Strength & Speed OCR: Obstacle Course Racing Lessons From Other Sports

S4E26: Army Ranger & Spartan Pro Mark Gaudet on Mental Toughness

Army Ranger and Spartan Pro Mark Gaudet joins Evan to talk crossover points between combat, military training, Ranger School and Obstacle Course Racing (OCR). The two share some "fun" Ranger School stories, talk about "The Army's Obstacle Course", the Darby Queen, and deep dive into Mark's champion mindset, mental toughness along with not quitting.  As a 4x competitor at the Best Ranger Competition and Afghanistan war veteran Mark has a lot of great knowledge that his led to huge success in OCR including being on the Spartan Pro Team, currently in 7th at the Spartan US National Series, 4th at World's Toughest Mudder and a whole lot more.  

 

Episode brought to you by Hammer Nutrition, use ref#240887 for 15% off your first order from www.HammerNutrition.com

S4E25: Christopher ”Beard” Accord: The History of BattleFrog & the Future of OCR

You might remember Christopher "Beard" Accord when he took your band at BattleFrog back in 2015/2016.  CTG Pro Evan Perperis sat down to talk to him about what was really going on behind the scenes, what decisions were good/bad, BattleFrog's plan for their TV show and if the brand still technically exists. Afterwards they talk the future of OCR and what his amazing fiance Amy Winters is up to in the endurance world.

 

Episode brought to you by Elite Ops Energy Strips, use code CTG10 for 10% off every order.

Music provided by Marc Capaldo of Madison Ambush

S4E24: Is OCR Dead? with Mud Run Guide’s Brett Stewart

Ep 131: Co-founder of the largest OCR media website, Mud Run Guide, Brett Stewart joins Evan to talk about the current state of the OCR industry.  The two talk past (Warrior Dash World Championship, BattleFrog, rise/fall of races), present (OCR PQ, changes brands have made) and future (what to do to support brands).  Ultimately they attempt to answer the lingering question, "Is OCR Dead?"

 

Mud Run Guide articles referenced:

     It's Complicated

     Supporting Brands in 2020

     Going to the Xtreme: Do I Need to Shave My Body?

Mud Run Guide's Ultimate OCR Bucket List hard copy and digital book

Ultra-OCR Man book, digital book and audio book

 

Episode brought to you by Rapid Reboot, the best recovery product money can buy and something you can put in your home/easily bring with you to races.

Music provided by Marc Capaldo of Madison Ambush

S4E23: Blind Man Running with OCR’s Pete Cossaboon & SGX Coach Christy Chapman

(Updated: Delete and re-download if the guest audio sounds very low)

Visually impaired runner, known famously throughout the OCR world as "Blind Pete" joins Evan to talk about upcoming projects he has for 2020 and beyond.  The two are joined by one of Pete's guides Spartan SGX Certified coach Christy Chapman who is also his business partner for "Blind Man Running".  Blind Man Running is taking virtual events up a level requiring you to do them completely blind adding a new challenge to even the simplest tasks.  Plus, Pete shares his long term plans including running on water.

 

Episode brought to you by Juice Performer.  Use code CTGPROJP for 15% off all Juice Performer products from Amazon including: Cherry Performer , Beet Performer and Beet Performer with Pineapple!

Music provided by Marc Capaldo of Madison Ambush

S4E22: Hyrox Champion Morgan Schulz & Endurance Functional Fitness

Morgan Schulz has already made a big impact in the OCR and HYROX worlds.  In 2019 she had 4x1st place, 3x2nd place, 1x3rd place Spartan finish as well as finishing 7th at Spartan's North American Championship.  She recently switched her focus to HYROX where she won Dallas doubles competition and narrowly missed a world record.  Strength & Speed athlete who competed in HYROX virtual competition Kelly Williams joins Evan as a cohost.  The three talk hybrid athletics, functional fitness, overcoming injury, horror movies and more.  Plus, Morgan shares some very personal stuff and how she managed to overcome it returning to top form.

