At OCR Buddy, we are honored enough to have some of the best and brightest of the OCR and Ninja communities as part of our ambassador team. You may not have heard their names, but you have probably seen them in the community, out on the course or online, inspiring their friends and family in their own journey.
Ninja and OCR athlete and personal trainer Whitney Laventure is definition of someone who is working behind the scenes to make a difference in the world.
We share her story in the next Ten Questions with…
Name: Whitney Laventure
Find me on social media:
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/whitneys_life_of_adventure
1. Tell us about yourself
I’m a 37 year old Momma who lives for adventures! I am a personal trainer for kids learning the basics and advanced skills of OCR. I also work one on one with those who are neurodivergent and looking to build confidence and skills to help them grow in their lives. I work full time in the culinary department at a retirement community and I love to play with food and mud, just not in the same setting! I enjoy challenging myself and learning through play, as well as being a “big kid”. After a lot of life experience as well call it, I have learned to adapt and overcome.
2. Why are you a part of The OCR Buddy community?
I love the OCR Buddy community because it brings together athletes of all calibers- the beginners looking to try something new, the athletes looking to stay active and the athletes looking for the competitive edge all in one place. It’s more than just OCR, it’s a community of racers and athletes who look to challenge themselves while building relationships with others. For me the community is more important than the podium. With Ninja and OCR, I have gained more than just the rush a podium gives me, but lasting friendships and a reason to help others see the world through a different lens. Each one of us has struggled or struggles in life, and yet we get up to honor ourselves and many times those who no longer are with us, to honor them through what we are doing in the community of OCR. Watching new racers and meeting athletes on the courses in both mud and Ninja gym, has been a huge help in not only seeing their own journey and confidence growth, but seeing my own confidence and growth as well.
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3. How did your OCR journey start?
My journey started back in 2018/2019 season when I first began my Ninja journey. I was specifically training for Ninja Warrior to get stronger and faster, and to honor my late brother through working through major struggles of imposter syndrome after a major weight loss and adjustment to being a single mom after divorce. I was asked if I had interest in OCRs as I was pretty much preparing for both sports. So I dove right in and very green behind the ears, piled into a car with a bunch of Empowered OCR team racers, and did my first Tough Mudder. Boy was I sore, tired and muddy but the fire was lit and I craved more. From there I started getting more involved in racing with teammates, encouraging everyone on the course no matter who they were and gaining many friends I met at OCRs. As far as Ninja goes, I met some of my closest friends when I went to do ANW course testing in Baltimore in 2018. I got to test a bunch of the obstacles that they would later use that evening and the following day for filming for the qualifiers. Shortly after that, started doing local competitions at gyms as a non-team athlete and just training heavily with my newfound friends, going to various gyms and exploring the opportunities to grow and get stronger. I saw both of these sports and still see both of these sports as ways to challenge myself and really give myself an outlet, when I have life obstacles to overcome, which have been heavy weights to carry at times, proverbially. For me it’s an opportunity to leave everything on the course, and focus on bettering myself through productive activities that push me to my limits, thus giving me the ability to come back to the “real world” a better person, mother, coach and individual overall, because both sports definitely humble you.
4. What is your best race story?
Bear with me as I have a few: My best race story is from 2023 actually, I had overcome a whirlwind of medical chaos putting everything in my life on the line, literally. I was finally able to get back into OCRs after spending the back half of the season volunteering ( which is AMAZING by the way and a good way to give back to the community!) because of medical restrictions. I was rebuilding from scratch after years of training pretty much thrown in the garbage because of the medical mess, but I toed the line at Savage Maryland and ended up beating the last multi-rig that was taking everyone out, taking the podium for first in my age group by mere seconds after a wild race from the storms we had the day prior. My youngest daughter was there cheering and filming from the sidelines and watched me take on this feat before running her own and first Savage Jr. Race that day. On a community based story, I love meeting new friends and I tend to meet them at races and become quick longtime friends. My friend Tamie was running her first OCR a few years ago, and it was a Savage Race. She was at the Colossus run up ramp and needed a boost of confidence. I was running Pro and literally told her “ If you run up that wall, I will too!” and she went for it! We found each other later on and have been friends ever since, and she’s been racing and training at the same OCR gym I’ve been training at. From there it’s been kind of a tradition to make a close friend at each race I race at. On the Ninja side of things, one of my favorite stories is as I’ve been growing as an athlete, I have learned to take major falls and failures in stride. I had one of the sickest saves in my career where I was sure I was going to wipe out and by some crazy phenomenon, was able to regain my balance and clear the obstacle, much to my surprise. Many of the athletes have seen my struggles between my health issues and having to restart my journey over and over again in a highly competitive field. They are always there to yell “Whit Don’t Quit!” as I’m running through the course and to watch me have my little victories through the rebuilding process. There is constant chatter that they can hear my voice loudest in the crowd cheering for everyone else, because between Ninja and OCR, it truly is you versus you.
