Event Review by Liam Murrow

Well, what a trip that was.

Being very new to OCR, two of the three races I completed in 2023 qualified me for the short and standard race for this year. The few races I have attended in the UK have always left me wanting more.

Euro Champs was something else!

First day I arrived at the event village, the atmosphere was electric. Straight from the car park you are faced with the 100m course, music blaring and people cheering the ninjas along the course from all parts of Europe. Away from the 100m course you have all the team tents laid out with a practice area and some merchandise stalls.

Onto the racing. And first up, the short course. Surprisingly, I didn’t feel any nerves, just excitement. I set off at my pace and tried not to let myself get sucked into keeping up with the faster runners. The terrain that the course was laid out on was fantastic. Within the first kilometre, you are faced with heading up a section of the ski slope. Personally, I enjoyed the short course for the obstacle density. The obstacles themselves were amazing! Very testing, but not impossible. Coming into the final three obstacles, you are welcomed by cheers and words of encouragement by everyone standing on the sides. I picked up one penalty in the 3K race — missed the bell on the low rig. Penalty loop completed, I finished the race in 26th (AG 30–34).

Day 2 and onto the standard course. All I wanted from this race was to come back with bands! I knew it was going to be more of a challenge — more obstacles and a lot more elevation! The start of the course was about three-quarters of the short course route. I didn’t get off to a great start, losing a band on the spaghetti obstacle. Never mind! Head down, back into the race.

Being a Suffolk boy, the next section of running was a killer! The terrain did nothing but go up until about 7K. One good thing about the climbs was the scenery. It’s surprising how quickly you can distract yourself when running with views like those experienced on this course! Again, like the short course, obstacle placement and grouping worked well.

One obstacle I had been dreading on this course was the gibbons. I had a few goes at Rumble Fitness and only managed to transfer from the gibbons to the pegs once. Being a band down already, I was not looking forward to this. So, I arrive at the gibbons, compose myself — and I smashed it! No bands cut! From this point on it’s pretty much a fast-track run with more rigs and balance obstacles back down into the village, then into the final three obstacles.

Coming back into the village I was on cloud nine — one band down and the gibbons complete. Again, the noise coming back into the final obstacles is so inspiring.

No bands lost on the Toroz low rig this time, which left me with one penalty loop to complete, then onto the finish — 41st place.

My goals heading into this event were to finish with at least one band and push myself out of my comfort zone — not only with running, but meeting new people. One thing that has stood out for me from day one with this community is how welcoming and supportive it is. It’s amazing how we are all competing against each other, but carry so much respect and support at the same time. I’ve now been lucky enough to not only feel this support in the UK, but also abroad.

The future of British Obstacle Sports is about to head out on a very promising and exciting journey! If you’re someone thinking of taking part in your first run or stepping into competitive racing, then go for it!

No obstacle race is the same — and that’s what I enjoy the most. No time like the present: book that first race, step up from open to age group.

Get muddy, get wet, fail, smile, enjoy, grow!