OCRA Éireann

What is OCR?.

Running, with obstacles in the way

Obstacle Course Racing — OCR — combines running with a variety of physical and technical obstacles. Depending on the event, athletes run, climb, carry, crawl, balance, jump, swing and traverse their way through a course.

It tests running speed and endurance, grip and upper-body strength, balance, agility, technique, problem solving and a fair amount of stubbornness. What makes it different from most traditional sports is the variety: two courses can test very different skills, and the fastest runner is not necessarily the fastest obstacle racer.

OCR is for everyone

Obstacle racing is not only an elite sport. Events range from accessible recreational races built around taking part and enjoying it, to highly competitive national and international championships.

People arrive from running, athletics, climbing, gymnastics, functional fitness and strength sports — and plenty arrive having never competed in an organised sport at all. There are opportunities for children, teenagers, adults, age-group athletes, elite competitors and adaptive athletes.

You do not need to be able to complete every obstacle before you start. Obstacle skills are learned, like any others.

Competitive OCR

Competitive obstacle sport takes several forms.

Short-format racing

Fast races testing speed, explosive movement and technical obstacle ability. Formats such as 100 metre and 400 metre obstacle racing put athletes on compact courses where small mistakes make a large difference.

Short course

Running combined with multiple obstacles over a shorter endurance distance, weighted towards the combination of running speed, obstacle efficiency and endurance.

Standard course

Longer races requiring athletes to sustain endurance while still negotiating obstacles successfully throughout the course.

Team and relay

Athletes can also compete in team and relay formats, with the structure depending on the competition.

Recreational and endurance OCR

Many obstacle races are built around participation, personal challenge and community rather than championship competition. They range from short introductory races to endurance events covering serious distance and terrain.

Obstacles

Obstacle design varies between events, but the common challenges are hanging and traversing obstacles like monkey bars and rigs, walls and rope climbs, balance obstacles, crawls, carries, technical grip obstacles, and the over-under-through family.

Competitive events set specific rules for how an obstacle must be attempted and what counts as completing it — see Rules & Regulations.

Getting started

You do not need to begin with competition. For most people the best introduction is finding a local community and trying it.