Every month we think our athletes can’t be tested any further, and every month there are more epic events and they pull it out of the bag. In August OCR athletes around the world took on Spartan races (including the North American champs in West Virginia), the first race of the new OCR Series, and Adventurey’s very own NorAM Champs in Vermont.
With just a few weeks left until OCRWC, the highlight of the racing calendar, how are our athletes faring?
It’s a North American takeover on both the male and the female leaderboards, with either non-movement or total re-entries for athletes.
Atkins (CA, 1) & Webster (CA, 1) are both holding firm in first place after an impressive month with appearances at both the Spartan North American Championships, and the NorAm Champs.
It was a true battle for dominance amongst the women, with Webster (CA,1) and Mericle (USA,2) fighting it out at each event. With only 4 points separating them it was certainly a close call.
Whilst Mericle took 1st at the 15km NorAm event, with Webster in 2nd, Webster found victory at Spartan NorAM. With 1st in the Beast, and a 2 minute lead in a very tough course, this time it was Mericle’s turn to take home the silver. A first in the 3km, meaning tenth overall across male and female, plus a first in the co-ed team for Webster, compared to Mericle’s almost indistinguishable 10th overall in the 15km, plus 2nd in co-ed, and 2nd in the 3km allowed Webster to narrowly snatch 1st place, purely down to her pace. We cannot wait to see these two battle it out at the Obstacle Course Racing World Championships in October, as both are going from strength to strength.
A welcome return for Hammond (USA,3) after injury has seen her sidelined, choosing to race Spartan Boston rather than NorAm due to recovery, and at Spartan’s North American Championship taking a comfortable 3rd place, she’s safely back in the game, and working her strength up ready for #OCRWC.
We see two re-entries in the male leaderboard, for Woods (USA,2) and Jones (USA,3), after a 1st place win in the NorAm 3km, and first place in the male team with Newell (USA,4) and K. Corigliano (USA). Woods (USA,2) has secured 2nd place after an impressive 1st place at the Spartan North American Championships, and 3rd place in the 15km NorAm, coming in less than a minute behind Atkins (CA,1) in first.
On another continent, but still racing Spartan Claase (SA,7) held on to his position after winning the Beast and coming 3rd in the super at Kings Kloof. At the same event Cahill (SA, 4) gained 2 positions in the female leaderboard with wins at both the Super and the Beast.
Ones to Watch
Newell (USA,4) has proven himself to be more than just the partner of Mericle (USA,1) and has shown he can hold his own in competitive racing, with 2nd place in the NorAM 15km, 5th at Spartan, and 1st in both the men’s team and the co-ed team event, where he ran with Woods (USA,2) and Mericle (USA,2).
For those in the UK, Tom Tweddel (UK,9) has long been one of the ones to beat, but internationally he has yet to make his mark. His 2nd place at the first of the OCR Series races showed he can compete with the best, and we cannot wait to see how he performs in October at OCRWC.
Entering our top ten last month, R.Corigliano (USA, 10) held on to her position with impressive performances at both NorAm, and Spartan. With her specialty normally being Savage Race, she’s showing her development by scoring highly at diverse events. Another athlete we can’t wait to see at OCRWC.
Check out the rankings here.
Keep your eyes peeled for our final rankings before the Obstacle Course Racing World Championships, for something a little bit different…
