4 Workouts That Get You Ready for an Obstacle Course Race
Add these runs to your regimen so you can dominate at any OCR
“The type of running required for an obstacle course race (OCR) is different than in road races,” says Mike Patota, 31, a certified Spartan SGX coach and ISSA certified trainer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. “If you don’t want to fizzle out, you have to find a steady pace while building your leg strength enough to scale mountains and do an obstacle at the top.”
Whether you’re a weathered road racer or just beginning, Patota recommends building a solid 15-mile per week running base (at least) and then implementing the following workouts:
Off-Road Runs
Take all your longer training runs on trails. You should determine pace using the talk test—you’ll know you’re going the right speed if you can carry on a conversation.
After five minutes of running, stop and do 10 pushups. Run for 10 more minutes after completing the pushups, then do 15 burpees. As the run continues, surprise your body by varying the interval times between exercises, running for shorter distances between each test. If you are new to running in general, start out with three miles. If you are a regular runner new to running trails, do five miles.
400 Repeats
These will mimic the act of going from one obstacle to the next while increasing speed. Go to a public track and do a one to two mile warmup. Run 400 meters (one full lap) at a speed that is 1:00-1:30 minutes faster than your conversational pace.
At the finish of each 400, jump rope for 30 seconds, then walk for two minutes to recover. Repeat four more times. Add a lap every other week until you reach eight laps. (Need more help running fast? Check out our Race Training help page.)
Short Uphill Sprints
Not only will these prepare you for the mountains in an obstacle course race, but also running hill sprints is the best way to strengthen your lower-body muscles.
Choose a steep incline, about a 10 percent grade, and sprint at near maximum effort for 10 seconds. Jog back down and rest until your breathing is fully recovered. Start with five reps, adding an additional sprint each week until you get to 12.
Downhill Runs
Running downhill is often overlooked and provides eccentric leg strength training you can’t get anywhere else. And in an OCR, you’ll be running down as much as running up.
Using the same incline from uphill sprints, run down with moderate effort. Walk back up. Repeat 10 times. Increase the reps by two each week until you reach 20. (This will be the easiest “hard” workout you’ll ever do.)
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