 

Episode brought to by VJ Shoes making OCR shoes with #BestGriponthePlanet

Music provided by Marc Capaldo (my Halloween Haunted Host co-host) and singer for Madison Ambush

 

 

S4E21: #RunTheDate with Beer Drinking Ultra-Athletes Gary Shaw & Nicole Fleming

Gary Shaw and Nicole Fleming are a power couple with impressive ultra-distance race resumes includes podium finishes at 100 mile races as well as top finishes in Ultra-OCR such as Tough Mudder's World's Toughest Mudder (Nicole 7th) and OCR World Championships Enduro (Gary 12th Elite and Nicole 1st 40-49 AG). They can also power through some short stuff too including a string of podiums in the beer mile (four beers and four laps of the track). However, in April of 2020 they took on the insane #RunTheDate challenge where they ran the number of miles equivalent to the date. They join Evan Perperis to talk about training, racing and preparing for such crazy endeavors. Plus, there is some funny/enjoyable digression at the end of the podcast about non-OCR "fun" stuff.

 

Gary also followed it up with a 42 mile run on the 31st day, then on May 16th did 24 beers / 24 miles / under 24 hours. He demolished the previous known record of 14 hours with a 9.5 hour finish and without going to the hospital or throwing up. ***Don't try this***

 

Episode brought you by the best anti-chaffing product on the market, Squirrel's Nut Butter

 

Music by Marc Capaldo of Madison Ambush

S4E20: The Greek God Papadon & Following Your Dreams

Professional wrestler and multi-time champion The Greek God Papadon blesses the Obstacle Course Racing (OCR) audience with his presence in this crossover sport episode.  Papadon has been pro wrestling for 20+ years, appeared in the movie The Wrestler and is the greatest unsigned talent today.  He joins Evan to talk training, comparisons between OCR and wrestling (i.e. unification of a single brand similar to WWE and Spartan), following your dreams, dedication and much more. 

 

Episode brought to you by RockTape, stay race or wrestle ready with RockTape's tape and training products like Assassin Knee sleeves.

Music provided by Marc Capaldo of Madison Ambush

S4E19: Spartan Pro Immie Cross & Going Pro

Spartan purist and 2nd year veteran of the Spartan Pro Team, Immie Cross, joins Evan to talk Obstacle Course Racing (OCR).  She runs through her tryouts for the Spartan Pro Team, how she found OCR, what makes her keep coming back, how she finally conquered one of her most challenging obstacles and a ton of great mental tips for racing/training.  Plus, the two talk Spartan World Championship, global travel and lots more. 

 

Episode brought to you by YOLKED, protein's perfect partner.  Use code Strength20 for 20% off every order from www.Yolked.com

Music provided by Marc Capaldo of Madison Ambush

S4E18: New York EMTs & The Coronavirus

Strength & Speed owner/podcast host Evan Perperis has some close friends that have done some pretty amazing stuff.  In this bonus episode Evan talks to two of his friends, Rob (EMT for 7+ years) and Mike (EMT for 12+ years), as they deal with the coronavirus outbreak in New York. No politics, just hard working Americans doing their best to keep New York and the rest of the country safe.  Here is what they are seeing...

 

Episode brought to by HYLETE, makers of fitness apparel including shirts, shorts, pants and backpacks.  HYLETE is a long time supporter of both the military and First Responders as you will hear in this episode. 

Music provided by Marc Capaldo of Madison Ambush

S4E17: Q&A with Dr. Iodice for Maximizing OCR Performance & Health

Dr. Kirk Iodice returns to the podcast for a listener Q&A episode.  Athletes submitted questions via Facebook posts and Kirk answers them in depth.  Included are questions about dry needling, heat/cold therapy, benefits of unilateral exercise, tendon/ligament specific injuries, inversion therapy and more.  The episode concludes with some immunity boosting health tips and how small businesses like Kirk's Kansas City based Advanced Healthcare and Sports Injury are dealing with the consequences of the virus outbreak. 

 

Episode brought to you by Advanced Healthcare and Sports Injury, providing you the knowledge and treatments you need to be successful as athletes and pain free in your day to day life.

Music provided by Marc Capaldo of Madison Ambush.