Jeep Warrior Krugersdorp coming up
Submitted by: Viv Quann
KZN, MPUMALANGA AND WESTERN CAPE RACES STILL TO COME
JOHANNESBURG, 13 APRIL 2016 – It’s time to unleash the inner warrior. If you can imagine speeding down giant water slides, swinging from ropes and bars, belly-crawling through mud, running through nature, climbing up and over walls and getting covered head to toe in mud, then hurry and book your spot at the Jeep Warrior Obstacle Course Race, 23-24 April 2016, at Hobby Park, Krugersdorp, Gauteng.
Says Jonathan Hart, Jeep Warrior Series Course Designer, “Obstacle course racing is really rewarding for all sorts of people with varying fitness levels because each race combines a little of everything. Even for first timers, there’ll be obstacles they’re good at, which make them feel great, and there’ll be some that they’re not so good at because they’ve never done anything like that before, which spurs them on to come back for more, trying harder the next time.”
Says Shane Howarth, Head of Sponsorship at Jeep South Africa, “What truly makes obstacle course racing unique compared to all other sports is the comradery generated at every event. This is a festive sport celebrating life. Every event is full of opportunities to lend a hand or get a boost up yourself. Once you’re talked someone into jumping off a 6m high tower into water, the effect can be eye opening – you’ll see that most people are there for the fun and camaraderie. It’s at that point you realise you’ve found your fitness tribe.”
Every Jeep Warrior Race takes place in a stunning outdoor arena and includes three distances that increase in difficulty and intensity. All courses feature a combination or trail running, climbing, jumping, swinging, crawling, carrying heavy stuff and wading through mud, but the exact obstacles change at every event, adding to the sense of surprise and unexpected adventure that keeps people coming back for more and more.
Says Hart, “For the next Jeep Warrior race in Krugersdorp at the end of April, we’ve reworked the Hobby Park venue to make it more spectator friendly and to basically give everyone a fun day out in the sun. Hobby Park is great because it’s not too flat and it’s not ridiculously hilly. It’s basically all sorts of seasons in one – with a few climbs, some rocks and some mud. Warriors definitely won’t be bored!”
For the super fit competing in the toughest event in the Jeep Warrior Series - Black Ops Elite (15km with 30 obstacles) - the notorious Breaking Point obstacle is making a fierce comeback at Hobby Park. A brand-new obstacle called Extreme Monkey will also be unveiled. Here, elites will face an extreme upper body strength and grip test as they navigate the obstacle’s pivoting ladders.
Says Jeep Warrior Black Ops Elite athlete, Thomas van Tonder (Jeep Team), “I love Jeep Warrior Races because at every event there are always surprises. My nemesis obstacle is Cliff Hanger because it’s beaten me once or twice before so I’m always weary. My favourite obstacles are the ones involving slides and water jumps - these bring back the fun and remind me why I love OCR. Breaking Point is a very satisfying obstacle, but it can be heart-breaking as well.”
Warrior Rookie is the ideal course for OCR beginners. The 6.2km course at Hobby Park will feature 15 simple and fun obstacles. This includes Mud Monster (a series of mud pools and clay banks that competitors wade through and then climb up and slide down), Slippery Dip (a giant water slide) and the fear-of-heights-conquering Tower Jump (6m jump into a pool). If you can’t complete an obstacle – just do some burpees.
Thomas van Tonder’s number one tip for Warrior first timers, “Do your first race as a team and wear clothes and shoes that you don’t feel sorry for – you’re going to get really dirty.”
Ready to up your game? Try Warrior Commando – a more challenging 10km course with 22 obstacles. Commando is labelled as the ultimate team-building experience for couples, friends and work colleagues. This course features more upper body challenges, the most difficult being rope hanging.
Warrior Black Ops is the toughest of the challenges, presenting a gruelling 15km course with 30 extreme obstacles. This is a test pf physical, mental and emotional endurance. Obstacles have been designed to break athletes, with only the super fit crossing the finish line.
Entries to Jeep #Warrior3 – Hobby Park, Krugersdorp are limited and close on 19 April 2016, so to avoid disappointment, enter online now at www.warrior.co.za.
To keep up with the action, like Jeep Warrior’s Facebook page -
https://www.facebook.com/thewarriorrace - or follow the event on Twitter - https://twitter.com/thewarriorrace.
Use the hashtag #BeBrave to join the Jeep Warrior social media conversation.
THE JEEP #WARRIOR3 HOBBY PARK – KRUGERSDORP
Date: 23 - 24 April 2016
*Registration closing date: 19 April 2016 or when entries sell out
Venue: Hobby Park, c/o Lud Hersch Drive & Robert Broom Drive, Johannesburg, 1756
Directions: https://www.google.co.za/maps/place/HOBBY+PARK/@-26.088672,27.819512,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x2d0093b055e3315d
GPS Coordinates: 26°05’19.4″S 27°49’14.9″E
Participants: 6000
ATMs: none – bring cash
Parking: 4000 cars
Late Entries: To be advised
Spectator entry fee: R30 (kids under 3 years of age don’t pay an entrance fee)
Race Day Registration: Register at least 1 hour before the start of your batch.
To enter, go to www.warrior.co.za.
EDITOR’S NOTES
A BRIEF HISTORY OF OCR
Today’s obstacle course racing has evolved from military-style bootcamp training courses that were used to prepare recruits for combat. One of the world’s oldest competitive OCR events is the notorious Tough Guy Challenge, which takes place every year in Staffordshire, England. Started in 1987, the race claims to be “the world's most demanding one-day survival ordeal”.
Held in in the middle of the British winter, Tough Guy’s 15km course is designed to resemble a World War One battleground, with 25 obstacles featuring steep hill climbs and cliffs, freezing water pools and muddy ditches, fire pits, rope bridges, nets and barbed wire fences.
In 2010, OCR truly became an accessible sport to everyone, not just the super fit. This was in part due to the launch of the Spartan and Tough Mudder obstacle races in the USA that catered to a range of fitness abilities. Both races soon gained mass support and sponsorship, with over a million Americans registering for and participating in OCR in 2011.
In 2014, the first OCR World Championships took place in Ohio USA. It was won by the UK's Jonathan Albon, who went on to successfully defend his crown in 2015.
ABOUT THE JEEP WARRIOR SERIES
The Jeep Warrior Race is South Africa’s oldest and largest obstacle course race that spans eight events across four provinces.
The series burst onto the scene in 2013 and immediately spearheaded the meteoric rise of obstacle racing in South Africa. It quickly grew to up to 9000 participants per event and remains at the forefront of the growth spurt in the new sport of obstacle racing with its larger than life obstacles and innovative courses to challenge South Africans.
What makes Jeep Warrior Race so popular, is that anyone can participate - all you need is a pair of old running shoes and a great sense for adventure.
To find out more, go to the Jeep Warrior website - www.warrior.co.za. To keep up with the action, like Jeep Warrior’s Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/thewarriorrace - or follow the event on Twitter - https://twitter.com/thewarriorrace.
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Hobby Park, Krugersdorp |
23 Apr -24 Apr |
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KZN, North Coast |
16 Jul – 17 Jul |
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Gauteng – TBA |
20 Aug – 21 Aug |
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Nelspruit – Kwanyoni Lodge |
24 Sept – 25 Sept |
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Meerendal, Western Cape |
22 Oct -23 Oct |
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Legend MX, Pretoria |
19 Nov – 20 Nov |
