If you’ve lived in Missouri, you may have heard of Hazelwood Obstacle Course Racing (OCR) events by now. They typically do 2x events a year, each with a fun theme often changing the names. The early Spring (sometimes held in Winter) one this year was called “The Mosh”. A metal themed race that is part of The Hydra Series with Mythic Race (April 13th in Missouri) and Rotten Pumpkin (October 26th in Missouri).
This was my 3rd Hazelwood OCR experience and here’s rundown of how it went and what made this one unique:
Uniqueness: In case you stop reading before this is over, after more than 100 races, Hazelwood did several things I’ve never seen at an OCR before. The first was walk up music. The time trial format meant that you ran in groups of 2x people for elites and you could pick your music. Having a two-minute pump up song prior to the race was awesome and a super cool start. I went with Coheed and Cambria’s Welcome Home (give it a listen). There’s a couple more things but you’ll have to keep reading.
Venue: I’ve run this venue 3x times all for Hazelwood OCR, which takes place in a park. It shows that where there is a will, there is a way. They not only use the open fields of the park but the wooded areas, the skate park, running in the drainage area beneath the actual building, the fences around the tennis courts, running up the dry water slide and the balcony down to the skate park as part of the obstacles. Truly a fun, unique experience that despite running this event for the last three years, I have distinct memories of each and ran a diffferent route all three times.
Obstacles: These aren’t the huge obstacles with elaborate trussing you’ll get at a big brand but that makes them better in my opinion. Each obstacle has 1-2 lanes, hence the time trial format, that are unique as the brand.
There was four different rigs that were challenging but not crazy hard. Many had spots you could rest mid-way if necessary, meaning that elites could power through but open wavers could stop to rest if needed and still feel accomplished. The Mythic Race rig was one of my favorites with its 40-foot-long setup and my other favorite was the rig by the pool. The rig by the pool was created by American Ninja Warrior competitor that was not only a rig but also had you carrying your own ring for part of it requiring a mix of skill and strength.
Normally I talk about all the standard walls, low crawls, carries and more here but there’s so much unique stuff we aren’t going to talk about the other obstacles that aren’t unique out of the 50 total. Instead we ran through a dried lazy river, ran underneath the building at one point through drainage areas, climbed a dry water slide, descended the water slide stairs, climbed over the fence with a crazy overhang into the tennis courts, climbed out of the tennis courts with another wall/ladder and did two other rigs I haven’t mentioned yet.
One of the obstacles involved pushing an axel with two wheels down and back around a designated area, another obstacle I’ve never seen anywhere else. This section could take up the whole article, but I’ll leave it with Hazelwood OCR is known for their epic crash pads. Giant pads that it feels you could fall from a building from, land on top of the crash pad and still be fine. It’s the most fun as I recklessly launch myself off heights that a sane person would question. The bottom line is if you are tired of the same obstacles, come to Mythic Race and Hazelwood OCR this year, both are bringing a unique flavor to OCR for me even after more than a decade of racing.
Swag & Podium: Hazelwood OCR always delivers with epic medals that are big and heavy. The Mosh’s medal makes for a nice collection next to my Massacre Medal and Valentine’s Day Massacre medal from the two previous years. I always manage to miss their fall race and unfortunately for me, this year will be no different. The Mosh registration also came with a t-shirt and a race themed guitar pick (that’s a first for me). 1st Phorm was there giving away a ton of product (worth the price of admission in my opinion).
For those that made it on the podium 1st Phorm gave free full size supplement containers and a bag. Better prizes than almost every OCR that doesn’t offer cash for podium winners. But the best part is the podium ceremony which has 1st male and female rise up on a cherry picker lift to showcase their victory. Something I have only seen Hazelwood OCR do and they’ve done it the last three years at least.
Price to Benefit: You aren’t going to pay big name prices for this race, but with 50x obstacles and an intimate feel, I think your value per dollar is exponentially better. The race owner knows many of the regulars by name and it feels more like a family reunion than a huge race. I know several Missouri racers who will travel across the country for the same brand they race every other weekend but aren’t interested in trying something new, unique, challenging and fun.
Overall: Hazelwood kills it with their events every year, smaller prices, more obstacles, more personal feel, unique setups and now part of The Hydra Series. If you are sleeping on local brands like Hazelwood, Mythic Race and KC Timber Challenge in the Midwest (or whatever brand is local to you), you are missing out. This year Mythic and Hazelwood are part of a series called The Hydra. With one event down, two remain to showcase your skills and run on some of the most unique obstacles in the USA.
Download the OCR Buddy app and start exploring to find your own local hidden OCR gems, trust me they are out there, and Hazelwood is absolutely one of them.
