Sponsored by:
In partnership with Mont Rigaud, last week we announced the launch of the Mont Rigaud-Outlaw OCR training circuit. Very possibly a first of its kind in the Montérégie region, this is an obstacle training course ON the mountain itself! It's hard to get much more race specific than this...unless you run an actual obstacle course race!
This project was a few months in the works and began in the winter of 2022. Having done 99% of my mountain training at Rigaud (and feeling it was a mountain worthy of more recognition by OCR athletes in our region), I reached out to the administration and asked if they would be interested in being a personal sponsor of mine for this year. They agreed but also asked if I would help them design and build and obstacle course on the mountain as they knew there was a demand for such a service as well as a big OCR community in the area...of course I said yes! The following blog will highlight the training circuit as well as some of the behind the scenes of our build and how this course came to be.
THE STATS
5km course
377m positive/negative elevation
18 obstacles
INITIAL BUILD
My goal in designing this training course was to come up with a course map that would be challenging for both beginners and veteran racers. Knowing the mountain already from previous years' training, I put together a draft course map with 18 obstacles and around 5 optional obstacles in the event that some were not going to be possible due to insurance reasons, logistics, etc. Although this course was meant as a training circuit and not a race, I still wanted to design it in a way that would be fair for athletes with different strengths in the event that 2 people wanted to run head-to-head: some obstacle dense sections, some longer uphill/downhill runnable sections, some balance/agility obstacles, some grip obstacles, as well as some challenging carries (in terms of weight, distance, and placement on the map).
After the owner's approval we moved on to our initial build (as you can see below, there was still a tiny bit of snow on the mountain, so this isn't a projected that happened over night!), which meant I got to start my mornings riding around the mountain in an RTV (not a bad way to start the day!)
The Mont Rigaud owner, Luc, had the great idea of not only using natural obstacles (ex: rocks/boulders instead of building a wall/balance beam), but also using certain snowboarding modules that would accomplish the same goal as certain obstacles (ex: using the snowboard pipes as "over/under" hurdles rather than building hurdles that would essentially be the exact same thing).
FINALIZED COURSE AND TESTING
The build took around 2 months of working before all obstacles were in place. At this point we were able to take the promo pictures. These were not only for the website, but every single obstacle has a sign with an explanation, as seen below (all credit to Fil from marketing for the amazing shots!):
I was able to personally test the course several times before the launch, running as hard as I could to establish some baseline times. The verdict? Lots of pain (good pain)! Not only did the sensation during the workout feel exactly like running a Spartan Sprint, for example, but the mental aspect was the same as well once I started to suffer. In the following days I also noticed that I physically felt as if I had actually raced the day before (sore legs, general fatigue), even though I had run the course alone with no competitors. Although we try our best to simulate an obstacle course race as best as possible in training with hills and obstacle-like movements, I truly believe there is nothing that comes closer to race day than this type of training circuit. As the distances are all measured and standardized, athletes now have a course that they can test themselves on to objectively measure improvement over time.
HOURS, COST AND OPEN HOUSE The obstacle circuit is open 7 days/week during operational hours and the training circuit will be open from May-November. Cost= $5 per entry (unlimited laps). They also have a season pass now available for $47.84 + taxes! This weekend (July 16th, 2022) Outlaw OCR will be hosting an open house from 12pm-4pm ($5 entry) where we will be on site to answer questions regarding the training circuit, the mountain, training/racing, as well as answer questions about the services we provide. We will also have some prizes drawn (including a season pass) following our friendly challenge! We hope to see you there!
To see pictures of all 18 obstacles at the Rigaud-Outlaw OCR circuit as well as our 1 on 1 private training sessions (now offered at Rigaud), please see the link below:
Have questions about the training course or our services? Send us an email: outlawocr@gmail.com.
Comments