5. Who or what inspires or motivates you?
Honestly there are so many people who inspire me in Ninja and OCR. I have seen friends of mine break bones, sustain other injuries and rather than quit, get back up and trek the long journey back to the courses. What motivates me is knowing how I react to my own struggles, sets the pace for how others tend to react to theirs as well. No matter how bad our day, race or competition is, we still show up and give it our all. I work with kids showing them the introductory aspects of OCR and how they can grow their skills into something more. For me continuing to show up, is the most important thing, because it’s not just the adults watching how you handle your own struggles, but children as well. It truly comes down to setting the example and leading by example, win or lose, we set the example of our reaction
6. If you could race any race in the world which race and why?
I would love to race the Barbados Ninja Qualifier or honestly Sasuke, the OG Ninja Warrior. For OCR, I’d love to finally race OCRWC as I haven’t had the opportunity to do so yet.
7. What are your goals for this year?
My goals this year are to put on a strong performance in both Ninja and OCR with minimal if any injuries and setbacks. I also want to get to WNL Worlds and get my first buzzer in a competition. For OCR, I would love to get an overall podium.
8. What team are you involved with and why?
I am part of the Empowered OCR team out of Empower Training Systems, where I train at. I am part of the OCR team, because I didn’t find them, they found me when I needed an outlet for my own personal life to adjust when it was in a fragile state. Owner, Josh March, took me in and helped me grow through what I was going through, but encouraging me and helping me get stronger than I ever have been. He and his family both gym and his own, have allowed me to continue to work on my confidence and skills with support and extending themselves when I have been in need. For Ninja, I am part of the Dexterity Depot Ninja Team. The reason I am involved with them, is they have been a huge part of my growth as a competitive athlete and given me a very strong community of support. My coach, Matt Bradley has been a huge influence in helping me overcome mental blocks and regression in training, as well as being one of the loudest most supportive people aside from my teammates, when in training. Dexterity has definitely pushed me, but also given me opportunity to have a voice and actively engage in my training, so I can continue to enjoy the sport.
9. How do you train? Any special gyms or trainers?
I do a lot of cross training. I train at Empower training Systems with the guidance of Josh March for my strength training annd running program. I utilize our obstacle room at Empower Training Systems to continue to work on various grip and balance exercises you would see at OCRs. As far as larger scale and extensive obstacle training I go to Dexterity Depot and work with Matt Bradley, mainly, where it’s a mix of grip, technique, agility and balance.
10. Are you an ambassador or fan of any other brands? Give them a shout out and let the community know why?
I’m an ambassador for Athletic Brew, MudGear and Vital Apparel Fitness. I chose to be a part of Athletic Brew because for a while I was actually choosing to literally drown my sorrows in a way that was not serving me nor my family. I wasn’t a heavy drinker, but I also wasn’t being productive in my own focus of goals. The community they have, has been exceptional and given me ground to enjoy a beverage guilt-free after a race or extra difficult training session with my friends and teammates without judgement. As for Vital Apparel Fitness, they give some of their proceeds to Mental Health Research, which is huge for me, because the battle of depression and anxiety has definitely been one of my biggest challenges and demons to overcome. A lot of that has played into the imposter syndrome as well as lack of self confidence from previous situations leaving me defeated and hopeless. They also keep me comfortable during my training sessions and Ninja competitions, while writing personalized notes with your orders. MudGear has been a huge game changer for me in terms of my comfort for racing OCRs. With the terrain and just brutality that can be expected from courses, MudGear comes in as a “not all heroes wear capes” clothing. Literally keeping everything where it needs to be and compressing without suffocating, as I’m scaling walls, climbing ropes, and trekking mud and water.
