours north of the city. That makes sense, because there are some great locations in that area, and most are at ski resorts, which just makes them tougher, and more interesting.
I mention this because Mud Hero was my second event of the day, and getting from the waterfront area in Toronto (where the first event took places) to Albion Hills, where Mud Hero Toronto took place, in time to run the race was a challenge in itself. In the end, I was able to get cleaned up, pick up Kate, who was coming for their first OCR, and get up to Albion Hills just in time to run the last heat. I’m glad we mad it though!
Crazy Canuck Events
The location itself was terrific! It could have had a bit more elevation (just my preference, I like hills), but Albion Hills Conservation area has a lot of great hiking and biking trails, and the organizers at Mud Hero made great use of them. Before I get to the race itself, it is worth mentioning that you can tell when a race is run by good event planners. Start and finish areas well placed, easy to navigate around, great music at the stage, music blasting everywhere else, energetic announcer at the finish, and plentiful and strategically place porta-potties. The kinds of things it is easy not to notice when they are done right, but a cluster-f*&k when done wrong. Ted McLeod and the team at Crazy Canuck Events did a great job!
To the race…
As mentioned, we did the final heat, at 3:30 and I would have to say that the obstacle helpers and the race organizers where all still had great energy. Great people, lots of fun and the course was still in great shape.
Mud Hero lives up to its name. The first obstacle was involved a mud pool – might as well get good and muddy right away. In between the obstacles, the trail ranged from flat walking trails to forest trail, and mostly shaded, which was great on a sunny day. The course was a little over 6k, with about 18 obstacles. They ranged from cargo net climbs, to water slides, to wall climbs, to walking over cars and SUVs. The walls were low, about 4 feet, except one large one which had 2x4s that could be used as a ladder. At the end was a walk through a small lake, inflatable slide, and finally one last mud crawl.
Given that I was running with someone who was doing their first OCR, and they were a bit nervous, I got to take it easy a bit and enjoy the route. I also ran it barefoot, which was a first for me. Kate did great, and had a blast. She did not shy away from any of the obstacles or the mud, for that matter. I am sure there is more OCR in her future!
One final twist… about 2/3 through the race, a masked superhero in a cape (literally) offered to take my GoPro which I had strapped to my chest, and run with us to capture footage. It was pretty funny actually, but he did get some cool footage – running ahead to capture low shots, or running ahead to the obstacles to capture us coming over. Apparently he’d been doing this all afternoon. Kudos to the dude in the cape!
Summary
Just prior to the race, the feedback I had been given from a friend who has done a couple Mud Hero races, is that they were fun, but not terribly difficult, at least as compared to something like a tough Spartan or Mudder. I would say that is a fair assessment, but that is the intention, I believe. The emphasis is on fun, with some challenge, and a smoothly run event. I think they hit it on all counts. I would like to see them put on a Super Mud Hero event next year!
